Developmental

1. zygote: stage in prenatal development from conception to 2 weeks

2. embryo: stage in prenatal development from 2 to 9 weeks, wherein organs and primary sex characteristics begin to develop

3. fetus: stage in prenatal development from 9 weeks to birth

4. teratogens: harmful environmental agents that disrupt proper development (e.g. alcohol)

5. habituation: decreasing responsiveness to an unchanging stimulus; used to assess infant cognition

6. rooting reflex: infant reflex wherein the baby will, when touched on the cheek, turn its head toward the direction of the touch and search for a nipple

7. sucking reflex: when an object is placed in the baby's mouth, he will begin to suck on it

8. grasping reflex: when touched on the palm of the hand, a baby will wrap his fingers tightly around the stimulus

9. Moro reflex: infant startle response; when alarmed, the baby will fling his limbs outward, then retract them and hold them close to his body

10. Babinski reflex: when stroked on the bottom of the foot, a baby will spread its toes

11. Jean Piaget: most famous for his 4

stage model of cognitive development

12. schema: concept or framework that organizes and aids in interpretation of information

13. maturation: physical (or biological) process of growth; believed to occur in mostly universal sequence, though timing varies from individual to individual

14. assimilation: interpreting new information with the context of existing schemas

15. accommodation: adjusting or changing one's schema's to account for new information

16. conservation: principle that certain properties of matter (e.g. mass, volume, number) remain the same despite changes in appearance; exhibited during the concrete operational phase

17. object permanence: awareness that things continue to exist even though they are not perceived; develops at 6

8 months of age

18. sensorimotor: in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to 2) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their impressions and motor activities

19. preoperational: in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6/7) during which a child learns to communicate using symbols (language) but does not demonstrate mental operations of concrete logic.

20. egocentrism: the inability of preoperational children to take the perspective of another

21. animism: belief, often demonstrated by preoperational children, that inanimate objects have thoughts and feelings

22. theory of mind: people's ideas about their own and others' mental states (about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict)

23. concrete operational: in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from 6/7 to 11/12) during which children gain the mental operations that allow them to think logically about real or "concrete" events

24. formal operational: in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development which begins about age 12 and is characterized by the ability to think logically about abstact concepts

25. Lev Vygotsky: most famous for social development theory (of child cognitive development)

26. zone of proximal development: In Vygotsky's theory, the context in which learning takes place; the gap between when a child can accomplish with assistance and when he can do something independently

27. stranger anxiety: fear of people other than those with whom the infant is familiar; appears around 8 months and peaks at 13 month

28. attachment: an emotional tie with another person; shown in infants by their seeking closeness with caregivers and displaying distress upon separation

29. critical period: time frame during which exposure to a particular stimulus must take place in order for proper development to occur

30. imprinting: rigid, inflexible attachments demonstrated by some animal species (e.g. ducks, sheep)

31. Konrad Lorenz: Nobel Prize

winning researcher famous for his imprinting studies, and for advocating the study of animals in their natural environments

32. Harry Harlow: presented infant monkeys with a choice between two artificial mothers; the monkeys preferred the warm, cloth mothers to cold ones with food

33. Mary Ainsworth: researcher who described attachment styles in infants as measured by the "strange situation" test

34. secure attachment: demonstrated when infants seem to view their caregiver as a "secure base" for exploration, seeking closeness to him/her and being upset at separation.

35. strange situation: test developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment style in infants; involves separation and reunion with a parent

36. ambivalent attachment: demonstrated by babies who seem constantly afraid of potential separation from the caregiver; they cling to caregivers in strange settings and display intense distress upon separation

37. avoidant attachment: demonstrated by babies who seem to avoid contact and closeness with caregivers

38. basic trust: in Erikson's model, this attitude develops as a result of secure attachment; babies come to view the world as safe & predictable and believe that others will reliably meet their needs

39. Diana Baumrind: researcher who developed a model of parenting styles that included authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive

40. authoritarian: parenting style (in Baumrind's model)characterized by high levels of demandingness and low warmth; they impose rules and expect obedience

41. authoritative: parenting style (in Baumrind's model) characterized by high demandingness and high warmth; these parents explain reasons for rules and are open to negotiation (with older children)

42. permissive / indulgent: parenting style (in Baumrind's model) characterized by low demandingness and high warmth; they submit to their children's desires, make few rules, and use little punishment

43. menarche: onset of menstruation; key marker of onset of puberty for females

44. Lawrence Kohlberg: used moral dilemmas to assess moral thinking in children; most well

known for his description of levels of morality (preconventional, conventional, postconventional)

45. preconventional: stage of moral development in which children seek to avoid punishment or gain reward when determining right from wrong

46. conventional: stage of moral development wherein individuals seek to gain social approval or maintain the social order (follow rules and laws)

47. postconventional: stage of moral development wherein individuals use abstract reasoning to determine right from wrong, often by citing agreed

upon rights (e.g. "the right to live") or personal ethical principles

48. trust v. mistrust: 1st stage in Erikson's model; infants must learn to view the world as a predictable, safe place or face a future of guarded skepicism

49. autonomy v. shame & doubt: 2nd stage in Erikson's model; toddlers must be able to exercise some independence or will be ashamed and uncertain of their abilities

50. initiative v. guilt: 3rd stage in Erikson's model; preschoolers must learn to start and direct creative tasks, or they may feel guilty about asserting themselves

51. industry v. inferiority: 4th stage in Erikson's model; children must master the skills valued by their society or feel inferior

52. identity v. role confusion: 5th stage in Erikson's model; adolescents must develop a sense of identity or suffer lack of direction

53. intimacy v. isolation: 6th stage in Erikson's model; young adults must form close, satisfying relationships or suffer loneliness

54. generativity v. stagnation: 7th stage in Erikson's model; in middle age, adults must discover a sense of contributing to the world or they may feel a lack of purpose

55. integrity v. despair: 8th stage in Erikson's model; when reflecting at the end of life, an older adult must feel a sense of satisfaction or experience despair (feelings of having wasted one's life)

56. Erik Erikson: famous for his 8

stage model of psychosocial development; neo

57. emerging adulthood: developmental stage proposed by Jeffrey Arnett; period between adolescence and assumption of typical adult roles (18

29, perhaps?)

58. Alzheimer's disease: progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functioning; linked to deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine

59. cross

sectional study: study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

60. crystallized intelligence: one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

61. fluid intelligence: one's ability to reason speedily and abstactly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

62. social clock: culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

63. longitudinal study: A research approach that follows a group of people over time to determine change or stability in behavior.

64. temperament: A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

65. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): A medical condition in which body deformation or facial development or mental ability of a fetus is impaired because the mother drank alcohol while pregnant

66. social identity: The "we" aspect of our self

concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.

67. menopause: Cessation of menstruation; marks end of reproductive capactiy for women, typically occurring around age 50

68. Carol Gilligan: moral development studies to follow up Kohlberg. She studied

69. androgyny: Combination of culturally determined female and male characteristics in one person.

70. gender: A socially and culturally constructed set of distinctions between masculine and feminine sets of behaviors that is promoted and expected by so

71. gender identity: one's sense of being male or female

72. gender role: set of expected behaviors for males and females

73. gender

typing: the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

74. intersex: refers to persons born with intermediate or atypical combinations of male and female physical characteristics (e.g., both male and female reproductive organs)

75. primary sex characteristics: sex characteristics present at birth; the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible

76. role: set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to be behave

77. secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive sexual characteristics that appear as one reaches puberty, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

78. sexual orientation: an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation)

79. social learning theory: The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished. For example, this may contribute to the acquisition of gender roles.

80. testosterone: male sex hormone; both males and females have it, but additional amounts of it in males stimulates growth of male reproductive organs in a fetus and development of male characteristics during puberty

81. transgender: an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex

82. X chromosome: The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two; males have one.

83. Y chromosome: the sex chromosome found only in males.

84. infantile amnesia: the inability to remember most memories prior to the age of 3 due to lack of hippocampal maturation

85. Neonate: a newborn baby

86. transductive logic: a type of logic going from concrete statement to concrete

87. artificialism: the belief (in preoperational thought) that humans have made everything (the sun was made by humans, so are trees)

88. activity theory: the more active the elderly are, usually the happier they are as well

89. Elisabeth Kubler

Ross: Studied the stages of death and dying

90. Klinefelter's Syndrome: XXY chromosomal pairing; males are sterile

may develop breast tissue & other feminine characteristics

91. Turner's syndrome: X & underdeveloped or missing X

females who are sterile

92. gender constancy: A child's understanding (around age 4) that one's gender is fixed and will change or transform later in life

93. identity foreclosure: the early stage of identity formation where young adolescents often mimic the beliefs and values of their parents

94. death deferral theory: people are less likely to die on Christmas or their birthday, and instead more likely to die after these major holidays

95. imaginary audience phenomenon: the false belief adolescents often hold that others are paying more attention to them than they really are