Unit 3 Vocab

Accommodation

Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information.

Achievement

Explored options, committed to identity; a healthy outcome of identity formation.

Achievement (of Identity)

Having explored and committed to an identity.

Acquisition

The initial learning phase where a connection between stimuli is strengthened.

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

Traumatic events occurring before age 18; can impact lifelong health and well-being.

Androgyny

Displaying both traditionally male and female characteristics.

Antisocial Behavior

Negative behaviors learned through observation and imitation of others.

Anxious Attachment

Attachment style; extremely distressed at separation, ambivalent upon return, clingy.

Aphasia

Language impairment, affecting production or comprehension, caused by brain damage.

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences using existing schemas.

Associative Learning

Learning that certain events occur together; can be classical or operant.

Attachment

Strong emotional bond between infant and caregiver, providing security.

Authoritarian Parenting

Parenting style; low warmth, strict rules, demands obedience, punitive.

Authoritative Parenting

Parenting style; high warmth, clear rules with explanations, encourages independence.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Erikson's second stage; toddlers develop independence through exploration.

Avoidant Attachment

Attachment style; little distress at separation, avoids/ignores caregiver upon return.

Babbling

Stage of language development; repeating consonant-vowel combinations like 'ba-ba-ba'.

Basic Trust

Sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; developed during infancy.

Behavioral Perspective (Behaviorism)

Focuses on observable behaviors and how learning occurs through conditioning in the environment.

Biological Preparedness

Predisposition to easily learn associations that aid survival.

Broca's Area

Brain area involved in speech production.

Chronosystem

Dimension of time; life transitions and historical events over the lifespan.

Classical Conditioning

Learning through association.

Cognition

Mental processes involved in knowing, understanding, and remembering.

Cognitive Learning

Acquiring new behaviors and information through observation and information, not just experience.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of the layout of one's environment.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget's stage where children think logically about concrete events (ages 7-11).

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral, but now conditioned, stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

An originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association, triggers a conditioned response.

Conservation

Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape.

Continuous Development

Gradual and ongoing changes throughout life.

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Cooing

Early stage of language development involving vowel-like sounds.

Counterconditioning

Replacing an unwanted conditioned response with a new, more desirable one.

Critical Period

A time when specific skills/characteristics are most easily acquired.

Cross-Sectional Research

Comparing people of different ages at the same time.

Crystallized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and skills; increases with age.

Dementia

A decline in cognitive abilities.

Developmental Psychology

The study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan.

Diffusion

No exploration, no commitment; confused, apathetic, or avoiding identity questions.

Diffusion (of Identity)

Lack of exploration and commitment to an identity.

Discriminative Stimulus

A stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement.

Disorganized Attachment

Attachment style; inconsistent, confused behavior, often associated with abuse/neglect.

Ecological Systems Theory

Theory explaining how environment influences development through interacting systems.

Egocentrism

Difficulty understanding another's perspective.

Emerging Adulthood

Period from late teens through mid-20s; identity exploration, instability, self-focus.

Exosystem

Indirect environmental connections; external networks impacting immediate environment.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs when stimuli are no longer paired.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Birth defects caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement after a set amount of time has passed.

Fluid Intelligence

Ability to reason and solve novel problems; declines with age.

Foreclosure

Committed to identity without exploration; accepted others' choices without questioning.

Foreclosure (of Identity)

Commitment to an identity without exploration.

Formal Operational Stage

Piaget's stage where people think abstractly and hypothetically (age 12+).

Gender

Social and cultural roles, behaviors, and identities.

Gender Identity

An individual's internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither.

Gender Role

Societal expectations about how males and females should behave.

Gender Typing

Acquiring traditional gender roles.

Generalization

The tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's seventh stage; middle-aged adults contribute to society.

Genetic Mutation

Alterations in DNA that can cause inherited disorders.

Grammar

System of rules governing how language is structured and used.

Habituation

Decreased response to repeated stimuli.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus functions as the unconditioned stimulus.

Identity

Our sense of self; consistent definition of who one is in terms of roles, attitudes.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's fifth stage; adolescents explore values to form a coherent identity.

Imaginary Audience

Belief that everyone is constantly watching and judging you.

Imprinting

Forming attachments during a critical period, often to the first moving object.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's fourth stage; school-age children develop competence through mastering skills.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's third stage; preschoolers take initiative in activities and social interactions.

Insecure Attachment

Attachment style; avoidant, anxious, or disorganized patterns of relating.

Insight Learning

A sudden realization of a problem's solution; an 'aha!' moment.

Instinctive Drift

The tendency of learned behavior to revert to biologically predisposed patterns.

Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's eighth stage; older adults reflect on life, satisfaction leads to integrity.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's sixth stage; young adults form close, intimate relationships.

Language

A system of communication using sounds and symbols.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely.

Learned Helplessness

A passive state resulting from repeated exposure to uncontrollable aversive events.

Linguistic Determinism

The idea that language controls the way we think and interpret the world.

Linguistic Relativity

The idea that language affects the way we think and interpret the world.

Longitudinal Research

Studying the same individuals over a long period of time.

Macrosystem

Social and cultural values/customs/beliefs that impact you and others.

Maturation

Biological growth processes.

Menarche

The first menstrual period in females.

Menopause

The end of menstruation and fertility in women.

Mesosystem

Connections between microsystems; e.g., parent-teacher communication.

Microsystem

Immediate environment; individuals/groups in your direct surroundings.

Model (modeling)

The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Moratorium

Actively exploring options but not yet committed; 'trying on' different identities.

Moratorium (of Identity)

Actively exploring different identities without commitment.

Morpheme

Smallest unit of meaning in a language; e.g., 'un-', 'help', 'ful' in 'unhelpful'.

Nature vs. Nurture

Debate about whether traits are determined by genetics or environment.

Negative Punishment

Removing a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an aversive stimulus to increase a behavior.

Neglectful Parenting

Parenting style; low warmth, low control, uninvolved, emotionally detached.

Neutral Stimuli (NS)

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

Object Permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.

Observational Learning

Learning by observing others.