AP Psych Unit 3

Developmental Psychology

The study of how people change and grow over time

Nature

The idea that human behavior is shaped by genetics

Nurture

The idea that human behavior is shaped by our environment

Continuous Stages of Development

growing is continuous, cumulative, and quantitative

Discontinuous Stages of Development

growing is in stages of abrupt changes

Longitudinal Studies

Repeatedly observing or measuring the same subject over extended periods of time

Cross-Sectional Studies

One time investigations analysing data from a population or subset at a specific point in time

Teratogens

harmful substances that interfere with prenatal development, causing birth defects causing birth defects brain damage and growth problems

maternal illness

infections or diseases can harm and affect growth and development

genetic mutations

changes in DNA can cause inherited disorders or developmental abnormalities

Hormones

an imbalance can affect growth, stress, and fetal development

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

reflexes

sucking, rooting, grasping, Moro reflex

rooting

involuntary, primitive reflex that helps newborns locate the breast or bottle for feeding

maturation

the brain develops according to a getic schedule enabling motor skills to emerge naturally

critical periods

specific periods when the brain is responsive to learning certain skills

Adolescence

Period following puberty where a child develops into an adult

Puberty

The process of physical and emotional development and becoming more mature

Menopause

The time of natural cessation of mensuration (decline of reproductive ability)

Primary Sex Characteristics

the bodys structures that make sexual reproduction possible

Menarche

The first menstrual period is called…

Seprmarche

The first ejaculation is called…

Secondary Sex Characteristics

non reproductive sex traits, such as hips, male vocie, body hair

sex

the gender assigned at birth

gender

a spectrum beyond male and female

Schemas

mental frameworks that are the building blocks of knowledge

assimilations

fitting new information into existing schemas

accomodation

modifying existing schemas or making new ones

Equilibration

Motivations to resolve conflicts

Sensorimotor (birth-2 years)

A stage of cognitive development where infants know the world in terms of senses and motor skills

Proportional (2-7 years)

A stage of cognitive development where you learn language but does does not comprehend mental logic

Concrete Operational (7-11 years)

A stage of cognitive development where you can perform mental operations that enable then to think logically

Formal Operational (12 years-present)

A stage of cognitive development that allows you to think logically about concepts

Object Permanence

the understanding that objects, people, and events continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched

Conservation

properties such as mass, volume, and numbers remain the same despite changes in form of the object

reversibility

a childs ability to understand that objects or numbers can be changed and then return back to their original position

parallel Play

children’s ability to play next to other children but do not try to influence others

Pretend play

children use their imagination to create scenarios, and act out roles

Egocentrism

the inability to understand or accept any perspective other than one’s own

Social Learning theory

learning happens through social interaction and growth though stages in life

The Theory of The Mind

The ability to understand that other people have beliefs, desires, intentiona, and perspectives

Dementia

Cognitive disorder that impairs memory, cognition, and decision making

Reminiscence Bump

tendency for adults over 40 to have increased enhanced recollection of personal events that occurred during adolescence

Phonemes

smallest distinctive sound units in a language

morphemes

smallest language unites that carry meaning

grammar

languages set of rules that enable people to communicate

Semantics

deriving meaning from language

syntax

ordering words into sentences

receptive language

the ability to understand, process, and comprehend spoken, written, and signed language

Babbling

meaningless vocal sounds

one-word language

child only being able to speak in single words

telegraphic speech

child speaks like a telegram (“car go”) using mainly verbs and nouns

Crucial period

a strict and specific window where experiences MUST occur for development

Aphasia

imparment of language from damage to the left hemisphere

Microsystem

Immediate, direct contact groups

Mesosystem

relationships between microsystem groups

Exosystem

environments that indirectly affect a person

Macrosystem

Cultural influences

Chronosystem

Life stages and related events

seperation anxiety

fear regarding seperation from attachment figures

stranger anxiety

fear of strangers starting around 8 months

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form stronger attachments early in life

Secure attachment

comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, showing temporary distress when seperated

insecure attachment

clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness

disorganized attachment

show no consistent behavior during speration and reunions

anxious attachment

constant crave for acceptance but remain alert

avoidant attachment

discomfort when getting close to others

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

traumatic events occurring before age 18 that impair development in the brain

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question: “Who am I?”

Authoritative Parenting

warm, with clear rules and explains reasoing

Authoritarian Parenting

Strict, high demands, little warmth, and punishes often

permissive parenting

warm, few rules, and little discipline

neglectful parenting

uninvolved in the child’s life, no warmth, and little to no expectations

Erik Erikson’s Stages of Development

the chronological outline of how personality and social skills develop across the entire lifespan through specific conflicts from birth to death

diffusion

no commitment to a particular identity or sense of self

foreclosure

premature commitment to an identity with little exploration

moratorium

actively seeking a meaningful identity

Achievement

Committed sense of self

emerging adulthood

(18-mid20s) where many people are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full adult independence

midlife crisis

time of great struggle, regret, or feeling stuck down in life

social clock

the culturally perfered timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

habituation

when repeated stimulation produces waning results

classical conditioning

a neutral stimulus is paired with a naturally occuring stimulus, eventually triggering and automatic involuntary response

unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that automatically triggers a response with no prior conditioning

Conditioned stimulus

neutral stimulus that after being paired with unconditioned stimulus triggers a response

unconditioned response

automatic natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus

conditioned response

a learned reaction caused by combining the unconditioned stimulus with the neutral stimulus

aquisition

initial learning of association

higher-order conditioning

a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a previously conditioned stimulus

extinction

diminishing of conditioned response when unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened conditioned response

stimulus generalization

tendency to respond to stimulus simmilar to the conditioned stimulus

stimulus discrimination

distinguishing between a conditioned stimulus and other stimui that have not been associated with the conditioned stimulus

counterconditioning

change a response to trigger (usually fear, aggression, anxiety) by constantly pairing the stimulus with a highly desired reward

one-trial conditioning

strong behavior change that occurs after a single pairing of a neutral stimulus and an intense unconditioned stimulus

operant conditioning

organisms associate thier own actions with consequences

law of effect

behaviors that get rewarded are repeated, and behaviors that are punished are not repeated

shaping

guiding behavior to a desired behavior

positive reinforcement

reinforce behavior with motivation stimulus

negative reinforcement

weakens behavior with negative stimulus