AP Psych Unit 9/10 Vocab

What is developmental psychology?

The study of how people change physically, cognitively, and socially throughout life.

What is a zygote?

The fertilized egg that undergoes rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.

What is an embryo?

The developing human organism from about 2 weeks to 2 months after fertilization.

What is a fetus?

The developing human from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

What are teratogens?

Harmful agents, such as chemicals or viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus and cause harm.

What is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)?

A condition caused by a mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy, leading to physical and cognitive abnormalities.

What is habituation?

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

What is maturation in developmental psychology?

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

What does cognition encompass?

All mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

What is a schema?

A mental framework that helps organize and interpret information.

What is assimilation?

Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas.

What is accommodation?

Adapting current schemas to incorporate new information.

What is the sensorimotor stage in Piaget’s theory?

Piaget’s first stage (0-2 years) where infants learn through sensory impressions and motor activities.

What is object permanence?

The awareness that objects continue to exist even when not seen.

What characterizes the preoperational stage in Piaget’s theory?

Piaget’s second stage (2-7 years) where children learn to use language but lack logical reasoning.

What is conservation?

The understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape.

What does egocentrism refer to in child development?

The difficulty in seeing things from another person’s perspective.

What is the theory of mind?

The ability to understand others’ thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.

What is autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?

A developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication.

What is the concrete operational stage in Piaget’s theory?

Piaget’s third stage (7-11 years), where children begin logical thinking about concrete events.

What is the formal operational stage in Piaget’s theory?

Piaget’s fourth stage (12+ years), where abstract and moral reasoning develop.

What is stranger anxiety?

Fear of strangers, commonly appearing around 8 months of age.

What is attachment in developmental psychology?

An emotional bond between an infant and caregiver.

What is a critical period in development?

A specific time in development when exposure to certain experiences is necessary for proper development.

What is imprinting?

The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life.

What does temperament refer to?

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

What is basic trust?

A sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy, formed in infancy.

What is self-concept?

A person’s understanding of who they are.

What is gender in psychology?

The socially constructed roles and characteristics of male and female.

What is aggression?

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm.

What is a gender role?

A set of expected behaviors for males and females.

What does role mean in a social context?

A set of norms about a social position.

What is gender identity?

A person’s sense of being male or female.

What is social learning theory?

The theory that we learn social behavior by observing, imitating, and rewards/punishments.

What does gender typing refer to?

The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.

What does transgender mean?

A person whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth.

What is adolescence?

The transition period from childhood to adulthood.

What is identity in psychology?

A person’s sense of self, often developed during adolescence.

What is social identity?

The part of self-concept derived from group membership.

What is intimacy in early adulthood?

The ability to form close relationships, a primary developmental task in early adulthood.

What is emerging adulthood?

The transition period from adolescence to full adulthood.

What is the X chromosome?

A sex chromosome found in both males and females.

What is the Y chromosome?

A sex chromosome found only in males.

What is testosterone?

The primary male sex hormone that influences male sex organ development.

What is puberty?

The period of sexual maturation.

What are primary sex characteristics?

The body structures that make reproduction possible.

What are secondary sex characteristics?

Nonreproductive sexual traits, such as breasts and voice change.

What is menarche?

A female’s first menstrual period.

What is AIDS?

A life-threatening disease caused by HIV that weakens the immune system.

What is sexual orientation?

A person’s sexual attraction towards the same, opposite, or both sexes.

What is menopause?

The time in a woman’s life when menstrual cycles end.

What is a cross-sectional study?

A study that compares different age groups at the same time.

What is a longitudinal study?

A study that follows and tests the same group of people over time.

What is a social clock?

The culturally preferred timing of life events.

What is personality?

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

What is free association in psychoanalysis?

A method where a person says whatever comes to mind.

What is psychoanalysis according to Freud?

A theory that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives.

What is the unconscious?

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

What is the id?

The part of personality that seeks pleasure and immediate gratification.

What is the ego?

The part of personality that balances the id and superego, operating on reality.

What is the superego?

The part of personality that represents internalized ideals and morals.

What are psychosexual stages?

Freud’s stages of childhood development, where pleasure focuses on different body areas.

What is the Oedipus complex?

A boy’s unconscious sexual desires for his mother and rivalry with his father.

What is identification in psychoanalysis?

The process by which children incorporate their parents’ values into their superego.

What is fixation in Freud's theory?

A lingering focus on an earlier psychosexual stage due to unresolved conflicts.

What are defense mechanisms?

The ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety.

What is repression?

A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts from consciousness.

What are psychodynamic theories?

Theories that view personality as stemming from unconscious motives and childhood experiences.

What is the collective unconscious?

Jung’s theory of shared, inherited memory traces from our species’ history.

What is a projective test?

A personality test that provides ambiguous stimuli to reveal unconscious desires.

What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?

A projective test where people tell stories about ambiguous pictures.

What is the Rorschach inkblot test?

A projective test using inkblots to analyze inner thoughts.

What is the false consensus effect?

The tendency to overestimate how much others share our beliefs and behaviors.

What is terror-management theory?

A theory about how people deal with their fear of death.

What are humanistic theories?

Theories that focus on the potential for human growth.

What is self-actualization?

Maslow’s idea of fulfilling one’s potential.

What is unconditional positive regard?

Accepting and valuing a person regardless of their behavior.

What is trait in psychology?

A characteristic pattern of behavior.

What is a personality inventory?

A questionnaire assessing personality traits.

What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?

The most widely used personality test.

What is an empirically derived test?

A test developed by selecting items that discriminate between groups.

What is the social-cognitive perspective?

A theory that behavior is influenced by interactions with others and personal thinking.

What is the behavioral approach?

The idea that personality is shaped by learned responses.

What is reciprocal determinism?

The interacting influences of behavior, cognition, and environment.

What is positive psychology?

The scientific study of human flourishing.

What is the self in psychology?

The center of personality and organizer of thoughts and feelings.

What is the spotlight effect?

Overestimating how much others notice our appearance and actions.

What is self-esteem?

One’s feelings of self-worth.

What is self-efficacy?

One’s sense of competence.

What is self-serving bias?

A tendency to perceive oneself favorably.

What is narcissism?

Excessive self-love and self-focus.

What is individualism?

Prioritizing personal goals over group goals.

What is collectivism?

Prioritizing group goals over personal goals.

Who is Jean Piaget?

Developed the theory of cognitive development, outlining four stages.

What is the sensorimotor stage according to Jean Piaget?

(0-2 years) – Object permanence develops.

What is the preoperational stage according to Jean Piaget?

(2-7 years) – Egocentrism and lack of conservation.

What is the concrete operational stage according to Jean Piaget?

(7-11 years) – Logical thinking about concrete events.

What is the formal operational stage according to Jean Piaget?

(12+ years) – Abstract and moral reasoning.

Who is Lev Vygotsky?

Proposed the sociocultural theory of cognitive development.

What is the zone of proximal development (ZPD)?

What a child can do with help vs. alone.