Developmental Psychology Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms and definitions from developmental psychology.

Maturational theory

Development involves the unfolding of genetically determined processes; children don't do things until they are biologically ready.

Molecular genetics

Study of molecular structure and functions of genes.

Molecular behavior genetics

Study of how the structure and functions of genes interact with the environment to influence behavior.

Zygote

The stage from conception to 2 weeks.

Embryo

The stage from 2 weeks to 8 weeks.

Fetus

The stage from 9 weeks onward.

Identical twin

Monozygotic twins formed when an egg splits.

Fraternal twin

Dizygotic twins formed when two eggs are fertilized by two sperm.

Scaffolding

The more skilled person provides structured help to a less skilled learner.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The distance between where a learner is developmentally on their own and where they could be with help.

Insecure-avoidant attachment

A style where the child explores happily and continues playing after the mother leaves, paying no attention upon her return.

Secure attachment

A style where the child explores happily after the mother leaves, seeks contact on her return, and resumes playing.

Insecure attachment

A style where the child clings to the mother, is unhappy when she leaves, and angry when she returns.

Disorganized attachment

A style where the child is cautious, yells when the mother leaves, has an odd response when she returns, and may be violent.

Gender typing

The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.

Social learning theory

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

Foreclosure

Commitment without exploration.

Diffusion

No commitment and no searching.

Moratorium

No commitment, but searching.

Achievement

Searching and committing.

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason.

Senile dementia

Loss of mental functions due to aging.

Cerebral anteriosclerosis

Blockage of blood vessels to the brain that leads to loss of mental functions.

Alzheimer's

Loss of chemical nerve cell transmitters and damage to nerve transmissions that result in mental decline.

Theory of death and dying

The stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

Rooting reflex

A baby's tendency to turn toward a touch on the cheek and open the mouth.

Babinski reflex

A reflex where a newborn fans out their toes when the sole of the foot is touched.

Sensorimotor stage (Piaget)

The stage where object permanence develops, from infancy to toddler.

Preoperational stage (Piaget)

The toddler-early childhood stage where children use mental symbols and pretend but struggle with conversation and reversibility.

Concrete operational stage (Piaget)

The early-late childhood stage where children understand the world logically but struggle with systematic thinking.

Formal operational stage (Piaget)

The late childhood-adulthood stage where individuals gain the ability to think abstractly and hypothetically.

One-word stage

The stage in speech development, from age 1 to 2, where a child mostly speaks in single words.

Cooing

Early vowel-like sounds produced by babies.

Telegraphic speech

An early speech stage where a child uses mostly nouns and verbs, resembling a telegram.

Microsystem

Groups that have direct contact with an individual.

Mesosystem

Relationships between groups in the microsystem.

Exosystem

Indirect factors in an individual's life.

Macrosystem

Cultural events that influence individuals and those around them.

Chronosystem

An individual's current stage of life.

Semantics

The set of rules for deriving meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences; the study of meaning.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language.

Phonemes

The smallest distinctive sound units in language.