Human Growth and Development CLEP Review

These flashcards cover key concepts, theorists, and developmental stages found in the Human Growth and Development CLEP materials, including cognitive, social, and physical milestones.

Nature vs. Nurture Controversy

The debate regarding whether development is primarily influenced by biological inheritance or environmental experiences.

Tabula Rasa

The nurture-side view that the human mind at birth is a blank slate upon which experience writes.

Discontinuity or Stage Theories

Developmental theories arguing that growth progresses through qualitative stages, where each stage involves a specific task.

Continuity Theories

Theories describing development as a steady growth process occurring in small steps or quantitative increments.

Universality vs. Context-Specific

The debate over whether a theory applies to all cultures and time periods or if development varies based on culture and environment.

Collectivist Cultures

Societal structures that place a greater value on the common good than on individual achievement.

Individualistic Cultures

Societal structures that value individual achievements and the pursuit of personal goals.

Assimilation

Piaget's term for taking new information from the world and incorporating it into an existing mental scheme.

Accommodation

Piaget's term for modifying an existing mental scheme to fit new information.

Disequilibrium

The state occurring when a child's current scheme cannot account for a new experience, leading to cognitive conflict.

Constructivism

Piaget's position that children actively build schema based on their exploration of the environment.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's first stage ($0-2$ years old) characterized by learning through senses and lacking object permanence until the end.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be sensed.

Preoperational Stage

Piaget's second stage ($2-7$ years old) involving symbolic thought and egocentrism.

Egocentrism

Difficulty seeing things from the perspective of others, common in the preoperational stage.

Concrete Operations

Piaget's third stage ($7-11$ years old) where children understand conservation, reversibility, and logical thinking about tangible items.

Formal Operations

Piaget's final stage ($12+$ years old) characterized by hypothetico-deductive reasoning and abstract thinking.

Information Processing Approach

A developmental approach using the computer as a metaphor for the human mind, utilizing a two-store model of memory.

Learning Theory (Behaviorist Perspective)

The view supported by Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner that development is a product of environmental stimuli and observable behavioral changes.

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning, also called Type $S$ conditioning, where a connection is made between two stimuli to produce a reflex response.

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning, also called Type $R$ conditioning, involving the use of reinforcement to increase behaviors and punishment to decrease them.

Shaping

A behavioral modification technique where components of a desired behavior are reinforced to gradually reach a goal.

Social Learning Theory

Bandura's theory that behavior is acquired through observational learning and modeling.

Reciprocal Determinism

The bidirectional relationship where behavior, internal cognition, and the environment all influence each other.

Id, Ego, and Superego

Freud's components of personality representing the pleasure principle, reality principle, and morality principle respectively.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious methods used by the ego to distort reality and protect against anxiety, such as repression or rationalization.

Psychosexual Stages

Freud's developmental stages including Oral ($0-1$), Anal ($1-3$), Phallic ($3-6$), Latency ($6-11$), and Genital (Adolescence).

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage occurring from birth to $1$ year, focusing on the reliability of others.

ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a child can do alone and what they can achieve with knowledgeable help.

Ecological Systems Theory

Bronfenbrenner's approach describing development within nested systems: micro, meso, exo, macro, and chronosystems.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is directly manipulated by the researcher to observe its effects.

Dependent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is measured to determine the hypothesized effect.

Cross-Sectional Study

A research design comparing different age groups at a single point in time.

Longitudinal Study

A research design tracking the behavior of a single group of people over a long period.

Sequential Research Design

A method that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal designs to measure age changes and cohort effects.

Chromosomes

Biological structures in the cell nucleus containing genes, with $46$ total organized into $23$ pairs.

Genotype and Phenotype

The total genetic material inherited versus the actual physical traits that are expressed.

Pituitary Gland

The 'Master Gland' controlled by the hypothalamus that secretes growth hormone ($GH$).

Germinal, Embryo, and Fetus

The three periods of prenatal development spanning the first $2$ weeks, weeks $2-8$, and week $9$ through birth respectively.

Apgar Scale

A quick assessment of a neonate's physical condition performed immediately and five minutes after birth.

Cephalocaudal Principle

The developmental pattern of growth occurring from the head downward.

Proximodistal Principle

The developmental pattern of growth occurring from the center of the body outward.

Habituation

A reduction in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum intensity of a stimulus necessary for detection at least $50$% of the time.

Primary or Working Memory

A temporary storage system that can hold approximately $7 \times \text{or} \times 2$ bits of information in adults.

Metacognition

The knowledge and monitoring of one’s own methods of learning and remembering behavior.

Phonemes and Morphemes

The smallest units of sound in a language versus the smallest units of meaning.

Nativist Theory

Chomsky's view that children are biologically programmed to learn language through a Language Acquisition Device ($LAD$).

IQ (Intelligence Quotient)

A score derived by dividing mental age ($MA$) by chronological age and multiplying by $100$.

Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence

Cattell's distinction between raw reasoning/problem-solving versus specific knowledge gained through experience.

Theory of Mind

The understanding that people have internal mental states, such as motives and perspectives, that guide behavior.

Androgyny

A combination of both masculine and feminine traits in an individual's personality.

Kohlberg's Levels of Moral Development

The three-level framework of Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional moral reasoning.

Ainsworth Strange Situation

An observational method used to measure the quality of attachment between an infant and a caregiver.

Family Systems Theory

A perspective emphasizing the interconnections and relationships within a family unit, such as dyadic or polyadic interactions.

Baumrind's Parenting Styles

The classification of parenting into Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, and Neglectful styles.

Kubler-Ross Stages of Dying

The psychological model of terminal illness including Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

Down's Syndrome

A condition caused by an extra chromosome at the $21$st pair, leading to mental retardation and distinct physical features.

Teratogens

Agents such as viruses, drugs, or radiation that can cause malformations in an embryo or fetus.

ADHD

A disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.