Unit 3 pt 1 Learning

Developmental Psychology

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

Nature vs Nurture

Nature is what you're born with (genes); nurture is what happens from experience and environment.

Continuity vs Stages

Continuity means gradual growth; stages are big leaps of change.

Stability and Change

Some traits stay constant while others evolve as we age.

Longitudinal Research

Studying the same individuals over many years.

Cross-Sectional Research

Studying people of different ages at one time.

Teratogens

Harmful substances that can damage a developing baby before birth.

Prenatal Development

Growth before birth: zygote → embryo → fetus.

Maturation

Natural growth that occurs when the body is ready.

Reflexes

Automatic newborn responses that help survival.

Rooting Reflex

Newborn turns head toward touch to find food.

Fine Motor Coordination

Small, precise movements using fingers and hands.

Gross Motor Coordination

Large body movements using big muscles.

Sensitive Period

Best time to learn something easily, though not the only time.

Visual Cliff

Experiment showing infants' depth perception.

Puberty

The stage when the body matures and becomes capable of reproduction.

Adolescent Growth Spurt

Rapid increase in height and weight during puberty.

Menopause

End of menstrual cycles and fertility in women.

Sex

Biological traits defining male, female, or intersex.

Gender

A person's identity and experience shaped by culture and personality, not biology.

Gender Roles

Society's expectations for how each gender "should" behave.

Gender Typing

Children adopting traits and behaviors matching gender roles.

Sexual Orientation

Who someone is romantically or physically attracted to.

Ecological Systems Theory

Explains development through nested environments: micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chronosystem.

Authoritarian Parenting

Strict, controlling style valuing obedience over warmth.

Authoritative Parenting

Firm but understanding style combining warmth with rules.

Permissive Parenting

Loving but lenient style with few rules or boundaries.

Temperament

A person's natural emotional style or typical mood.

Imprinting

Forming a strong bond with the first thing seen after birth.

Contact Comfort

Need for touch and closeness to feel secure.

Separation Anxiety

Distress when a child is away from a caregiver.

Attachment Styles

Patterns of bonding based on early caregiver experiences.

Secure Attachment

Healthy bond built on trust and consistent care.

Avoidant Attachment

Distant style due to unresponsive caregivers.

Anxious Attachment

Clingy, worried style fearing abandonment.

Disorganized Attachment

Fearful mix of approach and avoidance from inconsistent care.

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Negative childhood events that harm long-term health.

Social Clock

Cultural "schedule" for life milestones.

Emerging Adulthood

Transition period (18-25) for exploring identity and independence.

Adolescent Egocentrism

Belief that one's thoughts and experiences are unique.

Imaginary Audience

Feeling that others are always watching and judging you.

Personal Fable

Thinking one's experiences are special or misunderstood.

Possible Selves

Images of who you could become in the future.

Social Identity

Part of identity based on belonging to groups.

Identity Diffusion

Lack of direction or commitment to goals.

Identity Foreclosure

Accepting others' beliefs without self-exploration.

Identity Moratorium

Exploring options but not yet deciding.

Identity Achievement

Choosing commitments after exploration.

Jean Piaget

Psychologist who studied children's stages of thinking.

Schemas

Mental frameworks for organizing information.

Assimilation

Adding new information to existing schemas.

Accommodation

Changing schemas to fit new information.

Sensorimotor Stage

Babies learn through senses and actions.

Object Permanence

Knowing things exist even when unseen.

Preoperational Stage

Children use symbols and imagination but lack logic.

Pretend Play

Imaginative acting out of roles or stories.

Parallel Play

Toddlers playing side-by-side without interacting.

Animism

Belief that objects have feelings or thoughts.

Egocentrism

Inability to see another's point of view.

Theory of Mind

Understanding that others have their own thoughts.

Concrete Operational Stage

Logical thinking about real objects and events.

Conservation

Understanding quantity stays the same despite appearance.

Reversibility

Knowing actions can be undone.

Formal Operational Stage

Ability for abstract, hypothetical thinking.

Lev Vygotsky

Theorist emphasizing social interaction in learning.

Scaffolding

Support that helps learning and gradually fades.

Zone of Proximal Development

Tasks a learner can do with help but not alone.

Crystallized Intelligence

Knowledge gained from experience; grows with age.

Fluid Intelligence

Quick, flexible problem-solving that declines with age.

Dementia

Decline in memory and thinking due to brain damage.

Language

System of communication using words and rules.

Critical Period

Time when language learning happens most easily.

Phonemes

Smallest sounds that change meaning.

Morphemes

Smallest meaningful units of language.

Semantics

Meaning of words and sentences.

Grammar

Rules for how words work together.

Syntax

Word order and sentence structure.

Cooing

Babies making vowel-like sounds.

Babbling Stage

Repeating consonant-vowel patterns like "ba-ba."

One-Word Stage

Using single words to express full ideas.

Two-Word Stage

Combining two words into simple phrases.

Overgeneralization

Applying grammar rules too widely.

Nonverbal Manual Gestures

Using movements or facial expressions to communicate.

Unconditioned stimuli

An event or thing that automatically and naturally triggers a response without any prior learning.

Unconditioned response

An involuntary, automatic, and un learned reaction to a stimulus

Conditioned response

An automatic response established by training to an ordinary neutral stimuls

Conditioned stimuli

An initially neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to encode a response of its own.

Fixed interval

You get a reward after a set amount of time passes.

Variable interval

You get a reward after random amount of time passes

Fixed ratio

You get a reward after a set of number of actions

Variable ratio

You get a reward after a number of actions