3.1-3.2 Myers AP Psych Vocab

Stability and Change

is that ___ refers to traits and behaviors that remain more or less constant throughout a person's life while ____ refers to traits and behaviors that are more fluid and flexible throughout a person's life.

Continuous and Discontinuous Stages of Development

___ refers to the view that development is a gradual, continuous process. ____ refers to the view that development occurs in a series of distinct stages.

Nature and Nurture

___ is what we think of as pre-writing and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors. _____ is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception, e.g., the product of exposure, life experiences and learning on an individual.

Longitudinal study

studies a person or group of people over an extended period of time.

Cross-sectional study

compares individuals of various ages at one point in time.

Teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm (fetal alcohol syndrome, drugs, AIDS, STDS, rubella, etc)

Maternal Illness

many illnesses contracted by the mother can be transmitted to the newborn.

Genetic Mutation

a permanent change in the genetic material of an organism

Developmental Norms

The normal timeline of mental and physical growth and changes that occur as an entity ages

Rooting reflex

automatic turn of head when cheek is touched

Visual Cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early

Adolescence

refers to the transitory period from childhood to adulthood, generally beginning with puberty and extending into independent adulthood

Puberty

the physical beginnings of sexual maturity.

Primary sex characteristics

the organs needed for reproduction (ovaries in the female, testes in the male, and external genitalia).

Secondary sex characteristics

Non-reproductive traits (enlargement of the hips and breasts in females, facial hair and deepening voice in males, the development of pubic and underarm hair in both females and males).

Menarche

a girl's first menstrual period, is often viewed as the biological marker indicating the beginning of adolescence.

Spermarche

is the first time a biological male ejaculates semen

Adulthood

spans most of the lifespan and is characterized by a general leveling off and then a varying decline in reproductive ability, mobility, flexibility, reaction time, and visual and auditory sensory acuity.

Menopause

the natural time in a woman's life when her menstrual cycles end.