Psychology Exam #2 (Ch. 4-6)

developmental psychology

study of how humans change over time the life span, from conception until death; physical, socio-emotional, cognitive

physical domain

revolve around growth in the brain, hormones, and body

socio-emotional domain

how we understand ourselves, interact with others, and experience and regulate emotions

cognitive domain

how our ability to think, reason, and communicate change over time

germinal period

begins with conception; sperm and egg unite to create zygote (first cell of new life); 1-2 weeks

embryonic period

important time for physical development of the spinal cord, brain, and all internal organs; 2 weeks-2 months

fetal period

no new structures develop, but the whole body continues to change physically; 2 months-birth

teratogens

substances that cause birth defects

rooting reflex

baby opens mouth in anticipation of food

sucking reflex

closing mouth around nipple and sucking for food

grasping reflex

baby curls fingers

maturation

process of developing motor skills is a sequence of steps that usually occur within a predictable range of ages

dynamic systems theory of development

way that children often achieve developmental milestones at different paces, depending on their culture in which they are raised

separation anxiety

when they cannot see attachment figures or are left with strangers, show signs of distress

strange situation test

three attachment styles children may have

secure attachment

confident enough to play in an unfamiliar environment as long as the caregiver is present and are readily comforted by the caregiver during times of distress

avoidant attachment

somewhat willing to explore an unfamiliar environment, but do not look at the caregiver when the caregiver leaves or returns, as though they have little interest in the caregiver

ambivalent attachment

unwilling to explore an unfamiliar environment but seem to have mixed feelings about to caregiver; cry when caregiver leave the room, but cannot be consoled by the caregiver upon return

theory of mind

ability to understand that other people have minds and intentions

schemas

ways of thinking about how the world works

assimilation

incorporate new information into existing schemas (mental representations)

accommodation

create new schemas or drastically alter existing ones to incorporate new information that otherwise would not fit

sensorimotor stage

infants acquire information about the world through their senses and motor skills (birth-2 years)

object permanence

understanding that an object continues to exist even when it is hidden from view

preoperational stage

children think symbolically about objects, but reason based on intuition and superficial appearances rather than logic (2-7 years)

law of conservation

even if the appearance of a substance changes in one dimension, properties remain unchanged

centration

limitation occurs when a child cannot think about more than one aspect of a problem at a time

egocentrism

view the world through their own experiences

concrete operational stage

children begin to think about and understand logical operations, and they are no longer fooled by appearance (7-12 years)

formal operational stage

people can think abstractly, and they can formulate and test hypothesis through logic (12-adulthood)

syntax

system of rules about how words are combines into phrases and phrases into sentences (phonemes, morphemes, words, phrases, sentences)`

telegraphic speech

tendency for toddlers to speak by combining basic words in a logical syntax, but not a complete sentence to convey a wealth of meaning

overregulation

tendency for young children to incorrectly use a regular grammar rule when they should use an exception to the rule

adolescence

about age 11 and 14-18 and 21

puberty

physical changes in the body that are a part of sexual development

secondary sex characteristics

physical changes that are not directly related to reproduction but that indicate the difference between sexes

primary sex characteristics

physical development during puberty that results in sexually mature reproductive organs and genitals

limbic system

motivational and emotional center

bicultural identity

child strongly identifies with two cultures and seamlessly combines a sense of identity with both

moral development

way people learn to decide between behaviors with competing social outcomes

preconventional level

self interest and event outcomes determine what is moral

conventional level

strict adherence to societal laws and the approval of others determines what is moral

post conventional level

decisions about morality depend on abstract principles and value of all life

identity versus role confusion

adolescents face challenge of figuring out who they are

intimacy versus isolation

young adults face challenge of forming committed long-term relationship friendships and romances

generativity versus stagnation

middle-aged adults face the challenge of leaving behind a positive legacy and caring for future generations

integrity versus despair

older adults face the challenge of feeling satisfied that they have lived a good life and developed wisdom

senior moment

inability to remember something we knew a moment before

dementia

serve impairment in intellectual capacity and personality, often due to damage to the brain

sensation

sense organs' detection of external physical stimulus and the transmission of information about the stimulus to the brain

perception

processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory signals in the brain; result in an internal neural representation of the physical stimulus

sensory receptors

sensory organs that detect physical stimulation from the external world and change that stimulation into information that can be processed by the brain

transduction

sensory receptors change physical stimuli into signals that are eventually sent to the brain

absolute threshold

smallest amount of physical stimulation required to detect a sensory input half of the time its present

difference threshold

minimum difference in physical stimulation required to detect a difference between sensory inputs

Weber's law

the just-noticeable difference between two sensory inputs is based on a proportion of the original sensory input rather than on a fixed amount of difference

signal detection theory

detecting a sensory input (signal) requires making a judgement (response) about the presence or absence of the signal, based on uncertain information

hit

person responds to signal that is present

miss

person doesn't respond to signal that is present

false alarm

person responds to signal that isn't present

correct rejection

person doesn't respond to signal that isn't there

sensory adaptation

decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

cornea

eye's thick, transparent outer layer

pupil

small opening that looks like a dark circle at the center of the eye

iris

circular muscle, gives eyes their color and controls the pupils size to determine how much light enters the eye

retina

thin inner surface of the back of the eye

rods

sensory receptors in the retina that detects light waves and transduce them into signals that are processed in the brain as vision; respond to black and white

cones

sensory receptors in the retina that detect light wave and translate them into signals that are produced in the brain and vision; respond to color

ganglion cells

first true neurons in the visual systems in that they fire action potentials

amplitude

height of the light wave from base to peak; brightness

wavelength

distance from peak to peak; hue

hue

distinctive characteristics that place a particular color in the spectrum

saturation

intensity of the color; varies according to how many different wavelengths of light are present in sensory input

trichromatic theory

three types of cone receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for color perception; each type responds optimally to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths

additive color mixing

combining of wavelengths

subtractive color mixing

combining of pigments

opponent-process theory

proposal that ganglion cells in the retina receive excitatory input from one type of cone and inhibitory input from another type of cone, creating the perception that comes colors are opposite

grouping

visual system's organization of features and regions to create the perception of a whole unified object

proximity

close figures are grouped as an object

similarity

similar figures are grouped in an object

continuity

intersecting lines are interpreted as continuous

closure

figures with gaps are interpreted when they don't exist

illusory contours

contours are perceived when they don't exist

bottom-up processing

perception of objects is due to analysis of environmental stimulus input by sensory receptors; this analysis influences more complex, conceptual processing pf that information in the brain

top-down processing

perception of objects is due to the complex analysis of prior experiences and expectations within the brain; analysis influences how sensory receptors process stimulus input from the environment

binocular depth cues

cues of depth perception that arise because people have two eyes

monocular depth cues

cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone (pictorial depth cues)

motion aftereffects

occur when you gaze at a moving image for a long time and then look at a stationary scene; momentary impression that the new scene is moving in the opposite direction from the moving image (waterfall effect)

stroboscopic motion

when a series of slightly different images are presented fast enough, we perceive motion pictures

ear drum

thin membrane stretched tightly across the canal that marks the beginning of the middle ear

amplitude

determines our perception of loudness

frequency

determines the pitch of the sound

temporal coding

perception of lower-pitched sounds is a result of the rate at which hair cells are stimulated by sound waves of lower frequencies

place coding

perception of higher-pitched sounds is a results of the location on the basilar membrane where hair cells are stimulated by sound waves of varying higher frequencies

localization

locating the origin of sound

taste receptors

sensory receptors the detect the chemical molecules

papillae

thin structures on the tongue

odorants

chemical molecules that come from outside your body

pressure receptors

sensory receptors in the skin that detect tactile stimulation and transduce it into information processed in the brain as different types of pressure on skin

fast fibers

sensory receptors in the skin, muscles, organs, and membranes around bones and joints; myelinated fibers quickly convey intense sensory input to the brain, where it is perceived as sharp, immediate pain