AP Psychology Units 3.1 to 3.6 - Gender, Social Norms, Social Scripts

Gender

The socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Relational Aggression

The intentional harming of another person through damage to their social relationships. This can include behaviors like spreading rumors, social exclusion, gossip, and manipulation

Sexual Aggression

Any sexual behavior a person uses to control, pressure, or harm another person without their consent. It encompasses a range of behaviors, from unwanted advances and coercion to physical force, and is characterized by the use of threat, intimidation, or violence to impose sexual will on a non-consenting individual for personal gratification

Gender role

A set of expected behaviors for males or for females; heavily influenced by culture, and varies over time and place

Role

A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Gender identity

Our sense of being male or female

Social learning theory

The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished; could contribute to gender roles and identity

Gender typing

The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role, or pushing these roles onto others (e.g. parents buying gendered toys for their children)

Gender schema

Framework for organizing boy-girl characteristics (e.g. gendered toys), influenced by culture and experiences

Transgender

An umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex

X chromosome

The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have 2 of these, males have 1. An __________ from each parent produces a female child

Y chromosome

The sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child; includes a single gene which, about 7 weeks after conception, triggers the testes to develop and to produce

Testosterone

The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional _________ in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Puberty

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing (caused by surge of sex hormones)

Primary sex characteristics

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

Secondary sex characteristics

Nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Spermarche

First ejaculation in boys, usually around age 14

Menarche

The first menstrual period for girls, usually within a year of age 12 ½ (could be earlier for girls who have experienced severe stressors)

Intersex

Individuals born with intermediate or unusual combinations of male and female physical features; can be caused by atypical hormone exposure or sensitivity during prenatal development

AIDS

A life-threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Depletes the immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to infections

Sexual orientation

An enduring sexual attraction towards members of either one’s own sex (homosexual orientation), the other sex (heterosexual orientation), or both sexes (bisexual orientation); its causes are extremely complex and consist of many factors, such as genetics, brain structures, and prenatal influences

Social scripts

Culturally learned guidelines that dictate expected behaviors in specific situations, including sexual interactions. They influence how individuals think they should act in romantic or sexual contexts and are often shaped by media, societal norms, and cultural traditions

External stimuli

Refers to environmental factors that influence sexual arousal or behavior. These stimuli can include visual, auditory, or situational triggers, such as sexually explicit media, advertisements, or interactions with others. Exposure to these stimuli can shape perceptions of sexuality and influence individual preferences and behaviors.

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of existing schemas

Accommodation

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to age 2) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Object permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived; infants younger than 6 months lack this awareness

Preoperational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic; children in this stage usually use symbolic thinking, the cognitive ability to use objects, words, or signs (symbols) to represent other things, ideas, or concepts not physically present

Conservation

The principle (which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain constant despite changes in the forms of objects; Piaget believed that children under 6 lack this concept

Egocentrism

In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view; young children with this trait tend to assume that what they see and perceive is what another sees and perceives

Theory of Mind

People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, as well as the behaviors these might predict

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Disorder appearing in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixed interests and repetitive behaviors; children with this disorder generally have an impaired theory of mind

Concrete operational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Formal operational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the state of cognitive development during which children begin to think logically about abstract concepts, think of hypothetical propositions and deduce consequences

Preconventional morality

According to Kohlberg, moral compass focusing on self-interest; obeying rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete awards. Kohlberg believed children under age 9 often exhibit this mindset

Conventional morality

According to Kohlberg, moral compass that focuses on upholding laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order. Kohlberg believed young adolescents often exhibit this mindset.

Postconventional morality

According to Kohlberg, moral compass that is created by self-defined ethical principles, varying from experience, culture, etc; values could conflict with the law

Linguistic Relativity

The idea that language influences thought but does not limit it completely. For example, speakers of languages that have multiple words for "snow" (e.g., Inuit languages) may perceive and categorize different types of snow more precisely than speakers of languages with only one word for snow.

Secure attachment style

A healthy bond where individuals (children or adults) feel safe, valued, and confident in relationships, stemming from responsive caregiving, leading to comfort with intimacy, independence, good self-esteem, trust, and effective emotion regulation, making them resilient and able to form stable, satisfying connections (e.g. a child is distressed when caregiver leaves, and is comforted easily on return)

Avoidant attachment style

An insecure relationship pattern where individuals fear intimacy, value extreme independence, and struggle to rely on or be vulnerable with others, often stemming from childhood experiences with neglectful or unresponsive caregivers who taught them to self-soothe and suppress emotional needs. This leads to emotional distance, difficulty trusting, and a tendency to withdraw when relationships get too close, despite potentially wanting connection. (e.g. child feels little distress at separation, and avoids/ignores caregiver at reunion

Ambivalent Attachment Style

An insecure attachment style from inconsistent caregiving, making people crave closeness but fear abandonment, leading to anxiety, clinginess, difficulty trusting, and mixed signals like seeking comfort then resisting it in relationships, stemming from unpredictable love in childhood (e.g. child feels very distressed when caregiver leaves, seeks caregiver but resists comfort)

Disorganized Attachment Style

An insecure bond where a child sees their caregiver as both a source of comfort and fear, leading to contradictory behaviors like approaching then freezing or fleeing, because the caregiver is frightening, abusive, or highly inconsistent. This "fear without solution" results from trauma or erratic parenting, creating an internal conflict where the child is drawn to the caregiver but terrified of them, impacting their ability to form healthy relationships later in life by blending anxious closeness with avoidant distance. (e.g. Children exhibit no consistent pattern of behavior; exhibits freezing, confusion, or fear toward caregiver)

Fetus psychology

Studies the developing fetus from around 9 weeks until birth, focusing on its cognitive, sensory, and emotional growth within the womb, including early learning (like habituation to sounds), responsiveness to stimuli (touch, sound, light), and how maternal factors (stress, diet) shape its brain and overall development, revealing the "secret world" of prenatal experience and the foundations of later behavior.

Teratogen

Any agent (drug, chemical, infection, environmental factor) that can cause abnormal development, leading to birth defects or disruptions in fetal growth, especially impacting the brain and physical structures

Language

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

Phoneme

In a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word

Grammar

In a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. In a given language, semantics is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

Receptive Language

The ability to understand and process language we hear, read, or see through gestures, including words, sentences, questions, and nonverbal cues, acting as the "input" side of communication. It's crucial for following directions, comprehending stories, learning new concepts, etc

Productive Language

The ability to actively produce language through speaking and writing, creating novel, grammatically correct, and contextually appropriate messages

Babbling stage

Beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

One Word Stage

The stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Two Word Stage

Beginning at about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two word sentences usually in telegraphic speech

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram (e.g. “go car”) using mostly nouns and verbs; often follows rules of syntax/words in sensible order

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner; helps us identify what babies see and remember

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy alcohol consumption. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal face features. It also has higher risk of lower intelligence and behavioral problems.

Infantile amnesia

Inability to recall episodic memories from early childhood usually before age 2-4

Aphasia

Impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding of language)

Broca’s area

Controls language expression—an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movement involved in speech; people with damage to this area can comprehend language but cannot produce their own

Wernicke’s area

Controls language reception—a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression. Located in temporal lobe. People with damage to this area can produce their own language but cannot comprehend language around them/the language they produce may not be cohesive to others

linguist determinism

Benjamin Lee Whorf’s hypothesis stating that language determines the way we think, meaning people can only think in ways allowed by their language

Noam Chomsky

linguist who designed the innateness hypothesis, stating that humans are born with a language acquisition device for rapid language learning

Stranger anxiety

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age. Children this age have schemas for familiar faces; when they cannot assimilate a new face into remembered schemas, they become distressed

Attachment

An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Critical period

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

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period

Temperament

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity; it is genetically-influenced

Basic trust

According to Erik Erickson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers. Can be influenced by experiences and parenting style

self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Authoritarian style

Parenting style in which parents impose strict rules and expect obedience without question

Permissive style

Parenting style in which parents submit to their children’s desires. They make few demands and use little punishment.

Authoritative style

Parenting style in which parents are both demanding and responsive to the child’s emotions. They set and enforce rules, but also explain reasons for rules and allow exceptions

Raised rats either alone in an environment without playthings, or with other rats in an environment enriched with differing playthings. Rats in the enriched environment developed significantly more cerebral cortex volume and had heavier brain weights than did those in the impoverished environment. Found that environment influences brain development.

Explain Mark Rosenzweig’s rat experiment and what it found

Ecological Systems Theory

Made by Urie Brofenbrenner, explains how social development is influenced by multiple interconnected layers of the environment (e.g. microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, etc)

Microsystem

According to the Ecological Systems Theory, describes influences of direct environments like family, peers, and school, where immediate social interactions occur

Mesosystem

According to the Ecological Systems Theory, influences from interactions between different microsystems (e.g. relationship between parents and school)

Exosystem

According to the Ecological Systems Theory, describes indirect influences (e.g. parent’s workplace)

Macrosystem

According to the Ecological Systems Theory, describes the influences of broader societal and cultural contexts, like laws and societal values

Chronosystem

According to the Ecological Systems Theory, describes the influence of time and life transitions on development

Identity

Our sense of self; according to Erickson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Social identity

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “who am I?” that comes from our group memberships

Intimacy

In Erickson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adolescence

Emerging adulthood

For some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independent/responsive adulthood

Jean Piaget

Developmental psychologist who theorized that children progress through four universal, age-related stages—Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational—each marked by distinct ways of thinking, reasoning, and understanding the world, building upon prior stages through processes like schema formation, assimilation, and accommodation, to develop increasingly complex mental structures and logical abilities. 

Piaget focused on individual discovery through universal stages, seeing thought driving language, while Vygotsky emphasized social & cultural interaction, viewing language as key to thought development within a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) via scaffolding. Piaget's cognitive constructivism sees children as lone explorers; Vygotsky's social constructivism sees them as social learners, guided by More Knowledgeable Others (MKO)

Piaget vs Vygotsky’s theory of development

Scaffolding

The process of temporary instructional support (like hints, models, or breaking down tasks) provided by a teacher or peer to help a learner master a skill within their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)—the gap between what they can do alone and what they can achieve with guidance. The goal is to gradually remove the support (fading) as the learner gains competence, fostering independent learning and critical thinking. 

Lev Vygotsky

A developmental psychologist who emphasized the role of social interaction in learning.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Coined by Lev Vygotsky, the crucial gap between what a learner can do alone (current ability) and what they can achieve with guidance from a "More Knowledgeable Other" (MKO)—a teacher, parent, or peer—representing their potential development. It's the sweet spot for learning, where tasks are challenging but achievable with support (scaffolding), fostering new skills and autonomy as learners move towards mastery

Universal Grammar

Noam Chomsky's theory that humans are born with an innate ability to understand the structure of language.

Harlow’s Monkey Experiment

A study that demonstrated the importance of physical contact and comfort in attachment using baby monkeys and surrogate mothers. Discovered this when separated infant monkeys would show attachment behaviours towards a cloth-covered surrogate mother when frightened, rather than a food-dispensing surrogate mother

Strange Situation

Mary Ainsworth’s experimental procedure to assess attachment styles in infants by observing their reactions to separations and reunions with their caregiver.

Social Clock

The culturally preferred timing of major life events, such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.

Death Deferral Theory

 The hypothesis that people may unconsciously postpone dying until after a significant event or milestone has passed (applies mainly to older people)

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

A theory outlining eight stages of psychosocial challenges individuals face across the lifespan (e.g., trust vs. mistrust, identity vs. role confusion).

Theory of Moral Reasoning

Theory made by Lawrence Kohlberg proposing that individuals progress through six sequential stages of moral development, organized into three levels (Preconventional, Conventional, Postconventional), focusing on how people justify right and wrong, especially when faced with moral dilemmas like the famous "Heinz Dilemma". His theory highlights that moral thinking shifts from external rules (punishment/reward) to societal laws and, ultimately, to internalized, universal ethical principles like justice and human rights, though not everyone reaches the highest stages