Psychology Exam 2-Vocab and Concepts

developmental psychology

Studying/examining physical, cognitive, and social development across life span

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

Teratogens

Agents that damage the process of development, such as drugs and viruses

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions

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.

Maturation

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

critical period

an optimal period shortly after birth (early in life) when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Cognition

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

Zygote

fertilized egg

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

asssimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) 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

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Egocentrism

the inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.

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

the stage at which people develop the ability to think abstractly/logically-normally around age 12

Scaffold

a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

attachment

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

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

temperament

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Basic Trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

authoritarian parenting

coercive; impose rules and expect obedience

permissive parenting

unrestraining; make few demands, set few limits, and use little punishment

negligent parenting

parents are uninvolved. They are neither demanding nor responsive. They are careless, inattentive, and do not seek a close relationship with their children.

authoritative parenting

both demanding and responsive

adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

puberty

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

identity

our sense of self; according to Erikson, 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

intamacy

the ability to form close, loving relationships

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 independence and responsible adulthood

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another at same point in time

longitudinal study

a study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

pereception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

signal detection theory

theory regarding how stimuli are detected under different conditions

subliminal

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Weber's Law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Wavelength

The distance between two corresponding parts of a wave

hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

Intensity

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude

Retina

Light sensitive layer of the eye; contains rods and cones

accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray;more sensitive to movement

Cones

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

Fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory

the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.

opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.

feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

parellel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously

Gestalt

an organized whole

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional

visual cliff

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

binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth

monocular cues

depth cues available to either eye alone

phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

audition

the sense or act of hearing

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

pitch

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency

middle ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

inner ear

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

sensorineural hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

Conduction Hearing Loss (Middle Ear)

less common form of hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

cochlear implant

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

frequency theory

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

gate-control theory

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain.

hypnosis

a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Dissociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

posthypnotic suggestion

a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Olfaction

sense of smell

kinesthesia [kin-ehs-THEE-zhuh]

our movement sense—our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body arts.

vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

sensory interaction

the principle that one sense may influence another

embodied cognition

the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements