AP PSYCH UNIT 3

UNIT 3

Jean Piaget

studied childrens developing Cognition, all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Sensorimotor Stage

Piagets first stage, from birth-2 years old, when infants learn about the world through sensory experiences and motor actions

Preoperational Stage

Piaget's 2nd stage, stage 2-7 years old, where children develop language, symbolic thinking, and imagination but struggle with logical reasoning and understanding others perspectives

Concrete Operational Stage

Piagets 3rd stage, ages 7-11 where children develop logical thinking about concrete objects and understand concepts like conservation and reversibility

Formal Operational Stage

Piagets final stage, beginning at age 12, where individuals develop the ability to think abstractly, solve hypothetical problems, and use deductive reasoning

Lev Vygotsky

developmental psychologist known for his theory that social interaction plays a role in cognitive development, emphasizing the importance of culture, language, and the “zoom of proximal development” in learning

Prenatal Development

the process of growth and development within the womb, starting from conception and continuing until birth

Teratogens

harmful substances that can cause developmental abnormalities or birth defects when a fetus is exposed to them during prenatal development

Reflexes

automatic instinctive responces that newborns are born with, aiding in their survival

Rooting Reflex

automatic repsonce in newborns where they turn their head toward a touch on the cheek, helping them locate a latch for the mothers breast

Fine Motor Coordination

the ability to control small muscle movements, enabling tasks like writing, buttoning, and using utensils

Gross Motor Coordination

the ability to control large muscle movements enabling tasks like walking, jumping, and throwing with balance

Primary Sex Characteristics

the reproductive organs and structures directly involved in reproduction, such as the ovaries, tests, and external genitalia

Secondary Sex Characteristics

physical traits that develop during puberty but are not involved in reproduction, like breast development, facial hair, etc

Menarche

a girls first menstrual period, marking the beginning of puberty and ability to reproduce

Spermarche

boys first production of sperm, marking the start of puberty and ability to reproduce

Ecological System Theory

a childs development if influenced by multiple layers of environment systems like the microsystem (immediate family), ecosystem (larger communitys like schools), and macrosystem (overarching cultural/societal norms)

Authoritarian Parenting Style

a strict parenting approach where parents enforce high expectations and rigid rules. They prioritize obedience and discipline, relying on punishment with limited warmth or responsiveness to the childs needs

Permissive Parenting Style

a relaxed approach to parenting where parents show warmth and responsiveness but have fewer rules and low expectations. They avoid enforcing strict rules, allowing children freedom

Authoritative Parenting Style

a balanced approach to parenting combining high expectations with warmth support. Parents enforce clear rules and encourage independence while being responsive and open to their children's opinions/need

Cooing

early stages of language development where infants produce repetitive, soft vowel sounds like “ooh” and “ahh,” usually starting around two months of age

Babbling Stage

phase in language development, usually starting around 4-6 months, where infants produce repetitive consonant vowel combinations like “ba-ba” &
da-da”

Neutral Stimuli

stimuli that produce no responce from a subject

Unconditioned Stimulus

a stimulus that naturally triggers a response, no teaching is needed

Unconditioned Responce

a natural responce that happens without any learning

Conditioned Stimulus

a previously neutral stimulus is paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus, triggering a learned responce

Pavlovs Dog Experience

dog and bell experiment for Classical Conditoning

BF Skinner

Operant Conditioning (pigeon trained to peck when it wanted food, and it was rewarded for doing so)

Classical Conditioning

training someones automatic and voluntary responses

Operant Conditioning

training someones behavior

Law of Effect

behaviors that lead to good outcomes should be repeated & behaviors that lead to bad outcomes should be avoided

Reinforcement

any consequences that increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again in the future

Primary Reinforcers

things we naturally like, such as food or water

Secondary Reinforcers

things we learn to like because they’re connected to primary Reinforcers or other things we like

Reinforcement Discrimination

the ability to distinguish between different stimuli and respond appropriately based on the presence or absence of reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement

presenting a desirable stimulus after a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior happening again in the future

Negative Reinforcement

removing an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior happening again in the future

Punishment

any consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again in the future

Positive Punishment

adding an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior happening again in the future

Negative Punishment

removing a desirable stimulus after a behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior happening again in the future

Shaping

gradually reinforcing behaviors that are closer and closer to the desired behavior, leading to the development of a complex behavior or skill

Fixed Interval

reinforcement is delivered after a fixed amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement, leading to a predictable pattern of behavior

Variable Interval

reinforcement is delivered after varying amounts of time have passed since the last reinforcement, leading to a steady but moderate rate of responding

Fixed Ratio

reinforcement is delivered after a fixed number of responces, leading to a high rate of responding with short pauses after each reinforcement

Variable Ratio

reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses, leading to a high and steady rate of responding with minimal pauses

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

theory proposing that human development is shaped by five interconnected environmental systems, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem

Microsystem

direct environment, including immediate relationships (family, school, peers, neighborhood)

Connections between microsystems, such as the relationship between a child's parents and their teachers or school

Exosystem

Macrosystem

Chronosystem

dimension of time, including environmental changes, life transitions, and historical events over a person's life (parents divorce, breakups, new school, etc)