Untitled Flashcards Set

Prenatal and Infant Development

• Zygotes: A fertilized egg, representing the first stage of human development, which undergoes rapid cell division.

• Embryo: The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization to the end of the eighth week.

• Fetus: The developing human from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

• Teratogens: Harmful agents, such as chemicals or viruses, that can cause damage to the developing embryo or fetus.

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by heavy drinking during pregnancy.

• Habituation: Decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure, used to study infant cognition.

• Maturation: Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

• Critical Period: A specific time in development when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences is necessary for normal development.

• Motor Development: The progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities.

• Brain Maturation: The growth and development of the brain, allowing for increasingly complex behaviors and skills.

• Infantile Amnesia: The inability to recall memories from before about age 3 due to immature brain development.

Adolescence and Adulthood

• Adolescence: The transitional period between childhood and adulthood, characterized by physical and psychological changes.

• Puberty: The period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproduction.

• Menopause: The time in a woman’s life when menstrual cycles end, marking the cessation of reproductive capability.

Biological and Gender Development

• Biological Sex: The physical characteristics (e.g., chromosomes, hormones) that define male and female.

• Gender: The socially constructed roles and characteristics associated with being male, female, or nonbinary.

• Intersex: A condition in which an individual is born with atypical combinations of male and female physical characteristics.

• Aggression: Behavior intended to harm another, physically or verbally.

• Relational Aggression: Behavior intended to harm a person's relationships or social standing.

• Gender Role: A set of expected behaviors for males or females defined by society.

• Sexual Aggression: Any physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is intended to harm or dominate another.

• Gender Identity: A person’s sense of being male, female, or another gender.

• Social Learning Theory: The theory that gender roles are learned through reinforcement, punishment, and observation.

• Gender Typing: The acquisition of traditional male or female roles.

• Gender Schema: A framework for understanding gendered behavior and expectations.

• Transgender: Describing people whose gender identity differs from their biological sex.

Sexual and Reproductive Development

• X Chromosome: The sex chromosome found in both males and females; females have two, males have one.

• Y Chromosome: The sex chromosome found only in males, paired with an X chromosome from the mother.

• Testosterone: The most important male sex hormone, influencing male sex organ development and traits.

• Estrogen: A primary female sex hormone, important for reproductive system development and regulation.

• Primary Sex Characteristics: Body structures (e.g., ovaries, testes) that make reproduction possible.

• Secondary Sex Characteristics: Non-reproductive traits (e.g., breasts, body hair) that develop during puberty.

• Spermarche: The first ejaculation, marking the start of male reproductive capacity.

• Menarche: The first menstrual period, marking the start of female reproductive capacity.

• Sexuality: A person’s sexual orientation, preferences, and identity.

• Asexual: A lack of sexual attraction to others.

• External Stimuli: Visual or physical environmental cues that influence sexual arousal.

• Social Scripts: Societal norms and expectations about how to behave in certain sexual or romantic situations.

Cognitive Development

• Sexual Orientation: A person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to others.

• Trait & Brain Differences (Simon LeVay): Observed neural differences in brain regions linked to sexual orientation.

• Genetic & Prenatal Influences: Factors, such as genes and hormones during pregnancy, that may influence sexual orientation.

• Cognitions: Mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding.

• Schema: A mental framework for organizing and interpreting information.

• Assimilation: Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.

• Accommodation: Modifying existing schemas to include new information.

• Jean Piaget: A developmental psychologist who proposed stages of cognitive development.

• Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years, when infants know the world through sensory impressions and motor activities.

• Object Permanence: Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

• Preoperational Stage: Ages 2–7, characterized by symbolic thinking and egocentrism but lacking logical reasoning.

• Conservation: Understanding that properties like mass, volume, and number remain constant despite changes in form.

• Egocentrism: Difficulty taking another’s point of view, typical in the preoperational stage.

• Concrete Operational Stage: Ages 7–11, marked by logical thinking about concrete events and mastery of conservation.

• Formal Operational Stage: Ages 12 and up, when abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking develop.

• Lev Vygotsky: A developmental psychologist who emphasized the role of social interaction in learning.

• Scaffolding: Providing support for learning that is gradually removed as independence increases.

• Zone of Proximal Development: The range of tasks a child can perform with guidance but not yet independently.

• Theory of Mind: Understanding that others have their own thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.

• Lawrence Kohlberg & Moral Reasoning: A theorist who identified stages of moral reasoning.

• Preconventional Morality: Focus on self-interest and avoiding punishment.

• Conventional Morality: Upholding laws and social rules for approval or order.

• Postconventional Morality: Guided by self-defined ethical principles.

Language Development

1. Phoneme: The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

2. Morpheme: The smallest unit of meaning in a language, such as a word or a prefix.

3. Grammar: The set of rules that enables people to communicate, including syntax (sentence structure) and semantics (meaning).

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

5. Receptive Language: The ability to comprehend speech and understand language.

6. Productive Language: The ability to produce words and express oneself through language.

7. Babbling Stage: The stage in infancy, around 4 months, when babies spontaneously produce nonsensical, repetitive sounds.

8. One-Word Stage: The stage, around 12 months, when a child speaks mostly in single words.

9. Two-Word Stage: The stage, around 24 months, when a child starts combining two words to form simple sentences.

10. Telegraphic Speech: Early speech stage where a child uses mostly nouns and verbs in a grammatically simplistic way (e.g., "Want cookie").

11. Aphasia: A language impairment caused by brain damage, affecting speaking, understanding, or both.

12. Broca’s Area: A region in the frontal lobe of the brain responsible for speech production.

13. Wernicke’s Area: A region in the temporal lobe of the brain involved in language comprehension.

14. Linguistic Determinism: The hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

15. Linguistic Relativism: The idea that language influences thought but does not entirely determine it.

Social and Emotional Development

16. Ecological Systems Theory: Bronfenbrenner's theory emphasizing how different environmental systems interact to influence human development.

17. Stranger Anxiety: The fear of strangers that infants commonly display beginning around 8 months of age.

18. Harlow’s Monkey Experiment: A study that demonstrated the importance of physical contact and comfort in attachment using baby monkeys and surrogate mothers.

19. Attachment: A deep emotional bond that connects one person to another, especially between a child and caregiver.

20. Imprinting: A process in which certain animals form strong attachments during a critical early period.

21. Secure Attachment: A healthy attachment style where a child feels safe and confident exploring when the caregiver is present.

22. Insecure Attachment: An attachment style where a child shows anxiety or avoidance in their relationship with the caregiver.

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

24. Temperament: An individual's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity, which is thought to have a biological basis.

25. Basic Trust: Erik Erikson's idea that securely attached infants develop a sense of the world as predictable and trustworthy.

26. Self-Concept: A sense of one’s identity and personal worth, typically developing by age 12.

27. Parenting Styles:

    • Authoritarian: Strict rules, high expectations, and little warmth.

    • Permissive: Few demands or rules; highly nurturing.

    • Neglectful: Minimal involvement or responsiveness to a child’s needs.

    • Authoritative: High expectations balanced with warmth and responsiveness.

28. Mark Rosenzweig: A psychologist who studied the effects of experience on brain development, showing the importance of an enriched environment.

29. Enriched vs. Impoverished Environment: An enriched environment with stimulation promotes brain development, while an impoverished one hinders it.

30. Peer Influence: The impact that peers have on an individual’s attitudes, values, and behavior.

Identity and Adulthood

31. Identity: One’s sense of self, including personal values, beliefs, and goals.

32. Social Identity: The “we” aspect of self-concept derived from group memberships.

33. 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).

34. Intimacy: Erikson’s stage in early adulthood focused on forming close, meaningful relationships.

35. Emerging Adulthood: A period between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood characterized by exploration and instability.

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

37. Death Deferral Theory: The hypothesis that people may unconsciously postpone dying until a significant event or milestone has passed.