developmental psych terms 

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Developmental PsychologyA branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, social change throughout a lifespan.Prenatal
ZygoteThe fertilized egg; enters rapid cell development for two weeks and develops into an embryo.Prenatal
EmbryoThe developing human organism from about two weeks after fertilization up to two months.Prenatal
FetusThe developing human organism from nine weeks up to birth.Prenatal
TeratogensAgents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.Prenatal
Fetal Alcohol SyndromePhysical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In serious cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.Prenatal
HabituationDecreasing responsiveness after repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away soonerPrenatal
MaturationBiological growth process that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.Prenatal
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CognitionThe mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.Cognitive Development
SchemaA concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.Cognitive Development
AssimilationInterpreting our experiences in terms of existing schemas.Cognitive Development
Accommodation(1)The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus on near or far objects on the retina. (2)Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.Cognitive Development
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Preconventional MoralityMoral Development
Conventional MoralityMoral Development
Postconventional MoralityMoral development
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Sensorimotor StageIn Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) age at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.Cognitive Development
Object PermanenceThe awareness that thing continue to exist even when not perceived.Cognitive Development
EgocentrismIn Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty in taking another person’s point of view.Cognitive Development
Pre-operational StageIn Piaget’s theory, (the stage between age 2 to about 6 or 7) during which a child uses language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.Cognitive Development
ConservationThe principle (which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.Cognitive Development
Theory of MindPeople’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and behaviors they might predict.Cognitive Development
Concrete Operational StageIn Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about age 6 or 7 up to age 11) during which children gain the mental operations that allow them to think logically about concrete eventsCognitive Development
Formal Operational StageIn Piaget’s theory the stage of cognitive development (normally starts at age 12) where people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.Cognitive Development
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AttachmentAn emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress when separated.
Critical PeriodAn optimal period just after birth, when an organisms exposure to certain stimuli or experiences will ensure proper development.
ImprintingA process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period in very early life.
Self-conceptAll our thoughts and feelings of ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
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