Unit 6 Psychology

• Developmental Psychology: The branch of psychology that studies the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional changes across the lifespan, from conception to death.

• Conception: The process of fertilization, when a sperm cell from a male unites with an egg cell from a female to form a zygote, marking the start of pregnancy.

• Zygote: The fertilized egg cell that results from the union of sperm and egg; the first stage of prenatal development.

• Embryo: The stage of prenatal development from approximately 2 weeks to 8 weeks after conception, during which the organism’s major organs and structures begin to form.

• Fetus: The later stage of prenatal development, from 9 weeks after conception until birth, when the organism grows and develops more complex features.

• Prenatal: Refers to the period before birth, encompassing all stages of development from conception to delivery.

• Teratogens: Harmful agents or substances (like drugs, alcohol, or infections) that can interfere with prenatal development and cause birth defects.

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): A condition resulting from maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, leading to developmental delays, facial abnormalities, and cognitive deficits in the child.

• Habituation: The process by which an individual’s response to a repeated stimulus decreases over time as they become familiar with it.

• Infant Gaze: The way infants focus on and look at objects or people, often used in research to study visual attention and cognitive development.

Module 43: Maturation and Early Development

• Maturation: The biological process of development that unfolds in a fixed sequence, regardless of environmental influences, such as physical growth or changes in motor skills.

• Infantile Amnesia: The inability to recall memories from early childhood, usually occurring before the age of 3 or 4 years.

Module 44: Cognitive Development

• Schemas: Cognitive frameworks or mental structures that help us organize and interpret information about the world.

• Assimilate: The process of integrating new experiences into existing schemas without changing the schema.

• Accommodate: The process of modifying existing schemas or creating new ones to incorporate new information or experiences.

• Sensorimotor Stage: The first stage of Piaget’s cognitive development theory (from birth to about 2 years), where infants learn about the world through sensory experiences and motor actions.

• Object Permanence: The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not directly observed, a milestone in cognitive development during the sensorimotor stage.

• Preoperational Stage: The second stage of Piaget’s theory (from about 2 to 7 years), where children begin using language and symbols but lack logical thinking and struggle with perspective-taking (egocentrism).

• Conservation: The understanding that certain properties of objects (like mass, volume, or number) remain the same despite changes in their form or appearance, developing during the concrete operational stage.

• Egocentrism: The tendency of young children in the preoperational stage to view the world only from their own perspective, making it difficult to understand others’ viewpoints.

• Theory of Mind: The ability to understand that others have thoughts, feelings, and perspectives that differ from one’s own, typically developing around age 4 or 5.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A developmental disorder characterized by challenges with social interaction, communication, and restricted or repetitive behaviors and interests.

• Concrete Operational Stage: Piaget’s third stage of cognitive development (approximately ages 7-11), during which children develop logical thinking about concrete objects and understand conservation.

• Formal Operational Stage: Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development (beginning around age 12), during which individuals can think logically about abstract concepts, hypothetical situations, and problem-solving.

• Scaffold: Support and guidance provided by a more knowledgeable individual (e.g., teacher, caregiver) to help a learner accomplish tasks that are beyond their ability to do alone.

• Zone of Proximal Development: The range of tasks a learner can perform with help, but cannot accomplish independently, as proposed by Vygotsky.

Module 45: Attachment and Parenting

• Stranger Anxiety: The distress infants feel when encountering unfamiliar people, typically around 8 to 12 months.

• Attachment: A deep emotional bond that forms between a child and caregiver, influencing the child’s development and future relationships.

• Critical Period: A crucial window of time during development in which certain experiences or stimuli are necessary for normal development (e.g., language acquisition).

• Imprinting: A form of rapid learning, observed in some animals (like birds), where they form strong attachments to the first moving object they encounter, typically their caregiver.

• Secure Attachment: A healthy attachment style in which children feel safe to explore their environment, knowing that they can rely on their caregiver for comfort when needed.

• Insecure Attachment: An attachment style where children may feel anxious or avoidant, leading to less healthy emotional development.

• Temperament: The characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity and self-regulation that are present from birth and contribute to an individual's personality.

• Basic Trust: The belief that the world is generally trustworthy and reliable, developed in infancy through positive caregiver interactions (Erikson’s theory).

• Resilient: The ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, or stress.

• Self-Concept: The understanding of oneself, including one’s identity, abilities, and personal characteristics.

• Authoritarian: A parenting style characterized by strict rules and high demands, with low responsiveness or warmth.

• Permissive: A parenting style characterized by high warmth and responsiveness but few rules or demands.

• Authoritative: A parenting style characterized by high warmth, responsiveness, and reasonable expectations or rules, often linked with positive developmental outcomes.

Module 46: Gender and Social Development

• Gender: The social, cultural, and psychological characteristics associated with being male, female, or non-binary, which may differ from biological sex.

• Aggression: Behavior intended to cause harm or assert dominance over another individual.

• Gender Roles: The societal expectations about how males and females should behave, including roles, activities, and behaviors deemed appropriate for each gender.

• Role: A set of behaviors, responsibilities, and expectations associated with a particular social position, such as being a parent, friend, or student.

• Gender Identity: An individual’s personal sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

• Social Learning Theory: The theory that people learn behaviors (including gender roles) through observation, imitation, and reinforcement in their social environment.

• Gender Typing: The process by which children learn the behaviors, traits, and roles that society associates with their gender.

• Transgender: A term used to describe individuals whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Module 47: Selection Effect

• Selection Effect: A bias in research that occurs when participants or subjects are selected in such a way that it distorts the results, typically because of self-selection or pre-existing differences.