Development - Module 4

accommodation According to Piaget, the creation of new cognitive structures to house new information.
adolescent egocentrism Adolescents' perception that others are focused on them, their feelings, and their actions.
Alzheimer's disease A disease marked by the gradual onset of impairment in cognitive functions of memory, reasoning, and judgment.
animism Preschooler beliefs that stuffed toys and other inanimate objects have feelings.
anxious-preoccupied attachments In attachment theory, an attachment style of adults which maps onto the insecure-resistant attachment style of infants and is characterized by a constant need for intimacy, closeness, and reassurance in intimate relationships.
assent In research ethics, the ability of children to indicate their willingness to participate in research.
assimilation According to Piaget, the incorporation of new information into existing cognitive structures.
attachment The patterned behavior and emotional bond one forms with primary caregivers in infancy, which is associated with later behavior in adult romantic relationships.
blastocyst During prenatal development, the hollowed-out ball of cells that implants into the uterine wall, ultimately to become the developing organism and its support system.
cephalocaudal principle of development The principle indicating that development occurs from the head to the tail, or from the top down, during prenatal development.
concrete operational period The third stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, lasting from ages 7 to 11, marked by increased cognitive ability in reasoning about concrete events.
conventional morality In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the second stage of morality in which a child places value on social conventions, social order, and being viewed as "good" or "bad" by others.
dementia Deterioration of brain function affecting cognitive processes such as memory, language and judgment, and includes a range of diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body disease, and Parkinson's disease.
development Growth and change over time, including changes that are progressive (e.g., learning to walk or talk) and regressive (e.g., declines in cognitive functioning with age).
disequilibration According to Piaget, states in which cognitive structures do not agree with external realities.
dismissive-avoidant attachments In attachment theory, an attachment style of adults which maps onto the avoidant attachment style of infants and is characterized by a strong need for independence and disinterest in close emotional relationships.
disorganized attachment In attachment theory, an attachment style of infants characterized by fear and dissociation in wanting to both approach and avoid an attachment figure; may be born out of parent abuse.
dizygotic twins Also known as "fraternal" twins or non-identical twins. In relatively rare cases a woman's ovaries will release more than one egg at a time. Dizygotic twins occur when two eggs are each fertilized by separate sperm cells. The level of shared genetics is approximately 50% and is similar to any siblings born apart from the same parents.
ectopic pregnancy A pregnancy that results from the implantation of the blastocyst into one of the fallopian tubes instead of the uterine wall.
egocentrism Difficulty of children in adopting the perspective of another individual, as seen in children aged 2 to 7 in Piaget's developmental model.
emerging adulthood A period of development ranging from the late teens to the mid-20s marked by identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and exploring possibilities for one’s life.
equilibration According to Piaget, states in which cognitive structures agree with external realities.
fearful-avoidant attachment In attachment theory, an attachment style of adults which, like the dismissive-avoidant attachment style, maps onto the avoidant style of infants and is characterized by a desire for intimacy contradicted by hyperawareness of potential pain associated with close relationships.
formal operational period The fourth stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, starting at approximately age 12 (although some individuals never reach this level of cognitive functioning). This stage is marked by the ability to think abstractly and consider hypothetical situations.
Heinz dilemma In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, a vignette (short story) presenting a moral dilemma to assess moral reasoning.
insecure-avoidant attachment In attachment theory, an attachment style of infants characterized by avoidance of a primary caregiver upon reunion after separation; may be born of out parental disengagement with the infant.
insecure-resistant attachment In attachment theory, an attachment style of infants characterized by being clingy after the parent returns; may be born out of inconsistent parental responsiveness.
mental representation In Piaget's final substage of sensorimotor development (from 18 to 24 months), infants remember and re-enact situations and events that happened previously without any ongoing perceptual supports.
monozygotic twins Also known as "identical" twins, monozygotic twins have 100% shared genetics. During conception, one egg was fertilized by one sperm and then splits into two separate cells with identical DNA.
novelty preference The preference of infants in looking longer at new information in the environment, as compared to old information.
object permanence An understanding that objects and individuals continue to exist even if they cannot be seen, a development that occurs around 9 months of age.
period of the embryo During prenatal development, the time from when the blastocyst implants into the uterine lining to approximately 8 weeks after conception; the time during prenatal development when teratogens are most impactful.
period of the fetus From 9 weeks after conception to birth, classified as a period of growth and minor refinements.
period of the zygote During prenatal development, the time from conception until approximately 2 weeks later, when the blastocyst implants into the uterine lining; a period of prenatal development mostly driven by genetic factors.
post-conventional morality In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the final stage of morality in which someone bases moral decisions on abstract principles instead of societal expectations or the judgment of others.
pre-conventional morality In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the first stage of morality in which children think of morality in terms of punishments and rewards.
preoperational period The second stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, lasting from ages 2 to 7. This stage is marked by a child's increasing ability to use symbols and engage in logical thinking.
primary circular reactions In Piaget's second substage of sensorimotor development (from 1 to 4 months), infants learn about the world be repeatedly engaging in actions on their own bodies.
proximodistal principle of development During gestation, development proceeds from the internal organs outward towards the extremities.
recall memory The ability to recount specific episodes or events from the past.
scaffold Cognitive support offered by a teacher to a learner to assist the learner to acquire new skills or knowledge. Such support is withdrawn when the learner can perform the skill on his/her own.
secondary circular reactions In Piaget's third substage of sensorimotor development (from 4 to 8 months), infants learn about the world be repeatedly engaging in actions outside their own bodies.
secure attachment In attachment theory, an attachment style of infants and adults characterized by emotional closeness and a healthy level of independence and exploration.
sensorimotor period The first stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, lasting from birth to age 2. This stage is marked by learning that occurs through a child’s sensory and motor interactions with the physical environment.
social clock Cultural norms and societal expectations about the timing of key life events such as marriage, having children and retiring.
socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) A theory on aging which specifies that one's perception of time impacts selection and pursuit of goals, with younger adults favoring information-related goals and older adults favoring emotion-related goals tied to well-being and relationships.
symbolic thinking The ability to use symbols (e.g., language) to stand for other things (e.g., complex feelings, ideas).
teratogens Environmental substances or agents that negatively impact the developing organism during gestation, particularly during the period of the embryo.
tertiary circular reactions In Piaget's fifth substage of sensorimotor development (from 12 to 18 months), infants learn about the world through their activities as "little scientists" -- they actively explore the world using different combinations of items to see how these changes affect their observed outcomes.
theory of mind An ability that emerges around age 4, which allows people to understand that others have feelings, thoughts, and desires that differ from one's own.
zone of proximal development In Vygotsky's theory of learning, the distance between what a child can accomplish on his/her own and what he/she can accomplish with some assistance
active open-mindedness The thinking disposition in which one sensitizes oneself to look for and be more aware of bias in one’s thinking and reasoning, and one cultivates habits of counteracting those biases. (see rationality)
adaptation According to Binet and Simon, this is one of the three basic abilities of intelligence. It is the ability for creating strategies for solving problems and monitoring the progress of those strategies.
analytic intelligence Sternberg’s phrase for the kind of intelligence that is used in standard IQ tests such a mathematic reasoning.
choice reaction time A method proposed by Jensen for measuring intelligence by indirectly measuring nerve conductance speed by directly measuring processing speed.
chronological age This is the number of years someone has lived since their birth.
cognitive flexibility The ability to change how one is formulating a problem and to redirect one’s attention accordingly. It often involves breaking out of standard and/or automatic forms of behavior.
cognitive revolution This was a period in time during the 1950s when psychology underwent a significant revision in its definition as a field and in terms of its methods and practices due to the influence of individuals such as Norm Chomsky and Jerome Bruner. It signaled the eclipse of behaviorism as the dominant paradigm for psychology. Instead, psychologists came to emphasize the meaning of stimuli and the internal processing of that meaning in order to explain behavior.
componential analysis Studying intelligence by determining how complex problems are solved by breaking the complex problems down into their simpler component problems.
creative intelligence This is Sternberg’s phrase for the ability to solve problems in novel situations often by demonstrating cognitive flexibility (see cognitive flexibility.)
criticism According to Binet and Simon, this is one of the three basic abilities of intelligence. It is the ability to reflect on your problem-solving behavior and find errors and mistakes.
crystallized intelligence The ability to solve problems and reason about situations because of knowledge that one already possesses. Your ability to read this sentence is due to your knowledge of literacy.
deviation IQ Weschler’s solution to the problem of Terman’s method of measuring intelligence (see IQ) that one’s IQ goes down with age. Weschler replaced comparing mental age and chronological age with comparing one’s performance to the average score on a test for a large number of people. How one’s score deviated from this average score was used to calculate one’s IQ.
direction According to Binet and Simon, this is one of the three basic abilities of intelligence. It is the ability to know what to do and how to do it.
domain-general vs. domain-specific A process or function is domain-general if it can be reliably and effectively applied in a wide variety of domains while a process or function is domain-specific if it is limited in the number or type of domains in which it can be applied successfully.
eduction The process of drawing out or extracting. In the context of studying intelligence, Spearman used it to refer to the ability to make explicit what is implicit and to elucidate was previously unclear.
encoding of information How information is represented so that it can be processed by the functions found within an information processing system.
eugenics A philosophical argument that seeks to improve human society by encouraging reproduction by people with ‘desirable’ qualities (positive eugenics) and discouraging reproduction by people with ‘undesirable’ qualities (negative eugenics).
fluid intelligence This is your ability to think and solve problems in complex and novel situations in a flexible manner without relying primarily on knowledge you already possess.
Flynn effect The finding by Flynn that on average IQ scores were rising even on tests which are supposed to be immune to cultural influences. The result is controversial since it implies that on average, most people several generations back were quite unintelligent.
inspection time A method proposed by Nettelbeck and Lalley for measuring intelligence by measuring the processing speed of human beings.
intelligence The capacity to be a general problem solver and to solve a wide variety of problems in a wide variety of domains through pattern recognition, analogous transfer, and reasoning.
IQ Intelligence Quotient. A standardized measure of one’s intelligence developed by Terman. It is one’s mental age divided by one’s chronological age multiplied by 100, and creates a standardized measure of one’s intelligence so that comparison between individuals is clearer. It is used in the Stanford-Binet test for intelligence. It suffers from the problem that as one ages, one’s IQ score will go down even though it is implausible that one is initially becoming less intelligent with age.
mental age According to Binet and Simon, one’s mental age indicates the average age of children who can solve the set of problems that a particular child is capable of solving.
mindfulness Paying attention to how one is paying attention to and thereby interpreting situations. It often requires a suspension of inner speech and inferential processing so that attention can be directed to what one is finding salient in one’s current experience. It can be trained by meditative and contemplative practices.
mindset A mental structure of representations, attitudes, and interpretations that affects how one evaluates information and thereby responds to situations.
multiple intelligences Gardner’s theory that there are many intelligences that apply to specific domains of human behavior. Gardner claims that this is reflected in those domains for which we can find prodigies.
practical intelligence This is Sternberg’s phrase for one’s ability to solve problems in real-world situations.
rationality The ability to overcome self-deception in one’s reasoning and problem-solving. It is not simply the same as being logical. It involves being able to recognize and counteract the effect of bias on one’s cognition. (See active open-mindedness.)
reverse engineering A methodological strategy in cognitive science that integrates psychology and computer science in order to explain human behavior. The strategy involves creating a computer program that is capable of reproducing a particular pattern of behavior found in human beings, and then one uses the functions and processes within that program as hypotheses for explaining the human behavior.
selection effects The skewing of data so that it does not represent the world accurately. Selection effects are often due to biased selection of data.
self-enhancement bias The tendency to judge one’s performance as better than the average without any evidence of special expertise or training.
social Darwinism A misapplication of Darwin’s theory of biological evolution to the supposed explanation of the evolution of culture. It was often expressed by the idea of “the survival of the fittest” in which those on the top of a social hierarchy deserved to be there because they were the most fit while those at the bottom deserved to be there because they were less fit. This is a confusion of moral argument with the scientific explanation that was often used in conjunction with eugenics (see eugenics) for immoral ends.
stereotype threat Refers to the risk of confirming negative expectations about one's own social group.
successful intelligence This is Sternberg’s phrase for the optimal coordination of analytic, creative, and practical intelligence to be successful at achieving one’s goals. (See analytic intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence.)
Wisdom Paradox This is Goldberg’s name for the fact that we seem to get wiser with age even though our intelligence goes down with age. This is probably due to the fact that intelligence is a fixed trait, while rationality and skill are abilities that can be increased with training and practice
16PF A trait-based personality measure that was developed from a list of personality traits; using factor analysis, a number of personality factors were found. The final measure of the 16PF is composed of items measuring 16 different personality characteristics/traits.
actual self According to Rogers, the actual self is the form of self that a person is currently at.
archetypes All universal knowledge is stored in the collective unconscious by a variety of thought patterns and behavior rituals that persist over time. Jung proposed three of these archetypes were the persona (patterns of behavior used in social settings), the shadow (darker, more primitive side to personality), and the self, which is considered most important because it unites all aspects of one's personality.
basic anxiety According to Horney, those who don't feel love, feel unsafe and feel powerless in their relationships develop feelings of anxiety.
basic hostility According to Horney, people feel anger and hostility when in insecure relationships, particularly when one's significant other makes no effort to forge a secure environment.
behavioral observation Recording behaviors as they occur while remaining as unobtrusive as possible.
biological perspective The perspective on personality assumes personality characteristics are a function of various biological factors, including behavioral genetics, the neurological perspective, and an evolutionary perspective.
collective unconscious According to Jung, the unconscious mind is interconnected with the experiences of past generations of different people throughout the world. As evidence of this, Jung pointed to universal knowledge and tendencies that people share and shared concepts that he identified as archetypes.
concordance rate The degree to which a characteristic, trait, or disease that occurs in one twin similarly occurs in the second twin.
conditional positive regard When love and acceptance of a person is contingent upon their actions and behaviors.
conscious mind All mental activities that a person is aware of and able to freely access.
consistency How an individual behaves over time in similar situations.
defense mechanisms Ways to avert the expression of id impulses without conscious awareness.
delay of gratification The ability to resist the temptation for something desirable that is immediately available in favor of waiting for something more desirable but required waiting some span of time (that may vary). Delayed gratification is also referred to as willpower.
dizygotic twins Also known as "fraternal" twins or non-identical twins. In relatively rare cases a woman's ovaries will release more than one egg at a time. Dizygotic twins occur when two eggs are each fertilized by separate sperm cells. The level of shared genetics is approximately 50% and is similar to any siblings born apart from the same parents.
ego The component of personality that mediates between the id and superego and ultimately decides the course of action.
electrophysiological measures Inferences about personality that are linked to bodily processes, such as heart rate, respiration, and skin conduction (i.e., changes in sweat as measuring using galvanized skin response (GSR).
erogenous zone Area of the body associated with pleasure.
Eros Unconscious sexual impulses.
extraversion Extraverts tend to be socially oriented, outgoing, adventure-seeking, optimistic, and easygoing.
factor analysis A statistical technique that can determine the number of separate constructs being assessed in a given measurement instrument. With regard to personality measures, factor analysis is a statistical tool that analyzes responses on a survey given to a group of participants. Data analysis finds items with a shared variance that have high inter-item correlations. Data and clusters items with shared variance into separate "factors" and are named according to the content of the items.
Five-Factor Model (Big 5) A measure that identified five distinct components of personality often referred to as "the Big 5," and consist of the following factors: openness; conscientiousness; extraversion/sociable; agreeableness; and neuroticism.
fixation According to Freud, if one did not successfully navigate a psychosexual stage, he or she would become stuck at that stage, which would subsequently affect one's personality development and behavior in adulthood.
fixed-format tests Objective measures that require test takers to select a response from one of those provided.
free association A technique of psychoanalysis in which a client is encouraged to freely share thoughts, words, and anything else that comes to mind in order to gain insight into their unconscious thoughts, behaviors, and motivations.
id The area of the mind that is unconscious and is driven by sexual and aggressive impulses.
ideal self According to Rogers, the ideal self is the form of self that a person strives to become.
introversion Introverts have a tendency to avoid social situations, enjoy time alone, have a calm and quiet demeanor, turn their thoughts inward, and prefer quiet time. Introverts report feeling physically and mentally drained from social gatherings.
latent content Psychoanalysts believe that the content and associations from dreams are expressions from the unconscious mind and is a reflection of one's true feelings, needs, and desires.
learned helplessness After repeated attempts to avoid an unpleasant outcome fail, a person or animal may give up and stop trying even though future success would be possible.
Locus of control (LOC) A personality construct that represents the degree to which individuals believe that they are in control of their outcomes and experiences.
manifest content In dream analysis, the actual content of the dream, without any interpretation, is the manifest content. Dreamers report the detail of their dreams as they recall it.
Maslow's Need Hierarchy A theory to explain motivation as a series of five human needs and the fulfillment of those needs. The lowest levels of needs are considered basic needs, which are physiological needs followed by safety needs. Once both these needs are met, Maslow proposed the individual can then seek higher order needs, beginning with belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and finally self-actualization.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) An objective personality measure that assesses both personality traits and the presence of mental illness. The MMPI is in its second version and is the most widely used objective personality measures used by trained psychologists.
monozygotic twins Also known as "identical" twins, monozygotic twins have 100% shared genetics. During conception, one egg was fertilized by one sperm and then splits into two separate cells with identical DNA.
moral anxiety A form of anxiety that serves to notify the superego that the ego is considering violation one's moral code.
moving against people Horney's third strategy of reducing anxiety involves emotionally harming others (with words and behaviors) to avoid others hurting you.
moving away from people Horney proposed that another strategy to reduce anxiety is to emotionally withdraw and use behavior avoidance to protect oneself from getting hurt.
moving toward people Horney identified three means of reducing anxiety and establishing feelings of security. One such strategy, moving toward people, involves speaking and behaving in ways with the goal of attracting others to care about you and try to find someone who will take care of you.
neurological perspective The neurological perspective examines the extent to which various physiological factors (i.e., hormones and neurotransmitters) and brain activity (i.e., arousal and inhibition) determine the expression of personality characteristics.
neurotic anxiety A form of anxiety that warns the ego of threatening expressions of id impulses at a level of conscious awareness.
neuroticism The tendency to be touchy, restless, moody, and anxious.
personality An enduring set of internally-based characteristics that create uniqueness and consistency in a person's thoughts and behaviors.
pleasure principle The driving force of the id, where the focus is on the fulfillment of all sexual urges and aggressive impulses.
preconscious mind A level of consciousness that is not in the forefront of one's thoughts; however, information can be retrieved and brought to conscious awareness.
projective techniques Projective tests are psychoanalytically based on Freud's belief in the unconscious. The ambiguous stimuli may be an inkblot (Rorschach Inkblot test) or a drawing of an ambiguous situation (TAT). There are no correct answers, and reliability estimates of projective techniques are low (which means that there is no validity). When responding to an inkblot, a participant may give an elaborate answer; however, different clinicians often come to very different conclusions about responses because scoring is vague and highly subjective.
psychodynamic perspective The Freudian notion that personality is a function of internal processes and conflicts over which individuals have little or no conscious awareness or personal control.
psychometrician An individual who has expertise in test and measures and who understands the various measures of reliability and validity.
psychoticism The tendency to be impulsive, cold, aggressive, unconcerned with the rights of others, and have antisocial characteristics.
reality anxiety A form of anxiety that serves as a warning sign for real danger.
reality principle The world in which the ego operates where impulses from the unconscious and id are rejected in their natural form and are expressed in socially acceptable ways.
regression A defense mechanism where an individual reverts to an earlier stage of psychosexual development in times of stress.
reliability The consistency of a measure. There are several types of reliability, including interrater reliability, test-retest reliability. Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity.
repression A common defense mechanism where the ego removes the threatening stimulus from conscious awareness.
self-monitoring techniques A person keeps track of the occurrence of a behavior of interest by recording the frequency with which they engage in that behavior.
serotonin A neurotransmitter associated with mood, anxiety, appetite and digestion, sleeping, and other functions. Levels of serotonin have also been linked to a willingness to engage in thrill-seeking behaviors, which is considered a personality trait.
social security A concept of Karen Horney, where we need to be loved and connected to others.
striving for superiority Adler proposed that at a conscious level, individuals are motivated by efforts to achieve excellence and improvements over for our past selves and to act in ways to benefit social interest.
superego One's moral compass of what is right and what is wrong; this is learned from parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc.
testosterone A male sex hormone associated with dominance, aggression, and persistence.
Thanatos Death impulse manifested as unrestrained aggression.
thought sampling technique Individuals write down the nature and frequency of the thoughts they have in certain situations.
Three-Factor Theory A theory of personality that consists of three trait dimensions: extraversion/introversion, neuroticism/emotional stability, and psychoticism/impulse control. Each trait dimension has associated personality characteristics and specific biological components.
traits Internally-based characteristics that make up one's personality.
twin studies Studies on twins that allow researchers to determined the proportion that a characteristic or behavior that is due to nature and or nurture.
unconditional positive regard Unconditional positive regard is based on the inherent goodness of people and the need for unwavering love and acceptance from others. Rogers proposed that the role of a humanistic psychologist is to listen without scrutiny and to provide acceptance and kindness irrespective of a person's behaviors or feelings.
unconscious mind The largest and most influential part of the mind, according to Freud; houses any thoughts or impulses that are considered too threatening to be in one's conscious mind.
uniqueness Personality traits are specific to each person. Even among monozygotic twins, each twin has unique personality traits.
validity The accuracy of a measure.