9 The Voyage Through The Lifespan Flashcards
A fertilized ovum (egg cell)
Zygote
A sac within the uterus that contains the embryo or fetus
Amniotic sack
A membrane that permits the exchange of nutrients and waste products between the mother and her developing child, but does not allow the maternal and fetal bloodstream to mix
Placenta
A tube between the mother and her developing child through which nutrients and waste products are conducted
Umbilical cord
A simple inborn response to a stimulus
Reflex
The turning of an infants head towards a touch, such as by the mother‘s nipple
Rooting
The amount of time spent looking at a visual stimulus
Fixation time
According to Piaget, the inclusion of a new event into an existing schema
Assimilation
According to Piaget, a hypothetical mental structure that permits the classification and organization of new information
Schema
According to Piaget, the modification of schema, so that information inconsistent with existing schema’s can be integrated or understood
Accommodation
Recognition that objects removed from sight still exist, as demonstrated in young children by continued pursuit
Object permanence
The first of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, characterized by coordination of sensory information and motor activity, early exploration of the environment, and a lack of language
Sensorimotor stage
The second of Piaget’s stages, characterized by illogical use of words and symbols, spotty logic, and egocentrism
Preoperational stage
According to Piaget, the assumption that others viewed the world as one does oneself
Egocentrism
According to Piaget, recognition that basic properties of some substance, such as weight and mass remain the same when superficial features change
Conservation
According to Piaget, the assignment of blame according to the amount of damage done rather than the motives of the actor
Objective responsibility
Piaget’s third stage, characterized by logic thought concerning tangible objects, conservation, and subjective morality
Concrete operational stage
Simultaneous focusing on more than one dimension of a problem, so that flexible, reversible thought becomes possible
Decentration
According to Piaget, moral judgment that is based on the motives of the perpetrator
Subjective moral judgment
Vygotsky’s term for the situation in which a child carries out tasks with the help of someone who is more skilled, frequently an adult who represents the culture in which the child develops
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Vygotsky’s term for temporary cognitive structures or methods of solving problems that help children learn to function independently
Scaffolding
The period from conception to implantation, embryo begins to receive nourishment from its mother
Germinal stage
Last from implantation until about the eighth week of development, the major body organ systems take form
Embryonic stage
Last from the beginning of the third month until birth, major organ systems, fingers, and toes have developed, fetus starts to move limbs and open and shut its eyes
Fetal stage
According to Kohlberg, evaluating importance of individual needs and personal conscience in regard to maintenance of social order
Preconventional level
According to Kohlberg, a period during which moral judgments rarely reflect social conventions; a “law and order” approach to morality
Conventional level
The enduring affectional tie that binds one person to another
Attachment
A hypothesized primary drive to seek physical comfort through contact with another
Contact comfort
A scientist who studies the characteristic behavior, patterns of species of animals
Ethnologist
A period of time when it instinctive response can be elicited by a particular stimulus
Critical period
A process occurring during a critical period in the development of an organism, in which that organism responds to a stimulus in a manner that will afterward be difficult to modify
Imprinting
Parent who are strict and warm; demand mature behavior that use reason rather than force in discipline
Authoritative parents
Parents who are rigid in their rules, and who demand obedience for the sake of obedience
Authoritarian parents
Parents who impose few, if any, rules and do not supervise their children closely
Permissive parents
Parents who generally leave their children to themselves
Uninvolved parents
The period of life bounded by puberty and the assumption of adult responsibilities
Adolescence
The period of physical development during which sexual reproduction first becomes possible
Puberty
Characteristics that distinguish females from males, such as distribution of body hair and depth of voice, but not directly involved in reproduction
Secondary sex characteristics
The beginning of menstruation
Menarche
Piaget’s fourth stage, characterized by abstract, logical thought and deduction from principles
Formal operational stage
An aspect of adolescent egocentrism; the belief that other people are as concerned with our thoughts and behaviors as we are
Imaginary audience
Another aspect of adolescent egocentrism; the belief that our feelings and ideas are special and unique, and that we are invulnerable
Personal fable
According to Kohlberg, a period during which moral judgments are deprived from moral principles and people look to themselves to set moral standards
Postconventional level
Erikson’s term for a firm sense of who one is and what one stands for
Ego identity
Erikson’s term for lack of clarity in one’s life roles (due to failure to develop ego identity)
Role diffusion
Period of development, roughly spending the ages of 18–25, during which time many young people in affluent nations, attend college and graduate school, sort out identity issues, and create life plans
Emerging adulthood
The cessation of menstruation
Menopause
One’s lifetime of intellectual achievement, as shown largely through vocabulary and knowledge of world affairs
Crystallized intelligence
Mental flexibility as shown in learning rapidly to solve new kinds of problems
Fluid intelligence
The speed with which one can compare figures and symbols
Perceptual speed
The ability to calculate numbers (as “ in one’s head”)
Numeric ability
A progressive form of mental deterioration characterized by loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other cognitive functions
Alzheimer’s disease
A sense of depression and loss from purpose felt by some parents when the youngest child leaves to home
Empty-nest syndrome
People in middle adulthood who were responsible for meeting the needs of their children yet also responsible for aging parents
Sandwich generation
Reshaping of one’s life to concentrate on what one finds to be important and meaningful in the face of physical decline possible cognitive impairment
Selective optimization with compensation
