9.2 Lifespan Theories Flashcards
psychosexual development
process proposed by Freud in which pleasure-seeking urges focus on different erogenous zones of the body as humans move through five stages of life
psychosocial development
process proposed by Erikson in which social tasks are mastered as humans move through eight stages of life from infancy to adulthood
Schemata
(singular = schema) concept (mental model) that is used to help us categorize and interpret
information
assimilation
adjustment of a schema by adding information similar to what is already known
Accommodation
adjustment of a schema by changing a scheme to accommodate new information
different from what was already known
sensorimotor stage
first stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from birth through age 2, a child learns about the world through senses and motor behavior
object permanence
idea that even if something is out of sight, it still exists
preoperational stage
second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from ages 2 to 7, children learn to use symbols and language but do not understand mental operations and often think illogically
conservation
idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size, volume,
or number as long as nothing is added or removed
egocentrism
preoperational child’s difficulty in taking the perspective of others
concrete operational stage
third stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from about 7 to 11 years old, children can think logically about real (concrete) events
reversibility
principle that objects can be changed, but then returned back to their original form or condition
formal operational stage
final stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from age 11 and up, children are able to deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations
stages of moral reasoning
process proposed by Kohlberg; humans move through three stages of moral development
