Ch. 11 - Human Development Across the Life Span

Question 1

Androgens

Answer 1

The principal class of gonadal hormones in males.

Question 2

Attachment

Answer 2

A close, emotional bond of affection between infants and their caregivers.

Question 3

Centration

Answer 3

The tendency to focus on just one feature of a problem, neglecting other important aspects.

Question 4

Cephalocaudal trend

Answer 4

The head-to-foot direction of motor development.

Question 5

Cognitive development

Answer 5

Transitions in youngsters’ patterns of thinking, including reasoning, remembering, and problem solving.

Question 6

Cohort effects

Answer 6

Differences between age groups that are attributable to the groups growing up in different time periods.

Question 7

Conservation

Answer 7

Piaget’s term for the awareness that physical quantities remain constant in spite of changes in their shape or appearance.

Question 8

Cross-sectional design

Answer 8

A research design in which investigators compare groups of subjects of differing age who are observed at a single point in time.

Question 9

Crystallized intelligence

Answer 9

The ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills in problem solving.

Question 10

Dementia

Answer 10

An abnormal condition marked by multiple cognitive defects that include memory impairment.

Question 11

Development

Answer 11

The sequence of age-related changes that occur as a person progresses from conception to death.

Question 12

Developmental norms

Answer 12

The average age at which individuals display various behaviors and abilities.

Question 13

Egocentrism

Answer 13

A limited ability to share another person’s viewpoint.

Question 14

Embryonic stage

Answer 14

The second stage of prenatal development, lasting from two weeks until the end of the second month.

Question 15

Fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 15

A collection of congenital (inborn) problems associated with excessive alcohol use during pregnancy.

Question 16

Fetal stage

Answer 16

The third stage of prenatal development, lasting from two months through birth.

Question 17

Fluid intelligence

Answer 17

Basic reasoning ability, memory capacity, and speed of information processing.

Question 18

Gender

Answer 18

Culturally constructed distinctions between masculinity and femininity.

Question 19

Gender differences

Answer 19

Actual disparities between the sexes in typical behavior or average ability.

Question 20

Gender roles

Answer 20

Expectations about what is appropriate behavior for each sex.

Question 21

Gender stereotypes

Answer 21

Widely held beliefs about males’ and females’ abilities, personality traits, and behavior.

Question 22

Germinal stage

Answer 22

The first phase of prenatal development, encompassing the first two weeks after conception.

Question 23

Irreversibility

Answer 23

The inability to envision reversing an action.

Question 24

Longitudinal design

Answer 24

A research design in which investigators observe one group of subjects repeatedly over a period of time.

Question 25

Maturation

Answer 25

Development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one’s genetic blueprint.

Question 26

Menarche

Answer 26

The first occurrence of menstruation.

Question 27

Motor development

Answer 27

The progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities.

Question 28

Object permanence

Answer 28

Recognizing that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible.

Question 29

Placenta

Answer 29

A structure that allows oxygen and nutrients to pass into the fetus from the mother’s bloodstream and bodily wastes to pass out to the mother.

Question 30

Prenatal period

Answer 30

The period from conception to birth, usually encompassing nine months of pregnancy.

Question 31

Primary sex characteristics

Answer 31

The sexual structures necessary for reproduction.

Question 32

Proximodistal trend

Answer 32

The center-outward direction of motor development.

Question 33

Puberty

Answer 33

The period of early adolescence marked by rapid physical growth and the development of sexual (reproductive) maturity.

Question 34

Pubescence

Answer 34

The two-year span preceding puberty during which the changes leading to physical and sexual maturity take place.

Question 35

Secondary sex characteristics

Answer 35

Physical features that are associated with gender but that are not directly involved in reproduction.

Question 36

Separation anxiety

Answer 36

Emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment.

Question 37

Sex

Answer 37

The biologically based categories of male and female.

Question 38

Socialization

Answer 38

The acquisition of the norms, roles, and behaviors expected of people in a particular society.

Question 39

Spermarche

Answer 39

The first occurrence of ejaculation.

Question 40

Stage

Answer 40

A developmental period during which characteristic patterns of behavior are exhibited and certain capacities become established.

Question 41

Strange situation procedure

Answer 41

A research method in which infants are exposed to a series of eight separation and reunion episodes to assess the quality of their attachment.

Question 42

Temperament

Answer 42

An individual’s characteristic mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity.

Question 43

Teratogens

Answer 43

Any external agents, such as drugs or viruses, that can harm an embryo or fetus.

Question 44

Zygote

Answer 44

A one-celled organism formed by the union of a sperm and an egg.