ch 4

Question 1

zygote

Answer 1

the fertilized human egg, containing 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 chromosomes from the mother

Question 2

germinal period

Answer 2

the period in prenatal development from conception to implantation of the fertilized egg in the wall of the uterus

Question 3

embryonic period

Answer 3

the period of prenatal development lasting from implantation to the end of the eighth week

Question 4

fetal period

Answer 4

the period of prenatal development lasting from the ninth week until birth

Question 5

teratogens

Answer 5

environmental agents- such as disease organisms or drugs- that can potentially damage the developing embryo or fetus

Question 6

fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 6

if you drink 5 or more drinks a day, you’re 30% more likely to give birth to a child with this condition. marked by physical deformities, reduction in size of certain brain structures, and increased risk of intellectual disabilities

Question 7

“bloom and prune” process

Answer 7

when neurons that are not used simply die

Question 8

the nervous system matures in what type of fashion?

Answer 8

“down and out”- from the head down and from the center out

Question 9

puberty

Answer 9

period during which a person reaches sexual maturity and is potentially capable of producing offspring

Question 10

dementia

Answer 10

technical name for physically based loss in mental functioning

Question 11

tools psychologists use to test perceptual development in babies (3)

Answer 11

1. preference technique
2. habituation technique
3. using rewards

Question 12

longitudinal design

Answer 12

research design in which the same people are studied or tested repeatedly over time. ex. track baby Howard at various points in Howard’s life.

Question 13

cross-sectional design

Answer 13

a research design in which people of different ages are compared at the same time. ex. instead of testing Howard at 2,5,and 10, test a group of 2 yr olds, 5 yr olds, and 10 yr olds simultaneously.

Question 14

How are infant perceptions different than adult perceptions (specifically in the first 2 months)?

Answer 14

cannot see as well as adults (20/400 vision), can’t perceive shapes and forms the same way, can’t hear as well, require sounds to be louder than adults, have trouble selectively listening for a noise

Question 15

Which scholar first convinced psychologists that children think quite differently than adults?

Answer 15

Jean Piaget

Question 16

schemata

Answer 16

mental models of the world that we use to guide and interpret our experiences. very different in children and adults and not based on real life experience but rather a fundamental misconception of how the world is structured

Question 17

assimilation

Answer 17

the process through which we fit- or assimilate- new experiences into existing schemata. ex. you grow up in a house with cat. your neighbor gets a bunny. because it’s small and furry you think it’s another type of cat. you fit the bunny into your existing worldview.

Question 18

accommodation

Answer 18

the process through which we change or modify existing schemata to accommodate new experience. ex. you note the neighbors “cat” hops and doesn’t walk. you revise your concept of small and furry things and change your existing worldview to now include bunnies

Question 19

The Sensorimotor Period

Answer 19

Birth to two years. 1st stage of cognitive development. schemata revolve around sensory and motor abilities. ex. sucking reflex (suck on object placed in mouth) and rooting reflex (turn head in direction someone touched their cheek)

Question 20

object permanence

Answer 20

the ability to recognize that objects still exist when they’re no longer in sight. babies lack this ability in the first year.

Question 21

The Preoperational Period

Answer 21

2 to 7 years. 2nd stage of cognitive development. children begin thinking symbolically but often lack the ability to perform mental operations such as conversation.