Ch. 4: Human Development

Question 1

accommodation

Answer 1

in vision, the process through which the lens changes its shape temporarily to help focus light on the retina

Question 2

ageism

Answer 2

discrimination or prejudice against an individual based on physical age

Question 3

assimilation

Answer 3

the process through which we fit—or assimilate—new experiences into existing schemata

Question 4

attachments

Answer 4

strong emotional ties formed to one or more intimate companions

Question 5

concrete operational period

Answer 5

Piaget’s third stage of cognitive dev elopement, lasting from ages 7 to 11. Children acquire the capacity to perform a number of mental operations but still lack the ability for abstract reasoning

Question 6

cross-sectional design

Answer 6

a research design in which people of different ages are compared at the same time

Question 7

dementia

Answer 7

physically based losses in mental functioning

Question 8

development

Answer 8

the age-related physical, intellectual, social, and personal changes that occur throughout an individual’s lifetime

Question 9

egocentrism

Answer 9

the tendency to see the world from one’s own unique perspective only; a characteristic of thinking in the preoperational period of development

Question 10

embryonic period

Answer 10

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

Question 11

fetal period

Answer 11

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

Question 12

formal operational period

Answer 12

Piaget’s last stage of cognitive development; thought processes become adultlike, and people gain mastery over abstract thinking

Question 13

gender roles

Answer 13

specific patterns of behavior that are consistent with how society dictates males and females should act

Question 14

germinal period

Answer 14

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

Question 15

habituation

Answer 15

the decline in the tendency to respond to an event that has become so interested in seeking a consensus of opinion that they start to ignore and even suppress dissenting views

Question 16

longitudinal design

Answer 16

a research design in which the same people are studied or tested repeatedly over time

Question 17

menopause

Answer 17

the period during which a woman’s menstrual cycle slows down and finally stops

Question 18

morality

Answer 18

the ability to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate actions

Question 19

object permanence

Answer 19

the ability to recognize that objects still exist when they’re no longer in sight

Question 20

personal identity

Answer 20

a sense of who one is as an individual and how well on measures up against

Question 21

postconventional level

Answer 21

Kohlberg’s highest level of moral development, in which moral actions are judged on the basis of a personal code of ethics that is general and abstract and that may not agree with societal norms

Question 22

preconventional level

Answer 22

in Kohlberg’s theory, the lowest level of moral development, in which decisions about right and wrong are made primarily in terms of external consequences

Question 23

preoperational period

Answer 23

Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development, lasting from ages 2 to about 7; children begin to think symbolically but often lack the ability to perform mental operations such as conservation

Question 24

principle of conservation

Answer 24

the ability to recognize that the physical properties of an object remain the same despite superficial changes in the object’s appearance

Question 25

puberty

Answer 25

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

Question 26

schemata

Answer 26

mental models of the world that we use to guide and interpret our experiences

Question 27

sensorimotor period

Answer 27

Piaget’s first stage of cognitive development, lasting from birth to about 2 years of age; schemata revolve around sensory and motor abilities

Question 28

strange situation test

Answer 28

gradually subjecting a child to a stressful situation and observing his or her behavior toward the parent or caregiver. This test is used to classify children according to type of attachment–secure, resistant, avoidant, or disorganized/disoriented

Question 29

temperament

Answer 29

a child’s general level of emotional reactivity

Question 30

teratogens

Answer 30

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

Question 31

zygote

Answer 31

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