Ch 9 Development

Question 1

developmental psychology

Answer 1

study of how behavior changes over the life span

Question 2

gene-environment interaction

Answer 2

situation in which the effects of genes depend on the environment in which they are expressed

Question 3

nature via nurture

Answer 3

tendency of individuals with certain genetic predispositions to seek out and create
environments that permit the expression of those predispositions

Question 4

gene expression

Answer 4

activation or deactivation of genes by environmental experiences throughout development

Question 5

epigenetics

Answer 5

whether genes are active is regulated day-by-day and moment-by-moment environmental conditions

Question 6

cross-sectional design

Answer 6

research design that examines
people of different ages at a single point in time

Question 7

cohort effect

Answer 7

effect observed in a sample of
participants that results from
individuals in the sample growing up at the same time

Question 8

longitudinal design

Answer 8

research design that examines
development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time

Question 9

post hoc fallacy

Answer 9

false assumption that because one
event occurred before another event
it must have caused that event

Question 10

bidirectional influences

Answer 10

children’s experiences influence their development, but their development also influences what they experience

Question 10

prenatal

Answer 10

prior to birth

Question 11

zygote

Answer 11

fertilized egg

Question 12

blastocyst

Answer 12

ball of identical cells early in
pregnancy that haven’t yet begun
to take on any specific function
in a body part

Question 13

fetus

Answer 13

period of prenatal development from
ninth week until birth after all major
organs are established and physical
maturation is the primary change

Question 14

embryo

Answer 14

second to eighth week of prenatal
development, during which limbs,
facial features, and major organs
of the body take form

Question 15

teratogen

Answer 15

an environmental factor that can
exert a negative impact on prenatal
development

Question 16

fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 16

condition resulting from high levels of prenatal alcohol exposure, causing
learning disabilities, physical growth retardation, facial malformations, and
behavioral disorders

Question 17

motor behavior

Answer 17

bodily motion that occurs as a result
of self-initiated force that moves the bones and muscles

Question 18

adolescence

Answer 18

the transition between childhood and
adulthood commonly associated with
the teenage years

Question 19

puberty

Answer 19

the achievement of sexual maturation
resulting in the potential to reproduce

Question 20

primary sex characteristic

Answer 20

a physical feature such as the
reproductive organs and genitals
that distinguish the sexes

Question 21

secondary sex characteristic

Answer 21

a sex-differentiating characteristic
that doesn’t relate directly to
reproduction, such as breast
enlargement in women and
deepening voices in men

Question 22

menarche

Answer 22

start of menstruation

Question 23

spermarche

Answer 23

boys’ first ejaculation

Question 24

menopause

Answer 24

the termination of menstruation,
marking the end of a woman’s
reproductive potential

Question 25

cognitive development

Answer 25

study of how children acquire
the ability to learn, think, reason,
communicate, and remember

Question 26

assimilation

Answer 26

Piagetian process of absorbing new
experience into current knowledge
structures

Question 27

accommodation

Answer 27

Piagetian process of altering a belief
to make it more compatible with
experience

Question 28

scaffolding

Answer 28

Vygotskian learning mechanism
in which parents provide initial
assistance in children’s learning
but gradually remove structure as
children become more competent

Question 29

zone of proximal development

Answer 29

phase of learning during which
children can benefit from instruction

Question 30

stranger anxiety

Answer 30

a fear of strangers developing at eight
or nine months of age

Question 31

temperament

Answer 31

basic emotional style that appears
early in development and is largely
genetic in origin

Question 32

attachment

Answer 32

the strong emotional connection we
share with those to whom we feel
closest

Question 33

average expectable environment

Answer 33

environment that provides children
with basic needs for affection and
discipline

Question 34

emerging adulthood

Answer 34

period of life between the ages
of 18 and 25 when many aspects
of emotional development, identity,
and personality become solidified

Question 35

midlife crisis

Answer 35

supposed phase of adulthood
characterized by emotional distress
about the aging process and an
attempt to regain youth

Question 36

empty-nest syndrome

Answer 36

alleged period of depression in
mothers following the departure of
their grown children from the home

Question 37

sensorimotor

Answer 37

no thought beyond immediate physical experiences

Question 38

preoperational

Answer 38

able to think beyond the here and now, but egocentric and unable to perform
mental transformations

Question 39

concrete operations

Answer 39

able to perform mental transformations but only on concrete physical objects

Question 40

formal operations

Answer 40

able to perform hypothetical and abstract reasoning