Ch 9 Psychological Development Flashcards
Nature - nurture issue
The long-standing discussion over the relative importance of nature (heredity) and nature (environment) in their influence on behavior and mental processes
Developmental psychology
The psychological specialty that studies how organisms change over time as the results of biological and environmental influences
Interaction
A process by which forces work together or influence each other - as in the interaction between the forces of heredity and environment
Identical twins
A pair who started life as a single fertilized egg which later split into two distinct individuals. They have the same genes
Fraternal twins
A pair who started life as two separate fertilized eggs that happened to share the same womb on average they have about 50% of genetic material in common
Continuity view
The perspective that development is gradual and continuos - as opposed to the discontinuity (stage) view
Discontinuity view
The perspective that development proceeds in an uneven (discontinuous) fashion - as opposed to the continuity view
Prenatal period
The developmental period before birth
Zygote
A fertilized egg
Embryo
In humans, the name for the developing organism during the first eight weeks after conceptions
Fetus
In humans, the term for the developing organism between the embryonic stage and birth
Placenta
The organ interface between the embryo or fetus and the mother. The placenta separates the bloodstreams, but it allows the exchange of nutrients and waste products
Teratogens
Substances from the environment, including viruses, drugs, and other chemicals, that can damage the developing organism during the prenatal period
Neonatal period
In humans, the neonatal (newborn) period extends through the first month after birth
Infancy
In humans infancy spans the time between the end of the neonatal period and the establishment of language - usually at about 18 months to 2 years
Attachment
The enduring social - emotional relationship between a child and a parent or other regular caregiver
Imprinting
A primitive form of learning in which some young animals form an attachment to the first moving object they see and hear
Contact comfort
Stimulation and reassurance derived from the physical touch of a caregiver
Maturation
The process by which the genetic program manifests itself over time
Adolescence
In industrial societies, a developmental period beginning at puberty and ending (less clearly) at adulthood
Rite of passages
Social rituals that mark the transition between developmental stages, especially between childhood and adulthood
Puberty
The onset of sexual maturity
Primary sex characteristics
The sex organs and genitals
Secondary sex characteristics
Gender-related physical features that develop during puberty, including facial hair and deepening voice in males, widened hips and enlarged breasts in females and development of public hair in both sexes
Formal operation stage
The last of Piaget’s stages, during which abstract thought appears