Ch.10 Flashcards
Accommodation
Piagetian process of altering a belief to make it more compatible with experience
Adolesence
transition between childhood and adulthood commonly associated with the teenage years
assimilation
Piagetian process of absorbing new experience into the current knowledge structures
attachment
the strong emotional connection we share with those to whom we feel closest
average expectable environment
environment that provides children with basic needs for affection and discipline
blastocyst
ball of identical cells early in pregnancy that haven’t yet begun to take on any specific function in a body part
cognitive development
study of how children acquire the ability to learn, think, reason, communicate, and remember
Cohort effect
effect observed in a sample of participants that results from individuals in the sample of growing up at the same time
concrete operations stage
stage in Piaget’s theory characterized by the ability to perform mental operations on physical events only
contact comfort
positive emotions afforded by touch
conservation
Piagetian task requiring children to understand that despite a transformation in the physical presentation of an amount, the amount remains the same
cross-sectional design
research design that examines people of different ages at a single point in time
developmental psychology
study of how behavior and mental processes change over the life span
egocenturism
inability to see the world from others perspectives
embryo
-2-8 weeks of prenatal development
-limbs, facial features, major organs take form
emerging adulthood
period of life between the ages of 18-25 during which many aspects of emotional development, identity, and personality become solidified
empty-nest syndrome
alleged period of depression in mothers following the departure of their grown children from home
fetal alcohol syndrome
condition resulting from high levels of prenatal alcohol exposure, causing learning disabilities, delays in growth, facial malformations, and behavioral disorders
fetus
-week 9-birth or prenatal development
-all major organs are established and physical maturation is the primary change
formal operations stage
in Piaget’s theory characterized by the ability to perform hypothetical reasoning beyond the here and now
gender identity
individuals sense of being male or female
gender role
set of behaviors that tend to be associated with being a man or woman
gene-environment interaction
situation in which effects of genes by environmental experiences throughout development
identity
our sense of who we are and our life goals and priorities
longitudinal design
research design that examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time
menarche
start of menstruation
menopause
termination of menstruation, marking the end of a females reproductive potential
midlife crisis
supposed phase of adulthood characterized by emotional distress about the aging process and an attempt to regain youth
mono-operation bias
drawing conclusions on the basis of only a single measure
motor behavior
bodily motion that occurs as a result of self-initiated force that moves the bones and muscles
nature via nurture
tendency of individuals with certain genetic predispositions to seek out and create an environment that permit the expression of those genes
object permanence
the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view
prenatal
prior to birth
preoperational stage
Piaget’s theory characterized by the ability to construct mental representations of experience but not yet perform operations on them
primary sex characteristic
a physical feature such as the reproductive organs and genitals that distinguish the sexes
psychosocial crisis
dilemma concerning an individuals relations to other people
puberty
the achievement of sexual maturation resulting in the potential to reproduce
scaffolding
vygoskian learning mechanism in which parents provide initial assistance in child’s learning but gradually remove structures as children become more competent
Secondary sex characteristic
a sex-differentiating characteristic that doesn’t relate directly to reproduction
-breasts enlargement in females and deepened make voices
seneorimotor stage
stage in piagets theory characterized by a focus on the here and now without the ability to represent experiences mentally
spermarche
first ejaculation by males
stranger anxiety
fear of strangers developing at 8 or 9 months
temperment
basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin
teratogen
an environmental factor that can exert a negative impact on prenatal development
theory of mind
ability to reason about what other people know or believe
zone of proximal development
phase of learning which children can benefit from instruction
zygote
fertilized egg
