Chapter 10 Flashcards
developmental psychology
The study of continuity and change across the life span.
zygote
A fertilized egg that contains chromosomes from both a sperm and an egg.
germinal stage
The 2-week period of prenatal development that begins at conception.
embryonic stage
The period of prenatal development that lasts from the second week until about the eighth week.
fetal stage
The period of prenatal development that lasts from the ninth week until birth.
myelination
The formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron.
teratogens
Agents that damage the process of development, such as drugs and viruses.
fetal alcohol syndrome
A developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy.
infancy
The stage of development that begins at birth and lasts between 18 and 24 months.
motor development
The emergence of the ability to execute physical action.
reflexes
Specific patterns of motor response that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation.
cephalocaudal rule
The “top-to-bottom” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet.
proximodistal rule
The “inside-to-outside” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the center to the periphery.
cognitive development
The emergence of the ability to think and understand.
sensorimotor stage
A stage of development that begins at birth and lasts through infancy in which infants acquire information about the world by sensing it and moving around within it.
schemas
Theories about or models of the way the world works.
assimilation
The process by which infants apply their schemas in novel situations.
accommodation (infants)
The process by which infants revise their schemas in light of new information.
object permanence
The idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible.
childhood
The stage of development that begins at about 18 to 24 months and lasts until adolescence.
preoperational stage
The stage of development that begins at about age 2 and ends at about age 6, during which children have a preliminary understanding of the physical world.
concrete operational stage
The stage of development that begins at about age 6 and ends at about age 11, during which children learn how various actions, or “operations,” can affect or transform “concrete” objects.
conservation
The notion that the quantitative properties of an object are invariant despite changes in the object’s appearance.
formal operational stage
The stage of development that begins around the age of 11 and lasts through adulthood, during which children can solve nonphysical problems.
egocentrism
The failure to understand that the world appears differently to different observers.
theory of mind
The idea that human behavior is guided by mental representations.
attachment
The emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers.
internal working model of relationships
A set of beliefs about the self, the primary caregiver, and the relationship between them.
temperaments
Characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity.
preconventional stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by its consequences for the actor.
conventional stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by the extent to which it conforms to social rules.
postconventional stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values.
adolescence
The period of development that begins with the onset of sexual maturity (about 11 to 14 years of age) and lasts until the beginning of adulthood (about 18 to 21 years of age).
puberty
The bodily changes associated with sexual maturity.
primary sex characteristics
Bodily structures that are directly involved in reproduction.
secondary sex characteristics
Bodily structures that change dramatically with sexual maturity but that are not directly involved in reproduction.
adulthood
The stage of development that begins around age 18 to 21 and ends at death.
