Chapter 10

Question 1

developmental psychology

Answer 1

The study of continuity and change across the life span.

Question 2

zygote

Answer 2

A fertilized egg that contains chromosomes from both a sperm and an egg.

Question 3

germinal stage

Answer 3

The 2-week period of prenatal development that begins at conception.

Question 4

embryonic stage

Answer 4

The period of prenatal development that lasts from the second week until about the eighth week.

Question 5

fetal stage

Answer 5

The period of prenatal development that lasts from the ninth week until birth.

Question 6

myelination

Answer 6

The formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron.

Question 7

teratogens

Answer 7

Agents that damage the process of development, such as drugs and viruses.

Question 8

fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 8

A developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy.

Question 9

infancy

Answer 9

The stage of development that begins at birth and lasts between 18 and 24 months.

Question 10

motor development

Answer 10

The emergence of the ability to execute physical action.

Question 11

reflexes

Answer 11

Specific patterns of motor response that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation.

Question 12

cephalocaudal rule

Answer 12

The “top-to-bottom” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet.

Question 13

proximodistal rule

Answer 13

The “inside-to-outside” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the center to the periphery.

Question 14

cognitive development

Answer 14

The emergence of the ability to think and understand.

Question 15

sensorimotor stage

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

schemas

Answer 16

Theories about or models of the way the world works.

Question 17

assimilation

Answer 17

The process by which infants apply their schemas in novel situations.

Question 18

accommodation (infants)

Answer 18

The process by which infants revise their schemas in light of new information.

Question 19

object permanence

Answer 19

The idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible.

Question 20

childhood

Answer 20

The stage of development that begins at about 18 to 24 months and lasts until adolescence.

Question 21

preoperational stage

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

concrete operational stage

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

conservation

Answer 23

The notion that the quantitative properties of an object are invariant despite changes in the object’s appearance.

Question 24

formal operational stage

Answer 24

The stage of development that begins around the age of 11 and lasts through adulthood, during which children can solve nonphysical problems.

Question 25

egocentrism

Answer 25

The failure to understand that the world appears differently to different observers.

Question 26

theory of mind

Answer 26

The idea that human behavior is guided by mental representations.

Question 27

attachment

Answer 27

The emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers.

Question 28

internal working model of relationships

Answer 28

A set of beliefs about the self, the primary caregiver, and the relationship between them.

Question 29

temperaments

Answer 29

Characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity.

Question 30

preconventional stage

Answer 30

A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by its consequences for the actor.

Question 31

conventional stage

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

postconventional stage

Answer 32

A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values.

Question 33

adolescence

Answer 33

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).

Question 34

puberty

Answer 34

The bodily changes associated with sexual maturity.

Question 35

primary sex characteristics

Answer 35

Bodily structures that are directly involved in reproduction.

Question 36

secondary sex characteristics

Answer 36

Bodily structures that change dramatically with sexual maturity but that are not directly involved in reproduction.

Question 37

adulthood

Answer 37

The stage of development that begins around age 18 to 21 and ends at death.