Chapter 10 Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
The branch of psychology that studies the physical, cognitive, and social changes that occur throughout the life cycle
Maturation
Developmental changes that occur as a result of automatic, genetically determined signals
Critical Period
A stage or point in development during which a person or animal is best suited to learn a particular skill or behavior
Reflex
An automatic, unlearned response to a sensory stimulus
Infancy
In humans, the stage of life from birth to age two
Childhood
The stage of life that follows infancy and spans the period from the second birthday to the beginning of adolescence
Attachment
an active and intense emotional relationship between two people that endures over time
Stranger Anxiety
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display
Separation Anxiety
distress that is sometimes experienced by infants when they are separated from their primary caregivers
Contact Comfort
The satisfaction obtained from pleasant, soft stimulation
Imprinting
The process by which animals form strong attachments during a critical period very early in life
Authoritative
A leadership or parenting style based on recognized authority or knowledge and characterized by mutual respect
Authoritarian
A leadership or parenting style that stresses unquestioning obedience
Self-esteem
The value or worth that people attach to themselves
Unconditioned Positive Regard
A consistent expression of esteem for the basic value of a person
Conditional Positive Regard
An expression of esteem given only when an individual has exhibited suitable behavior
Assimilation
The process by which new information is placed into pre-existing categories
Accommodation
The process of adjusting existing ways of thinking to encompass new information, idea, or objects.
Sensorimotor Stage
According to Piaget, the stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
Preoperational Stage
In Piaget’s Theory, the stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet think logically
Conservation
According to Piaget, the principle that the properties of substances remain the same despite changes in their shape or arrangement
Egocentrism
In Piaget’s theory, the inability of the preoperational child to understand another’s point of view
Concrete-operational Stage
According to Piaget, the stage or cognitive development during which children acquire the ability to think logically
Formal-Operational Stage
According to Piaget, the stage of cognitive development during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts
Preconventional Moral Reasoning
According to Kohlberg, a level of moral development in which moral judgments are based on fear of punishment or desire for pleasure
Conventional Moral Reasoning
The level of moral development at which a person makes judgments based on conventional standards of right and wrong
Postconventional Reasoning
According to Kohlberg, a level of moral development during which moral judgments are derived from a person’s own moral standards
