Chapter 4- Development Flashcards
Zygote
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.
Developmental Psychology
A branch of psychology that studies, physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
Embryo
The developing human organism from 9 weeks from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
Fetus
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception and birth.
Teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking.
Rooting Reflex
A baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth and search for the nipple.
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.
Maturation
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
Jean Piaget
Revolutionized our understanding of children’s minds
Schemas
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
Assimilation
Interpreting ones new experience in terms of ones existing Schemas.
Accommodation
Adapting ones current understanding (Schemas) to incorporate new information.
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communication.
Sensorimotor Stage
The stage from birth to about 2 years of age during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.