Chapter 4 Key Terms

Question 1

branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan

Answer 1

developmental psychology

Question 2

fertilized egg; enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Answer 2

zygote

Question 3

developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the 2nd month

Answer 3

embryo

Question 4

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Answer 4

fetus

Question 5

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Answer 5

teratogens

Question 6

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking; in severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions

Answer 6

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Question 7

a baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple

Answer 7

rooting reflex

Question 8

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation; as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

Answer 8

habituation

Question 9

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

Answer 9

maturation

Question 10

Earliest memories seldom predate 3rd birthday

Answer 10

infantile amnesia

Question 11

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Answer 11

schema

Question 12

interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing schemas

Answer 12

assimilation

Question 13

adapting one’s current understanding (schemas) to incorporate new information

Answer 13

accomodation

Question 14

all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Answer 14

cognition

Question 15

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

Answer 15

sensorimotor stage

Question 16

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Answer 16

object permanence

Question 17

the stage (from about 2 to 6-7 years old) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Answer 17

preoperational stage

Question 18

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Answer 18

conservation

Question 19

the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

Answer 19

egocentrism

Question 20

people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict

Answer 20

theory of mind

Question 21

disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others’ states of mind

Answer 21

autism

Question 22

normal intelligence, exceptional skill in one area, deficient social skills

Answer 22

Asperger syndrome

Question 23

stage of cognitive development (from 6-7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Answer 23

concrete operational stage

Question 24

stage of cognitive development (beginning at age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Answer 24

formal operational stage

Question 25

fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months old

Answer 25

stranger anxiety

Question 26

emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Answer 26

attachment

Question 27

optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Answer 27

critical period

Question 28

process which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

Answer 28

imprinting

Question 29

to Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Answer 29

basic trust

Question 30

a sense of one’s identity and personal worth

Answer 30

self-concept

Question 31

impose rules and expect obedience; kids have less social skill and self esteem

Answer 31

authoritarian parents

Question 32

submit to children’s desires w/ few demands and few punishments; kids become immature and aggressive

Answer 32

permissive parents

Question 33

demanding and responsive; kids high self-esteem, self-reliance, competence

Answer 33

authoritative parents

Question 34

transition period from childhood to adulthood, extends from puberty to independence

Answer 34

adolescence

Question 35

period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

Answer 35

puberty

Question 36

body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

Answer 36

primary sex characteristics

Question 37

nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as females breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Answer 37

secondary sex characteristics

Question 38

first menstrual period

Answer 38

menarche

Question 39

first ejaculation, usually is a nocturnal emission

Answer 39

Spermarche

Question 40

thinking that occurs as we consider right and wrong

Answer 40

moral reasoning

Question 41

Before age 9, obey either to avoid punishment or to gain rewards

Answer 41

preconventional morality

Question 42

Early adolescence, care for others and upholds law and social rules

Answer 42

conventional morality

Question 43

affirms people’s agreed upon rights or follows what one sees as basic ethical principles (some don’t ever reach this stage)

Answer 43

postconventional morality

Question 44

one’s sense of self; adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Answer 44

identity

Question 45

the ability to form close, loving relationships; primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

Answer 45

intimacy

Question 46

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines (around age 50, reduces estrogen)

Answer 46

menopause

Question 47

progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning

Answer 47

Alzheimer's disease

Question 48

study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Answer 48

cross-sectional study

Question 49

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Answer 49

longitudinal study

Question 50

one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Answer 50

crystallized intelligence

Question 51

one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease in late adulthood

Answer 51

fluid intelligence

Question 52

culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, & retirement

Answer 52

social clock

Question 53

feeling that one’s life has been meaningful and worthwhile

Answer 53

integrity