Chapter 5

Question 1

amnesia

Answer 1

condition in which there is damage to the brain making it difficult to learn new things

Question 2

prefrontal cortex

Answer 2

shots caller - makes decisions, plans, executes plans

Question 3

developmental psychiatry

Answer 3

branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social development throughout the life span

Question 4

cross-sectional study

Answer 4

research that compares people of different ages at the same time

Question 5

longitudinal study

Answer 5

research that follows and retests the same people over time

Question 6

zygote

Answer 6

fertilized egg. enters two weeks of rapid cell devision and develops into embryot

Question 7

embryo

Answer 7

zygote attaches to uterine lining, inner cells form embryo and outer cells form placenta. 2 weeks through 2 months

Question 8

fetus

Answer 8

developing human organism from 9 weeks through birth

Question 9

teratogens

Answer 9

agents (chemicals, virus, etc) that can reach embryo/fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Question 10

fetal alcohol syndrom (FAS)

Answer 10

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant person’s heavy drinking

Question 11

habituation

Answer 11

decreased responsiveness with repeated stimulation as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to stimulus, their interest wanes (ex. look away sooner)

Question 12

maturation

Answer 12

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

Question 13

in days immediately following birth…

Answer 13

infant brain size greatly increases as neural connections form

Question 14

from 3-6 months after birth…

Answer 14

brain size increases with massive growth in frontal lobes (control attention + behavior)

Question 15

rapid cerebellum development/maturation enables babies to stand/walk at…

Answer 15

11ish months old

Question 16

cognition

Answer 16

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

Question 17

schema

Answer 17

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Question 18

assimilation

Answer 18

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

ex. baby thinks all four-leged animals are dogs)

Question 19

accommodation

Answer 19

adapting our current understandings (schema) to incorporate new information

ex. baby learns its schema is too broad so it refines its understanding

Question 20

piaget’s stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor stage

Answer 20

birth - 2 yo.

stage at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Question 21

piaget’s stages of cognitive development: preoperational stage

Answer 21

2 yo - 6/7 yo.

stage at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Question 22

piaget’s stages of cognitive development: concrete operational stage

Answer 22

7 yo - 11 yo.

stage at which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete objects

Question 23

piaget’s stages of cognitive development: formal operational stage

Answer 23

12+ yo.

stage at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Question 24

object permanence

Answer 24

the awareness that objects continue to exist, even when not perceived

Question 24

conservation

Answer 24

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, number, etc. remains the same despite changes in form of the object.

ex. different shaped glasses of milk

Question 25

egocentrism (piaget’s theory)

Answer 25

the pre-operational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

Question 26

scaffold

Answer 26

a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

Question 27

theory of mind

Answer 27

people’s ideas of their own and others’ mental states (about their feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and the behaviors these might predict)

Question 28

stranger anxiety

Answer 28

the fear of strangers that infants often display beginning by 8 mo

Question 29

critical period

Answer 29

an optimal period in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

Question 30

basic trust (according to erik erikson)

Answer 30

a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy. said to be formed during infancy by appropriate (caring, nurturing, etc) experiences with responsive caregivers

Question 31

seld-concept

Answer 31

all of our thoughts and feelings about ourself. and answer to the question “who am i?”

Question 32

adolescence

Answer 32

the transition period from childhood to adulthood. extending from puberty to independance

Question 33

puberty

Answer 33

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

Question 34

identity

Answer 34

our sense of self.

according to erikson: the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Question 35

social identity

Answer 35

the “we” aspect of our self-concept. the part of our answer to “who am i?” that comes from our group memberships

Question 36

intimacy (in erik erikson’s theory)

Answer 36

the ability to form close loving relationships, a primary development task in young adulthood

Question 37

emerging adulthood

Answer 37

period from 18-mid 20s when many in wester cultures are no longer adolescence but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

Question 38

menopause

Answer 38

the time of natural cessation of menstruation. also refers to the biological changes a female experiences as their ability to reproduce declines

Question 39

neurocognitive disorders (NCD or dimensia in older adults)

Answer 39

aquired disorders marked by cognitive deficits. often related to alzeimers, brain injury or disease, and substance abuse.

Question 40

alzeimers disease

Answer 40

a neurocognative disorder marked by neural placks often with onset after 80 yo causing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities

a deterioration of the neurons that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcoline which helps with memory

Question 41

social clock

Answer 41

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.