Chapter 5 Flashcards
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Zygote
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
embryo
the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
fetus
the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
Teratogens
agents, such as chemicals that can each the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(FAS) physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking . In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.
Habituation
decreasing responsiveness with with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner
maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
cognition
all he mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating
Schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
assimilation
interpreting our new experience in terms of existing schemas
accommodation
adapting our our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information
sensory motor stage
in Piagets theory the stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
object permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Preoperational stage
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conservation
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