Chapter 5 Vocab

Question 1

developmental psychology

Answer 1

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

Question 2

zygote

Answer 2

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

Question 3

embryo

Answer 3

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

Question 4

fetus

Answer 4

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Question 5

teratogens

Answer 5

(literally, “monster maker”) agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

Question 6

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Answer 6

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features.

Question 7

habituation

Answer 7

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

Question 8

maturation

Answer 8

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

Question 9

cognition

Answer 9

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

Question 10

schema

Answer 10

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Question 11

assimilation

Answer 11

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

Question 12

accommodation

Answer 12

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

Question 13

sensorimotor stage

Answer 13

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Question 14

object permanence

Answer 14

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

Question 15

preoperational

Answer 15

stage in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

Question 16

conservation

Answer 16

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

Question 17

egocentrism

Answer 17

in Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.

Question 18

theory of mind

Answer 18

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

Question 19

concrete operational stage

Answer 19

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

Question 20

formal operational stage

Answer 20

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

Question 21

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Answer 21

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

Question 22

stranger anxiety

Answer 22

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

Question 23

attachment

Answer 23

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

Question 24

critical period

Answer 24

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

Question 25

imprinting

Answer 25

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life.

Question 26

basic trust

Answer 26

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

Question 27

self-concept

Answer 27

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Question 28

adolescence

Answer 28

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Question 29

puberty

Answer 29

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

Question 30

identity

Answer 30

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 31

social identity

Answer 31

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

Question 32

intimacy

Answer 32

in Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood.

Question 33

emerging adulthood

Answer 33

a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.

Question 34

menopause

Answer 34

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.

Question 35

cross-sectional study

Answer 35

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

Question 36

longitudinal study

Answer 36

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

Question 37

neurocognitive disorders (NCDs)

Answer 37

acquired (not lifelong) disorders marked by cognitive deficits; often related to Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury or disease, or substance abuse. In older adults neurocognitive disorders were formerly called dementia.

Question 38

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 38

a neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with an onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.

Question 39

social clock

Answer 39

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