Chapter 9 Discovering Psychology Vocabulary Flashcards
The branch of psychology that studies how people change over the lifespan.
Developmental Psychology
Research strategy in which a variable or group of variables are studied in the same group of participants over time.
Longitudinal Design
Research strategy in which individuals of different ages or developmental stages are directly compared.
Cross-Sectional Design
The single cell formed at conception from the union of the egg cell and the sperm cell.
Zygote
A long, thread-like structure composed of twisted parallel stands of DNA; found in the cell nucleus.
Chromosome
The double-stranded molecule that encodes genetic instructions; the chemical basis of heredity.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
A unit of DNA on a chromosome that encodes instructions for making a particular protein molecule; the basic unit of heredity.
Gene
The genetic makeup of an individual organism.
Genotype
Chromosomes designated as X or Y, that determine biological sex; the 23rd pair of chromosomes in humans.
Sex Chromosomes
The observable traits or characteristics of an organism as determined by the interaction of genetics and environmental factors.
Phenotype
The study of the cellular mechanisms that control gene expression and of the ways that gene expression impacts health and behavior.
Epigenetics
The stage of development before birth; divided into the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods.
Prenatal Stage
The first two weeks of prenatal development.
Germinal Period
The second period of prenatal development, extending from the third week through the eighth week.
Embryonic Period
Harmful agents or substances that can cause malformations or defects in the embryo or fetus.
Teratogens
Undifferentiated cells that can divide and give rise to cells that can develop into any one of the body’s different cell types.
Stem cells
The third and longest period of prenatal development, extending from the ninth week until birth.
Fetal Period
Inborn predispositions to consistently behave and react in a certain way.
Temperament
The emotional bond that forms between an infant and caregiver(s), especially his or her parents.
Attachment
The words that are understood by an infant or child.
Comprehension Vocabulary
The words that an infant or child understands and can speak.
Production Vocabulary
The cultural, social, and psychological meanings that are associated with masculinity or femininity.
Gender
The behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits that are designated as either masculine or feminine in a given culture.
Gender Roles
A person’s psychological sense of being male or female.
Gender Identity
The theory that gender roles are acquired through the basic processes of learning, including reinforcement, punishment, and modeling.
Social Learning Theory of Gender-Role Development
The theory that gender-role development is influenced by the formation of schemas, or mental representations of masculinity and femininity.
Gender Schema Theory
Condition in which a person’s psychological gender identity conflicts with his or her biological sex.
Transgender
In Piaget’s theory, the first stage of cognitive development, from birth to about age 2; the period during which the infant explores the environment and acquires knowledge through sensing and manipulating objects.
Sensorimotor Stage
The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it can no longer be seen.
Object Permanence
In Piaget’s theory, the second stage fo cognitive development, which lasts from about age 2 to age 7; characterized by increasing use of symbols and prelogical thought processes.
Preoperational Stage
The ability to use words, images, and symbols to represent the world.
Symbolic Thought
In Piaget’s theory, the inability to take another person’s perspective or point of view.
Egocentrism
In Piaget’s theory, the inability to mentally reverse a sequence of events or logical operations.
Irreversibility
In Piaget’s theory, the tendency to focus, or center, on only one aspect of a situation and ignore other important aspects of the situation.
Centration
In Piaget’s theory, the understanding that two equal quantities remain equal even though the form or appearance of rearranged, as long as nothing is added or subtracted.
Conservation
In Piaget’s theory, the third stage of cognitive development, which lasts from about age 7 to adolescense; characterized by the ability to think logically about concrete objects and situations.
Concrete Operational Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the fourth stage pf cognitive development, which lasts from adolescence through adulthood; characterized by the ability to think logically about abstract principals and hypothetical situations.
Formal Operational Stage
In Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development, the difference between what children can accomplish on their own and what they can accomplish with the help of others who are more competent.
Zone of Proximal Development
The model that views cognitive development as a process that is continuous over the lifespan and that studies the development of basic mental processes such as attention, memory, and problem solving.
Information-Processing Model of Cognitive Development
The transitional stage between late childhood and the beginning of adulthood, during which sexual maturity is reached.
Adolescence
The stage of adolescence in which an individual reaches sexual maturity and becomes psysiologically capable of sexual reproduction.
Puberty
Sexual organs that are directly involved in reproduction, such as the uterus, ovaries, penis, and testicles.
Primary Sex Characteristics
Sexual characteristics that develop during puberty and are not directly involved in reproduction but differentiate between the sexes, such as male facial hair and female breast development.
Secondary Sex Characteristics
That period of accelerated growth during puberty, involving rapid increases in height and weight.
Adolescent Growth Spurt
A female’s first menstrual period, which occurs during puberty.
Menarche
A person’s sense of self, including his or her memories, experiences, and the values and beliefs that guide his or her behavior.
Identity
The aspect of cognitive development that has to do with how an individual reasons about moral decisions.
Moral Reasoning
In industrialized countries, the stage of lifespan from approximately the late teens to the mid-to-late-20’s, which is characterized by exploration, instability, and flexibility in social roles, vocational choices, and relationships.
Emerging Adulthood
The natural cessation of menstruation and the end of reproductive capacity in women.
Menopause
The psychosocial theory that life satisfaction in late adulthood is highest when people maintain the level of activity they displayed earlier in life.
Activity Theory of Aging
Parenting style in which parents are demanding and unresponsive toward their children’s needs or wishes.
Authoritarian Parenting Style
Parenting style in which parents are extremely tolerant and not demanding; permissive-indulgent parents are responsive to their children, while permissive-indifferent parents are unresponsive.
Permissive Parenting Style
Parenting style in which parents can set clear standards for their children’s behavior but are also responsive to their children’s needs and wishes.
Authoritative Parenting Style
A discipline technique that combines parental control with explaining why a behavior is prohibited.
Induction
