Developing Through the Lifespan (Modules 14-16) Flashcards
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
Maturation
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Cognition
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Schemas
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
Assimilate
In developmental psychology, adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information
Accommodate
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
Sensorimotor Stage
The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Object Permanence
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
Preoperational Stage
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
Conservation
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view
Egocentric
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) at which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events
Concrete Operational Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts
Formal Operational Stage
In Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking
Scaffold
People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict
Theory of Mind
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age
Stranger Anxiety
An emotional tie with others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation
Attachment
An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development
Critical Period
The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life
Imprinting
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
Basic Trust
All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, an answer to the question, “Who Am I?”
Self-Concept
1) Authoritarian - Coercive, 2) Permissive - Unrestraining, 3) Neglectful - Uninvolved, and 4) Authoritative - Confrontive
Types of Parenting Styles
The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
Adolescence
The period of sexual maturation, during which a person usually becomes capable of reproducing
Puberty
Self-interest; obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards
Preconventional Morality (before age 9)
Uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order
Conventional Morality (early adolescence)
Actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles
Postconventional Morality (adolescence and beyond)
The “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships
Social Identity
In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood
Intimacy
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
Emerging Adulthood
The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
Menopause
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 are also called dementia
Neurocognitive Disorder (NCD)
A neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities
Alzheimer’s Disease
The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
Social Clock
