Development

Question 1

in developmental psychology, adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Answer 1

accomodation

Question 2

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas;similarities

Answer 2

assimilation

Question 3

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

Answer 3

cognition

Question 4

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Answer 4

conservation

Question 5

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

Answer 5

egocentrism

Question 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

Answer 6

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Question 7

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Answer 7

fetus

Question 8

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

Answer 8

habituation

Question 9

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

Answer 9

maturation

Question 10

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Answer 10

object permanence

Question 11

In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2-7) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Answer 11

preoperational stage

Question 12

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Answer 12

schema

Question 13

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

Answer 13

sensorimotor stage

Question 14

agents, such as chemicals and viruses that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Answer 14

teratogens

Question 15

people’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors that these may predict

Answer 15

theory of mind

Question 16

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

Answer 16

attachment

Question 17

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6/7-11 years) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about events

Answer 17

concrete operational stage

Question 18

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce proper development

Answer 18

critical period

Question 19

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

Answer 19

formal operational stage

Question 20

in psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female

Answer 20

gender

Question 21

our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two; seeing who we are

Answer 21

gender identity

Question 22

set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or females; a set of expectations specifically for one gender or the other

Answer 22

gender roles

Question 23

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role; to learn the role of male or female

Answer 23

gender typing

Question 24

demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness

Answer 24

insecure attachment

Question 25

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave; just a set of expectations

Answer 25

role

Question 26

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves and find comfort in the caregiver’s return

Answer 26

secure attachment

Question 27

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

Answer 27

self-concept

Question 28

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

Answer 28

stranger anxiety

Question 29

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

Answer 29

social learning theory

Question 30

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Answer 30

temperament

Question 31

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

Answer 31

adolescence

Question 32

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

Answer 32

Alzheimer’s

Question 33

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time; quicker, less expensive test

Answer 33

cross-sectional study

Question 34

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

Answer 34

longitudinal study

Question 35

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

Answer 35

menopause

Question 36

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

Answer 36

neurocognitive disorders

Question 37

the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible; these are needed to reproduce

Answer 37

primary sexual characteristics

Question 38

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

Answer 38

puberty

Question 39

nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and hair; these are not needed to reproduce

Answer 39

secondary sexual characteristics

Question 40

our enduring sexual attraction, usually toward members of our own sex or the other sex; variations include attractions to both sexes

Answer 40

sexual orientation

Question 41

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

Answer 41

social clock

Question 42

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships; figuring out who we should associate ourselves with

Answer 42

social identity

Question 43

an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex

Answer 43

transgender

Question 44

the sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have 2; males have 1. One of these chromosomes from each parent produces a a female child

Answer 44

X chromosome

Question 45

the sex chromosome found only in males

Answer 45

Y chromosome