Development Flashcards
Gene
Unit of hereditary transmission
Chromosomes
Strands of DNA wound around each other in a double-helix configuration
Heritability
A measure of the variability of behavioral traits among individuals that can be accounted for by genetic factors
Developmental Psycholgy
The study of continuity and change across the lifespan… from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood
Cognitive Devolpment
the emergence of the ability to think and understand
Sensorimotor Stage
infants acquire information about the world by sensing it an moving around within it (Ages 0-2)
Schemas
theories about or models of the way the world works
Assimilation
the process by which infants apply their schemas in novel situations
Accomodation
The process by which infants revise their schemas in light of new information
Object permanence
the idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible
Childhood
the stage of development that begins at about 18-24 months and lasts until adolescence
Preoperational stage
children have a preliminary understanding of the physical world (Ages 2-6)
Egocentrism
the failure to understand that the world appears differently to different observers; observed during proportional stage
Theory of mind
the idea that human behavior is guided by mental representations
Concerte Operational Stage
children learn how various actions or operations can affect or transform concrete objects (Ages 6-11)
Conversation
the notion that quantitative properties of an object are invariant despite changes in the objects appearance
Formal Operational Stage
children can solve non-physical problems; abstract thinking (Age 11-adulthood)
Joint attention
the ability to focus on what another person is focused on
Social refrencing
the ability to use another person’s reactions as information about the world
Imitation
the ability to do what another person does
Attachment
the emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers (secure, insecure: avoidant, ambivalent, disorganized attachment styles)
Strange situation
a behavioral test developed by Mary Ainsworth that is used to determine a child’s attachment style (Cultural differences)
Internal working model of relationships
set of beliefs about the self, the primary caregiver, and the relationship between them
Temperaments
Characteristic pattern of emotional reactivity
Adolescence
the period of development that begins with the onset of sexual maturity (about 11-14 years of age) and lasts until the beginning of adulthood (about 18-21 years of age)
Puberty
the bodily changes associated with sexual maturity
Primary sex characterisitics
bodily structures that are directly involved in reproduction
Secondary sex characteristics
bodily structures that change dramatically with sexual maturity but are not directly involved in reproduction
Adulthood
the stage of development that begins around 18 to 21 years and ends at death
