Developmental Psychology Flashcards
fetus
delelovping human organism
cognition
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering & communicating
embryo
developing human organism
intimacy
ability to form close, loving relationships
menopause
natural cessation of menstruation
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
physical & cognitive abnormalities in children caused by mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy
stranger anxiety
a fear of strangers infants have at 8 months of age
identity
one’s sense of self
longitudinal study
people are restudied & retested over a long period of time
egocentrism
cannot see through another’s point of view
self concept
a sense of one’s identity & personal growth
puberty
period of sexual maturation
imprinting
certain animals form attachments during critical period
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
preoperational stage
uses language but does not comprehend logic
autism
disorder marked by deficient communication, social interaction & others’ state of mind
adolescence
transition period from childhood to adulthood
maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior relatively uninfluenced by experiences
developmental psychology
studies physical, cognitive & social change throughout the life span
formal operational stage
can think logically about abstract concepts
critical period
period shortly after birth when exposure produces proper development
secondary sex characteristics
non-reproductive characteristics (breasts)
assimilation
interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing schemas
accommodation
adapting one’s current schemas to incorporate new information
schema
a concept or frame work that organizes & interprets information
teratogens
agents that can reach the embryo of fetus and cause harm
concrete operational
gain mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events
object permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Alzheimer’s Disease
progressive & irreversable brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memroy, reasonly, language & physical functioning
attachment
emotional tie with another person
crystallized intelligance
accumulated knowledge & verbal skilles (increases with age)
cross-sectional study
people of different ages are compared with one another
theory of mind
ideas about your own and others’ mental states
rooting reflex
a baby’s tendency to turn towards & search for a nipple when touched on the cheek
sensorimotor stage
knwoing the world in forms of sensory impressiongs & motor activities
basic trust
a sense that the world is trustworthy and predictalbe
primary sex characteristics
body structures that make reproduction possible (ovaries, testes)
zygote
the fertilized egg
fluid intelligance
one’s ability to reason speedily & abstractily (tends to decrease with age)
menarche
first menstrual period
social clock
culturally preferred timing of social events such a marriage, parenthood & retirement
