Developmental Psychology

Question 1

Zygotes

Answer 1

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Question 2

Embryo

Answer 2

developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization

Question 3

Fetus

Answer 3

human organism from 9 weeks after fertilization through to birth

Question 4

Teratogens

Answer 4

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

Question 5

FAS

Answer 5

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; physical and cognitive abnormalities in children causes by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking

Question 6

Habituation

Answer 6

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Question 7

Maturation

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Cognition

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Schema

Answer 9

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Question 10

Assimilation

Answer 10

interpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas

Question 11

Accomodation

Answer 11

adapting our current understandings (schema) to incorporate new information

Question 12

Sensorimotor Stage

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Object Permanence

Answer 13

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Question 14

Preoperational Stage

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Conservation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Egocentrism

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Theory of Mind

Answer 17

people’s ideas about their own and others mental states - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

Question 18

Concrete Operational Stage

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Formal Operational Stage

Answer 19

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (12+ years old) during which people begin to think logically and about abstract concepts

Question 20

Autism

Answer 20

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others’ states of mind

Question 21

Stranger Anxiety

Answer 21

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display beginning at about 8 months of age

Question 22

Attachment

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Critical Period

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Imprinting

Answer 24

the process by which certain animals form attachments during the critical period very early in life

Question 25

Basic Trust

Answer 25

a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Question 26

Self-Concept

Answer 26

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

Question 27

Adolescence

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Puberty

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Primary Sex Characteristics

Answer 29

the body structures (ovaries, testes, external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

Question 30

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Answer 30

non-reproductive sexual characteristics (breasts, hips)

Question 31

Menarche

Answer 31

the first menstrual period

Question 32

Identity

Answer 32

our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescents task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating verious roles

Question 33

Social Identity

Answer 33

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “who am I” that comes from our group memberships

Question 34

Intimacy

Answer 34

in Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

Question 35

Emerging Adulthood

Answer 35

for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to early 20s, bridging the gap between adolescence dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

Question 36

Culture

Answer 36

the enduring ideas, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitting by one generation to the next

Question 37

Norm

Answer 37

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior

Question 38

Personal Space

Answer 38

the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies

Question 39

Individualism

Answer 39

giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Question 40

Collectivism

Answer 40

giving priority to goals one one’s group and defining one’s identity accordingly

Question 41

Aggression

Answer 41

physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

Question 42

X-Chromosome

Answer 42

sex chromosome found in both males and females

Question 43

Y-Chromosome

Answer 43

sex chromosome found only in males

Question 44

Testosterone

Answer 44

additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Question 45

Role

Answer 45

a set of expectations (norms) about social position and how you behave

Question 46

Gender Role

Answer 46

a set of expected behaviors for males and females

Question 47

Gender Identity

Answer 47

our sense of being male or female

Question 48

Gender Typing

Answer 48

the acquisition of a traditional masculine/feminine role

Question 49

Social Learning Theory

Answer 49

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