Developmental Vocab Flashcards
The sex chromosome found in both men and women; females have two and males have one; one from each parents produces a female child
X Chromosome
The sex chromosome found only in males; when paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child
Y Chromosome
In psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
Gender
Menarche
The first menstrual period
Conservation
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
Pre-Operational
in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
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
sensorimotor stage
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
object permanence
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Developmental Psychology
Identity
Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
Heritability
The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. This may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.
Interaction
The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)
Concrete operational stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
Formal operational stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.
In piagets theory the perceptional Childs difficulty taking another’s point of view
Egocentrism
Behavior genetics
The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
Environment
Every nongenetic influence from nutrition to the people and things around us
Peoples ideas about their own and others mental states about their feelings perceptions and thoughts and the behaviors these might predict
Theory of mind
the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
Zygote
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 feeling about ourselves, in answer to the question, “who am I?”
Self-concept
an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation
attachment
an organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it
Habituation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
Maturation
an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experience produces proper development
critical period
a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others’ states of minds
Autism
