Exam #3 Terms (Developmental Psychology and Intelligence) Flashcards
What is developmental psychology?
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
What is a zygote?
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.
What is an embryo?
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
What is a fetus?
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
What are teratogens?
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm (literally, “monster makers”).
What is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)?
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.
What is habituation?
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.
What is maturation?
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
What is cognition?
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
What is a schema?
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
What is assimilation?
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.
What is accommodation?
Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.
What is the sensorimotor stage?
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
What is object permanence?
The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
What is the preoperational stage?
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.
What is 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.
What is egocentrism?
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.
What is theory of mind?
People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.
What is the concrete operational stage?
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
What is the 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.
What is a scaffold?
A framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.
What is autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?
A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.
What is the critical period?
An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.
What is imprinting?
The process by which certain animals from strong attachments during early life.
What is a strange situation?
A procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and then returns, and the child’s reactions are observed.
What is secure attachment?
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.
What is insecure attachment?
Demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness.
What is temperament?
A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.
What is basic trust?
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.
What is self-concept?
All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
What is authoritarian parenting?
Coercive parenting with rules and an expectation of obedience.
What is permissive parenting?
Unrestraining parenting with few demands, limits, and little punishment.
What is negligent parenting?
Uninvolved parenting with no close relationship between parent and child.
What is authoritative parenting?
Confrontive parenting that is both demanding and responsive.
What is sex?
The biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.
What is gender?
The socially influenced characteristics by which people define boy, girl, man, and woman.
What is aggression?
Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally.
What is relational aggression?
An act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing.
What is a role?
A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
What is a gender role?
A set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or for females.
What is gender identity?
Our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two.
What is social learning theory?
The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.
What is gender typing?
The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.
What is androgyny?
Displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological characteristics.
What is transgender?
An umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth-designated sex.
What is adolescence?
The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.
What is puberty?
The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.
What is preconventional morality (before age 9)?
Self interest; obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards.
What is conventional morality (early adolescence)?
Uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order.
What is postconventional morality (adolescence and beyond)?
Actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles.
What is identity?
Our sense of self.
What is social identity?
The “we” aspect of our self-concept.
What is intimacy?
The ability to form close, loving relationships.
What is emerging adulthood?
A period from about 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.
What is the X chromosome?
The sex chromosome found in both males and females.
What is the Y chromosome?
The sex chromosome typically found only in males.
What is testosterone?
The most important male sex hormone.
What are primary sex characteristics?
The body structures that make sexual reproduction possible.
What are secondary sex characteristics?
Nonreproductive sexual traits.
What is the spermarche?
First ejaculation.
What is the menarche?
First menstrual period.
What is intersex?
A condition present at birth due to unusual combinations of male and female chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy.
What is AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)?
A life-threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
What is sexual orientation?
Our enduring sexual attraction.
What is menopause?
The time of natural cessation of menstruation.
What is a cross-sectional study?
Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time.
What is a longitudinal study?
Research that follows and retests the same people over time.
What are neurocognitive disorders (NCDs)?
Acquired disorders marked by cognitive deficits.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
A neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques.
What is a social clock?
The culturally preferred timing of social events.
What is the virtue of the infancy period?
Trust vs. Mistrust
What is the virtue of the early childhood period?
Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt
What is the virtue of the play age period?
Initiative vs. Guilt
What is the virtue of the school age period?
Industry vs. Inferiority
What is the virtue of the adolescence period?
Identity vs. Identity Confusion
What is the virtue of the young adulthood period?
Intimacy vs. Isolation
What is the virtue of the adulthood period?
Generativity vs. Stagnation
What is the virtue of the old age period?
Integrity vs. Despair
What are the benchmarks for the sensorimotor stage?
Object permanence and stranger anxiety.
What are the benchmarks for the preoperational stage?
Pretend play and egocentrism.
What are the benchmarks for the concrete operational stage?
Conservation and logical thinking.
What are the benchmarks for the formal operational stage?
Abstract logic and moral reasoning.
What is intelligence?
The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
What is general intelligence (g)?
A general intelligence factor identified by Charles
Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.
What is factor analysis?
A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score.
What is Gardener’s theory of intelligence?
Multiple Intelligences: linguistics, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (self), interpersonal (others), and naturalist intelligence.
What is Savant Syndrome?
People who often score very low on intelligence tests but have an island of brilliance.
What is Sternberg’s theory of intelligence?
Triarchic Theory: analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.
What is Thurstone’s theory of intelligence?
Primary Mental Abilities: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory.
What is mental age?
A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance.
What is an achievement test?
A test intended to reflect what you have learned.
What is an aptitude test?
A test intended to predict your ability to learn a new skill.
What is standardization?
The process of making a test uniform, or setting it to a specific standard.
What is reliability?
Extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting.
What is validity?
Extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
What is content validity?
Extent to which a test samples the behavior
that is of interest.
What is predictive validity?
Success with which a test predicts the behavior that it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing
the correlation between test scores and criterion behavior.
What is crystallized intelligence?
Accumulated knowledge.
What is fluid intelligence?
Ability to reason speedily and abstractly.
