Exam Flashcards
A-not-B error
The tendency of 8- to 12-month-old infants to search for a hidden object in the place they last found it (A) rather than in its new hiding place (B).
acceptance–responsiveness
A dimension of parenting capturing the extent to which parents are supportive, sensitive to their children’s needs, and willing to provide affection and praise when their children meet their expectations.
Accommodation
In Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, the process of modifying existing schemes to incorporate or adapt to new experiences. Contrast with assimilation. In vision, a change in the shape of the eye’s lens to bring objects at differing distances into focus.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
The life-threatening disease in which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) destroys the immune system and makes victims susceptible to rare, so-called opportunistic, infections that eventually kill them. AIDS is transmitted through sexual activity, drug needle sharing, and from mother to child before or during birth.
active gene-environment correlation
Phenomenon in which children’s genotypes influence the kinds of environments they seek out and therefore experience. Contrast with evocative gene–environment correlation and passive gene–environment correlation.
Activity–passivity issue
The issue in developmental theory centering on whether humans are active contributors to their own development or are passively shaped by forces beyond their control.
Adaptation
In Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, a person’s inborn tendency to adjust to the demands of the environment, consisting of the complementary processes of assimilation and accommodation.
Adolescence
The transitional period between childhood and adulthood that begins with puberty and ends when the individual has acquired adult competencies and responsibilities; roughly ages 10 to 18 or later.
adolescent egocentrism
A characteristic of adolescent thought that involves difficulty differentiating between the person’s own thoughts and feelings and those of other people; evident in the personal fable and imaginary audience phenomena.
adolescent growth spurt
The rapid increase in physical growth that occurs during adolescence.
adoption study
Method of studying genetic and environmental influence that involves determining whether adopted children are more similar to their biological parents (whose genes they share) or adoptive parents (who shaped their environment).
Adrenarche
A period of increased production of adrenal hormones, starting around 6–8 years of age, that normally precedes increased production of gonadal hormones associated with puberty.
Affordances
In Eleanor and James Gibson’s ecological theory of perception, characteristics of an object that reveal what it has to offer humans and how it might be used by them.
Age effects
In developmental research, the effects of getting older or of developing. Contrast with cohort effects and time of measurement effects.
age grade
Socially defined age groups or strata, each with different statuses, roles, privileges, and responsibilities in society.
age norms
Expectations about what people should be doing or how they should behave at different points in the life span.
age of viability
A point (around the 24th prenatal week) when a fetus may survive outside the uterus if the brain and respiratory system are well enough developed and if excellent medical care is available.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
Damage to cells in the retina responsible for central vision.
Ageism
Prejudice and discrimination against elderly people.
Agency
An orientation toward individual action and achievement that emphasizes traits of dominance, independence, assertiveness, and competitiveness; considered masculine.
Aging
To most developmentalists, positive, negative, and neutral changes in the mature organism; different from biological aging.
alphabetic principle
The idea that the letters in printed words represent the sounds in spoken words.
Alzheimer’s disease
A pathological condition of the nervous system that results in an irreversible loss of cognitive capacities; the leading cause of dementia, or neurocognitive disorder, in later life.
Amniocentesis
A method of extracting amniotic fluid from a pregnant woman so that fetal body cells within the fluid can be tested for chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic defects.
Amnion
A watertight membrane that surrounds the developing embryo, regulating its temperature and cushioning it against injuries.
Amoral
Lacking any sense of morality; without standards of right and wrong.
analytic component
In Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence, the information-processing skills such as thinking critically and analytically.
androgenized female
A genetic female who was exposed to male sex hormones during the prenatal period and therefore developed malelike external genitals and some masculine behaviors.
Androgens
Male hormones that help trigger the adolescent growth spurt and the development of the male sex organs, secondary sex characteristics, and sexual motivation.
Androgyny
A gender-role orientation in which the person blends both positive masculine-stereotyped and positive feminine-stereotyped personality traits.
Andropause
The slower and less-dramatic male counterpart of menopause, characterized by decreasing levels of testosterone and symptoms that include low libido, fatigue and lack of energy, erection problems, memory problems, and loss of pubic hair.
Anencephaly
Condition in which the top of the neural tube fails to close and the main portion of the brain above the brain stem fails to develop properly.
Anorexia nervosa
A life-threatening eating disorder characterized by failure to maintain a normal weight, a strong fear of weight gain, and a distorted body image; literally, “nervous lack of appetite.”
Anoxia
A lack of sufficient oxygen to the brain that may result in neurological damage or death.
anterograde amnesia
The inability to form new memories of recent experiences. Contrast with retrograde amnesia.
anticipatory grief
Grieving before death for what is happening and for what lies ahead.
Antioxidant
Vitamins C, E, and similar substances that may increase longevity, although not for long, by inhibiting the free radical activity associated with oxidation and in turn preventing age-related diseases.
antisocial behavior
Behavior that violates social norms, rules, or laws and harms others or society (for example, lying, stealing, behaving aggressively).
Apgar test
A test routinely used to assess a newborn’s heart rate, respiration, color, muscle tone, and reflexes immediately after birth and 5 minutes later; used to identify high-risk babies.
Aphasia
A language disorder.
applied behavior analysis (ABA)
The application of reinforcement principles to teach skills and change behavior, for example to shape social and language skills in children with autism.
artificial insemination
A method of conception that involves injecting sperm from a woman’s partner or from a donor into the uterus.
Asperger syndrome
A form of autistic spectrum disorder in which the individual has normal or above-average intelligence, has good verbal skills, and wants to establish social relationships but has seriously deficient mindreading and social skills. No longer a separate diagnosis in DSM-5.
Assimilation
Piaget’s term for the process by which children interpret new experiences in terms of their existing schemata. Contrast with accommodation.
assisted suicide
Making available to individuals who wish to commit suicide the means by which they may do so, such as when a physician provides a terminally ill patient who wants to die with enough medication to overdose.
at risk
Children who have a higher than normal chance of either short-term or long-term problems because of genetic defects, prenatal hazards, or perinatal damage.
Attachment
A strong affectional tie that binds a person to an intimate companion and is characterized by affection and a desire to maintain proximity.
Attachment theory
The theory of close relationships developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth and grounded in ethological theory (with psychoanalytic theory and cognitive theory); it says that close emotional bonds such as parent-child attachments are biologically based and contribute to species survival.
Attention
Focusing perception and cognition on something in particular.
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A disorder characterized by attentional difficulties, or overactive and impulsive behavior, or both.
Authoritarian parenting
A restrictive style of parenting combining high demandingness–control and low acceptance–responsiveness in which adults impose many rules, expect strict obedience, and often rely on power tactics rather than explanations to elicit compliance.
Authoritative parenting
A flexible style of parenting combining high demandingness–control and high acceptance–responsiveness in which adults lay down clear rules but also take their children’s views into account and explain the rationale for their restrictions.
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
A category of pervasive developmental disorders that includes what was previously called autism, Asperger syndrome, and related conditions and that involves (1) social and communication problems and (2) restricted interests and repetitive behavior.
autobiographical memories
Memory of everyday events that the individual has experienced.
Automatization
The process by which information processing becomes effortless and highly efficient as a result of continued practice or increased expertise.
Autonomy
The capacity to make decisions independently, serve as one’s own source of emotional strength, and otherwise manage life tasks without being overdependent on other people; an important developmental task of adolescence.
autonomy versus shame and doubt
The psychosocial conflict in which toddlers attempt to demonstrate their independence from and control over other people; second of Erikson’s stages.
Avoidant attachment
An insecure infant caregiver bond or other intimate relationship characterized by little separation anxiety and a tendency to avoid or ignore the attachment object upon reunion.
Babbling
An early form of vocalization that appears between 4 and 6 months of age and involves repeating consonant–vowel combinations such as “baba” or “dadada.”
baby biographies
Carefully recorded observations of the growth and development of children by their parents over a period; the first scientific investigations of development.
baby boom generation
The huge generation of people born between 1946 (the close of World War II) and 1964.
Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID)
Standardized test to measure the mental, motor, and behavioral progress of infants and young children.
Behavioral genetics
The scientific study of the extent to which genetic and environmental differences among individuals are responsible for differences among them in traits such as intelligence and personality.
Behaviorism
A school of thinking in psychology that holds that conclusions about human development should be based on controlled observations of overt behavior rather than on speculation about unconscious motives or other unobservable phenomena; the philosophical underpinning of early theories of learning.
belief–desire psychology
The theory of mind reflecting an understanding that people’s desires and beliefs guide their behavior and that their beliefs are not always an accurate reflection of reality; evident by age 4. Contrast with desire psychology.
Bereavement
A state of loss that provides the occasion for grief and mourning.
beta-amyloid
A toxic protein that injures neurons and is located in the senile plaques outside neural cells that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Big Five
The five major dimensions used to characterize people’s personalities: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Bilingual
Knowing two or more languages.
Binge eating disorder
Eating disorder that, like bulimia, involves binge eating but, unlike bulimia, does not involve purging.
bioecological model
Bronfenbrenner’s model of development that emphasizes the roles of both nature and nurture as the developing person interacts with a series of environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem) over time (chronosystem).
Biological aging
The deterioration of organisms that leads inevitably to their death.
