HPS121-T2-Ch12-Development Over the Lifespan Flashcards
Accommodation
in cognitive development, the process by which new experiences cause existing schemas to change.
Adolescence
The period of development that involves gradual transition between childhood and adulthood.
Adolescent egocentrism
highly self-focused thinking, particularly in early teenage years.
Assimilation
in cognitive development, the process by which new experiences are incorporated into existing schemas.
Attachment
the strong emotional bond that develops between two people; developmentally, the bond between children and their primary caregivers.
Authoritative parents
caregivers who are controlling but warm; they establish and enforce clear rules within a caring, supportive atmosphere.
Cephalocaudal principle:
the tendency for physical development to proceed in a-head-to-foot direction.
Concrete operational stage:
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development during which children can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve tangible (i.e. ‘concrete’) objects and situations.
Conservation
the principle that basic properties of objects, such as their mass or quantity, stay the same (are ‘conserved’) even though their outward appearance may change.
Conventional moral reasoning:
according to Kohlberg, the stage at which moral judgements are based on conformity to social expectations, laws and duties.
Critical period
limited time periods during which plasticity can occur as a result of experience or in response to injury; in development, a time period in which exposure to particular kinds of stimulation is required for normal growth to occur.
Cross-sectional design:
a research design that simultaneously compares people of different ages at a particular point in time.
Egocentrism
difficulty in viewing the world from someone else’s perspective.
Embryo
a scientific term for the prenatal organism during the 2nd week through the 8th week after conception.
Emotion regulation:
processes by which we evaluate and modify our emotional reactions.
Epigenetics
changes in gene expression that are independent of the DNA itself and are caused instead by environmental factors.
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD):
a range of mild to severe developmental abnormalities produced by prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS):
a severe group of abnormalities resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Foetus
a scientific term for the prenatal organism from the 9th week after conception until birth.
Formal operational stage:
in Piaget’s theory, the period in which individuals are able to think logically and systematically about both concrete and abstract problems, form hypotheses and test them in a thoughtful way.
Gender constancy:
the understanding that being male or being female is a permanent part of a person.
Gender identity:
the sense of ‘femaleness’ or ‘maleness’ that is an integral part of our identity.
Imprinting
in some species, a sudden, biologically primed form of attachment.
Indulgent parents:
caregivers who give warm and caring relationships with their children but do not provide much guidance or discipline.
Longitudinal design:
a research approach in which the same people are repeatedly tested as they grow older.
Maturation
a genetically programmed biological process that governs our growth.
Neglectful parents
caregivers who provide neither warmth nor rules or guidance.
Object permanence:
the recognition that an object continues to exist even when it no longer can be seen.
Post conventional moral reasoning:
according to Kohlberg, the stage at which moral judgements are based on a system of internalised, well thought-out moral principles.
Preconventional moral reasoning:
according to Kohlberg, the stage at which moral judgements are based on anticipated punishments or rewards.
Preoperational stage:
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development in which children represent the world symbolically through words and mental images but do not yet understand basic mental operations and rules.
Proximodistal principle:
the tendency for physical development to begin along the innermost parts of the body and continue toward the outermost parts.
Psychosocial stages:
a sequence of eight developmental stages proposed by Erikson, each of which involves a different ‘crisis’ (i.e. conflict) over how we view ourselves in relation to other people and the world.
Puberty
a period of rapid biological maturation in which the person becomes capable of sexual reproduction.
Reflexes
automatic, inborn behaviours triggered by specific stimuli.
Schema
a mental framework; an organised pattern of thought about some aspect of the world, such as a class of people, events, situations or objects.
Senile dementia:
dementia (a gradual loss of cognitive abilities due to normal brain deterioration) that begins after age 65.
Sensitive period:
an optimal age range for certain experiences, but if those experiences occur at another time, normal development will still be possible.
Sensorimotor stage:
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development in which children understand their world primarily through sensory experiences and physical (motor) interactions with objects.
Separation anxiety:
distressed experienced by infants when they are separated from a primary caregiver, peaking between ages 12 and 16 months and disappearing between ages 2 and 3 years.
Sequential design:
a research approach that involves repeatedly testing several age cohorts as they grow older.
Stranger anxiety:
distress over contact with strangers that typically develops in the first year of infancy and dissipates in the second year.
Strange situation:
a standardised procedure used to determine the type of emotional attachment between infant and caregiver.
Temperament
a biologically based general style of reacting emotionally and behaviourally to the environment.
Teratogens
environmental (non-genetic) agents that cause abnormal prenatal development.
Theory of mind:
a person’s beliefs about the ‘mind’ and the ability to understand other people’s mental states.
Zone of proximal development:
the difference between what a child can do independently and what the child can do with assistance from adults or more advanced peers.
Zygote
the fertilised egg.
‘Natural’ experiment:
A natural experiment is an empirical study in which individuals (or clusters of individuals) exposed to the experimental and control conditions are determined by nature or by other factors outside the control of the investigators, yet the process governing the exposures arguably resembles random assignment.
