lesson 9 Flashcards
Developmental psychology
Study of continuity and change across the lifespan
Germinal stage
2‐week period that begins at conception
Zygote
Fertilized egg that contains chromosomes from both a sperm and an egg
Embryonic stage
Period that lasts from the 2nd week until about the 8th week
Fetal stage
Period that lasts from the 9th week until birth
Myelination
Formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron
womb
an environment that affects an unborn baby in many ways.
placenta
the organ that links the blood streams of the mother to the unborn baby that permits the exchange of materials.
Teratogens
Agents that damage the process of development, such as drugs and viruses
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy
Infancy
Stage of development that begins at birth and lasts between 18 and 24 months
Cephalocaudal rule
‘Top‐to‐bottom’ rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet
Proximodistal rule
‘Inside‐to‐outside’ rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the center to the periphery
Cognitive development
Emergence of the ability to think and understand
Jean Piaget
(1896‐1980) created stages of cognitive development.
Sensorimotor stage (birth‐2 years)
Infants acquire information about the world by sensing it and moving around within it
Schemas
Theories about or models of the way the world works
Assimilation
Process by which infants apply their schemas in novel
situations
Accommodation
The process by which infants revise their schemas in light of new information
Object permanence
Idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible
Preoperational stage (2‐6years)
Children have a preliminary understanding of the physical world
Concrete operational stage (6‐11years)
Children learn how various actions or operations can affect or transform concrete objects
Conservation
Notion that the quantitative properties of an object are invariant despite changes in the object’s appearance
Formal operational stage (11years+)
Children can solve non‐ physical problems; abstract thinking
Childhood
Stage of development that begins at about 18‐24 months and lasts until adolescence
Egocentrism
Failure to understand that the world appears differently to different observers; observed during preoperational stage
Theory of mind
Idea that human behaviour is guided by mental representations
Lev Vygotsky
(1896‐1934) believed children develop through interactions with members of his/her own culture.
Joint attention
Ability to focus on what another person is focused on
Social referencing
Ability to use another person’s reactions as information about the world
Imitation
Ability to do what another person does
Harry Harlow
(1905‐1981) conducted attachment experiments with baby monkeys.
Konrad Lorenz
(1903‐1989) discovered imprinting in newly hatched goslings.
John Bowlby
(1907‐1990) argued that infants innately channel signals to primary caregivers to form attachment.
Attachment
Emotional bond that forms between new borns and their primary caregivers
Strange situation
Behavioural test developed by Mary Ainsworth that is used to determine a child’s attachment style
Internal working model of relationships
Set of beliefs about the self, the primary caregiver, and the relationship between them
Temperaments
Characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity.
Lawrence Kohlberg
(1927‐1987) developed a theory of three stages in moral development
Preconventional stage (childhood)
Morality of an action is primarily determined by its consequences for the actor
Conventional stage (adolescence)
Morality of an action is primarily determined by the extent to which it conforms to social rules
Postconventional stage (adults)
Morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values
Moral intuitionist perspective
Perceptions of right and wrong are evolutionarily emotional reactions
Adolescence
Period of development that begins with the onset of sexual maturity (about 11‐14 years of age) and lasts until the beginning of adulthood (about 18‐21 years of age)
Puberty
Bodily changes associated with sexual maturity
Primary sex characteristics
Bodily structures that are directly involved in
reproduction
Secondary sex characteristics
Bodily structures that change dramatically with sexual maturity but that are not directly involved in reproduction
Erik Erikson
(1902‐1994) developed stages of human development
that all humans go through.
Adulthood
Stage of development that begins around 18 to 21 years and ends at death.
socio‐emotional selectivity theory
states that younger adults are oriented toward future‐pertinent (useful) information while older adults focus on (positive) emotional satisfaction in the present, perhaps because of shortened futures.
