Modules 13-16 (Lecture 5) Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
A branch of Psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social development throughout the lifespan
Cross-sectional Study
Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time.
Longitudinal Study
Research that follow and retests the same people over time.
Zygote
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.
Embryo
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
Fetus
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
Teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
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.
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Maturation
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
Assimilation
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
Accommodation
Adapting our current understandings to incorporate new information.
Sensorimotor stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years) at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities. (1)
Object Permanence
The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
Preoperational Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years) at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. (2)
Conservation
The principle (which Piaget believed to be part of operation reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite the changes in the forms of objects.
Egocentrism
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view
Concrete Operational Stage
In Piaget’s theory; the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years) at which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events. (3)
Formal Operational Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about 12) at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts. (4)
Scaffold
In Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.
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.
Stranger Anxiety
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.
Attachment
An emotional tie with others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation.
Critical Period
An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce normal development
Imprinting
The process by which certain animals from strong attachments during early life
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.
Self-Concept
All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
Adolescence
The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
Puberty
The period of sexual maturation, during which a person usually becomes capable of reproducing.
Identity
Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent;s task is solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.
Social Identity
The “we” aspect of sour self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group membership
Intimacy
In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood
Emerging Adulthood
A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western culture are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.
Menopause
The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.
Neurocognitive Disorders (NCDs)
Acquired (not lifelong) disorders marked by cognitive deficits; often related to Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury or disease, or substance abuse. In older adults, neurocognitive disorders are also called Dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease
A neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.
Social Clock
The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
Power of Attorney
The authority to act for a another person in specified or all legal or financial matters
Advanced Medical Directive (living will)
A written statement detailing a person’s desires regarding their medical treatment in circumstances in which they are no longer able to express informed consent.
Last Will and Testament
A written statement regarding a person’s assets after their death
Kubler-Ross’ Five Stages of Dying
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance
Hospice Care
A program that provides care and support for people who are nearing the end of their life
Nest Syndrome
Refers to the grief that many parents feel when their children move out of home.
Senescence
The condition or process of deterioration with age.
Apoptosis
A type of cell death in which a series of molecular steps in a cell lead to its death
Harry Harlow’s contribution
Contact Comfort. The infants need for physical closeness and touching. Confirms that babies have social as well as physical needs.
Importance of having Fathers
Statistics are staggering as to the negative effects of not having fathers around to help raise and care for children
Fluid Intelligence
Is the ability to learn, asses, and navigate new situations. (used more so in early life)
Crystalized Intelligence
Is accumulated knowledge you can recall as needed (used more so in later life)
