PSYC 500: Human Growth and Development COPY Flashcards
Accommodation
A term used in Piagetian theory to describe what occurs when a person alters their current schema or creates new schemas based on new information or new learnings.
EX: A young Caucasian girl had never met a black person in person, she only saw African-Americans on television or on social media. In her mind she had developed a negative image of how black people behave and interact with others (specifically authority figures). Upon entering 8th grade she met a black boy her age and developed a friendship with him. Through this new friendship she undergoes the process of accommodation by developing a more positive image of African-Americans.
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term in sociocultural theory when both masculine and feminine traits are present in a single individual. These traits represent personality, behavioral, emotional and physical characteristics of masculinity and femineity simultaneously within one individual.
EX: A heterosexual male, normally wears dresses and applies makeup daily. This male’s body language and appearance would be considered “gender-fluid”, meaning he wears close that are not always distinctive to male or female attire.
Assimilation
In Piagetian theory, assimilation refers to how an individual takes in new information or experiences and then incorporates that into a pre-existing schema without altering the original schema.
EX: An African American female works for a corporation consuming of employees who are predominately white. She understands that the music she listens to, the language she speaks (when she is around friends), and the way she wears her kinky hair is different than most of her colleagues. She learns over time to dress, speak, and wear her hair similar to her colleagues when she is at work. However, when she is not at work, she listens to music she likes, dresses the way she wants, and wears her natural kinky hair.
Attachment
Attachment is coined by John Bowlby when referring to infant development. Attachment is the close emotional connectedness between an individual to others and begins as early as infancy. Although attachment to caregivers are developed in infancy, they often influence relationships in adulthood.
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Child Abuse
The physical emotional, sexual, and/or neglectful maltreatment of a child, usually by a parent, guardian, or caregiver. This experience can cause pathology or developmental/social problems in a child. A therapist is legally a mandated reporter, meaning they are required to report any suspicion of child abuse to relevant authorities.
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Classical Conditioning
A term coined by Ivan Pavlov following his experimentation on canine salivation where he created an association between the sound of a bell and the presence of food. In classical conditioning, a novel behavior is learned by association or by pairing the behavior with a particular stimulus. The stimulus then elicits a behavioral reaction after repeated pairings, and ultimately the behavior alone elicits the same reaction.
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Cohort
A group of people who were born at a similar time and share a common experience/characteristic within a defined period of time. Cohorts are often used in cross-sectional designs and developmental research to determine cohort effect, which is any belief or characteristic shared by people in the same cohort that is influenced by pressures or challenges typical of that group.
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Continuity vs. Non-Continuity
A theoretical debate carried out by developmentalists concerning whether development occurs in a continuous or discontinuous manner. The continuous theory of development states that development is gradual and cumulative over time, whereas the discontinuous theory of development states that development occurs is distinct changes.
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Control Group
In a research design, the control group is nearly identical to the experimental group except that there is no manipulation of the independent variable or treatment in this group. The control group data serves as a baseline against which he effects of treatment can be measured.
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Correlational Research
A study of the relationship or association between two variables – a causal relationship cannot be determined using correlational research. A positive correlation occurs when both variables increase or decrease at the same time, whereas a negative correlation occurs when one variable increases while the other decreases.
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Critical Period
A period in development where growth must occur or it will occur later with difficulty or not at all. This critical period is a fixed period of time that takes place early on in development during which certain behaviors emerge, such as language development. One is particularly vulnerable to environmental factors that can interfere with normal development of these behaviors.
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Cross-Sectional Design
A research design that consists of a collection of many individuals with varying characteristics at on given time. The design provides a snapshot of the variables at that given time.
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Defense Mechanism
A term proposed by Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. A defense mechanism is a strategy/reaction that individuals use to avoid discomfort or stress. Defense mechanisms are typically unconscious reactions and are believed to be normal human processes, although can be problematic if overused. The process of defense mechanisms is generally conceptualized as the ego balancing the desires of the id with the restrictions of the superego.
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Developmental Level
A stage in development where one generally achieves certain milestones or growth markers within a certain time frame, indicating normal progression or growth. Developmental levels are important to understand for clinicians in how their client is developing.
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Egocentrism
A feature of Piaget’s preoperational stage, the second stage of his theory of cognitive development that lasts from ages 2 to 6. With egocentrism the child’s thoughts generally center around themselves and unable to understand a situation from another’s perspective. According to Piaget, an egocentric child assumes that all other people think and feel the same as they do. This feature is eliminated when the child moves into the concrete operational stage.
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Extinction
An operant conditioning technique used in behavioral therapy coined by B.F. Skinner. This technique involved discontinuing the reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior.
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Genotype
A term that refers to the complete genetic makeup of an individual with contribution of dominate and/or recessive genes from both parents. The genotype represents the individual’s exact genetic makeup and full hereditary information. This is important to clinicians has implications for counseling for genetic testing of genetic disorders.
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Genotype-Environmental Relationship
The relationship between one’s genetic material and genetic potential are and how environmental factors influence whether or not one reaches that genetic potential. A rich, encouraging environment will facilitate one’s genetic potential while a poor, discouraging environment will hinder it.
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