Psychology Chapter 11 Flashcards
Developental psychology
The study of continuity and change across the life span
Zygote
A fertilized egg that contains chromosomes from both a sperm and an egg
Germinal stage
The 2-week period of prenatal development that begins at conception
Embryonic stage
The period of prenatal development that lasts from the 2nd week until about the 8th week
Fetal stage
The prenatal development that lasts from the 9th week until birth
Myelination
The formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron
Teratogens
Any substances that pass from mother to unborn child and impair development
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
A developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy
Infancy
The stage of development that begins at birth and lasts between 18 and 24 months
Motor development
The emergence of the ability to execute physical action
Motor reflexes
Specific motor responses that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation
Cephalocaudal rule
The “top-to-bottom” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet
Proximodistal rule
The “inside-to-outside” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the centre to the periphery
Cognitive development
The process by which infants and children gain the ability to think and understand
Sensorimotor stage
A stage of cognitive development that begins at birth and lasts through infancy, during which infants aquire information about the world by sensing it and moving around within it
Schemas
Theories about the way the world works
Assimilation
The 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
The fact that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible
Childhood
The stage of development that begins at about 18 to 24 months and lasts until adolescence, which begins between 11 and 14 years
Preoperational stage
The stage of cognitive development that begins at about 2 years and ends at about 6 years, during which children develop a preliminary understanding of the physical world
Concrete operational stage
The stage of cognitive development that begins at about 6 years and ends at about 11 years, during which children learn how various actions, or operations, can affect or transform concrete objects
Conservation
The notion that the quantitative properties of an object are invariant despite changes in the object’s appearance
Formal operational stage
The final stage of cognitive development that begins around the age of 11, during which children learn to reason about abstract concepts
Egocentrism
The failure to understand that the world appears different to different people
Theory of mind
The understanding that the mind produces representations of the world and that these representations guide behaviour
Attachment
The emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers
Strange Situation
A behavioural test that is used to determine a child’s attachment style
Temperaments
Characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity
Internal working model of relationships
A set of beliefs about the self, the primary caregiver, and the relationship between them
Preconventional stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by its consequences for the actor
Conventional stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by the extent to which it conforms to social rules
Postconventional stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values
Adolescence
The period of development that begins with the onset of sexual maturity (about 11 to 14 years of age) and lasts until the beginning of adulthood (about 18 to 21 years of age)
Puberty
The onset of 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
