SLS20 Chapter 11: Development

Question 1

developmental psychology

Answer 1

The study of continuity and change across the life span

Question 2

zygote

Answer 2

A fertilized egg that contains chromosomes from both a sperm and an egg

Question 3

germinal stage

Answer 3

The 2-week period of prenatal development that begins at conception

Question 4

embryonic stage

Answer 4

The period of prenatal development that lasts from the second week until about the eighth week

Question 5

fetal stage

Answer 5

The period of prenatal development that lasts from the ninth week until birth

Question 6

myelination

Answer 6

The formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron

Question 7

teratogens

Answer 7

Agents that damage the process of development, such as drugs and viruses

Question 8

fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 8

A developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy

Question 9

infancy

Answer 9

The stage of development that begins at birth and lasts between 18 and 24 months

Question 10

motor development

Answer 10

The emergence of the ability to execute physical action

Question 11

reflexes

Answer 11

Specific patterns of motor response that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation

Question 12

cephalocaudal rule

Answer 12

The “top-to-bottom” rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet

Question 13

proximodistal rule

Answer 13

The “inside-to-outside rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the center to the periphery

Question 14

cognitive development

Answer 14

The emergence of the ability to think and understand

Question 15

sensorimotor stage

Answer 15

A stage of development that begins at birth and lasts through infancy in which infants acquire information about the world by sensing it and moving around within it

Question 16

schemas

Answer 16

Theories about or models of the way the world works

Question 17

assimilation

Answer 17

The process by which infants apply their schemas in novel situations

Question 18

accomodation

Answer 18

The process by which infants revise their schemas in light of new information

Question 19

object permanence

Answer 19

The idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible

Question 20

childhood

Answer 20

The stage of development that begins at about 18 to 24 months and lasts until adolescence

Question 21

preoperational stage

Answer 21

The stage of development that begins at about 2 years and ends at about 6 years, in which children have a preliminary understanding of the physical world

Question 22

concrete operational stage

Answer 22

The stage of development that begins at about 6 years and ends at about 11 years in which children learn how various actions or “operations” can affect or transform “concrete” objects

Question 23

conservation

Answer 23

The notion that the quantitative properties of an object are invariant despite changes in the object’s appearance

Question 24

formal operational stage

Answer 24

The stage of development that begins around the age of 11 and lasts through adulthood, in which people can solve nonphysical problems

Question 25

egocentrism

Answer 25

The failure to understand that the world appears differently to different observers

Question 26

theory of mind

Answer 26

The idea that human behavior is guided by mental representations

Question 27

attachment

Answer 27

The emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers

Question 28

strange situation

Answer 28

A behavioral test developed by Mary Ainsworth that is used to determine a child’s attachment style (see infant’s reaction when caregiver leaves, and when caregiver returns)

Question 29

internal working model of relationships

Answer 29

A set of beliefs about the self, the primary caregiver, and the relationship between them

Question 30

temperaments

Answer 30

Characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity

Question 31

preconventional stage

Answer 31

A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by its consequeces for the actor

Question 32

conventional stage

Answer 32

A stage of moral development at which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values

Question 33

postconventional stage

Answer 33

A stage of moral development at which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values

Question 34

adolescence

Answer 34

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)

Question 35

puberty

Answer 35

The bodily changes associated with sexual maturity

Question 36

primary sex characteristics

Answer 36

Bodily structures that are directly involved in reproduction

Question 37

secondary sex characteristics

Answer 37

Bodily structures that change dramatically with sexual maturity but that are not directly involved in reproduction

Question 38

adulthood

Answer 38

The stage of development that begins around 18 to 21 years and ends at death