Unit 2: Developmental Psychology

Question 1

zygote

Answer 1

stage in prenatal development from conception to 2 weeks

Question 2

embryo

Answer 2

stage in prenatal development from 2 to 9 weeks, wherein organs and primary sex characteristics begin to develop

Question 3

fetus

Answer 3

stage in prenatal development from 9 weeks to birth

Question 4

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS):

Answer 4

): A medical condition in which body deformation or facial development or mental ability of a fetus is impaired because the mother drank alcohol while pregnant

Question 5

rooting reflex

Answer 5

infant reflex wherein the baby will, when touched on the cheek, turn its head toward the direction of the touch

Question 6

sucking reflex

Answer 6

when an object is placed in the baby’s mouth, baby will begin to suck on it

Question 7

grasping reflex

Answer 7

when touched on the palm of the hand, a baby will wrap his fingers tightly around the stimulus

Question 8

Moro reflex

Answer 8

infant startle response; when alarmed, the baby will fling his limbs outward, then retract them and hold them close to his body

Question 9

Babinski reflex

Answer 9

when stroked on the bottom of the foot, a baby will spread its toes

Question 10

Jean Piaget

Answer 10

Cognitive developmental theorist; most famous for his 4-stage model of cognitive development

Question 11

object permanence

Answer 11

awareness that things continue to exist even though they are not perceived; develops at 6-8 months of age

Question 12

attachment

Answer 12

an emotional tie with another person; shown in infants by their seeking closeness with caregivers and displaying distress upon separation

Question 13

stranger anxiety

Answer 13

fear of people other than those with whom the infant is familiar; appears around 8 months and peaks at 13 months

Question 14

Harry Harlow

Answer 14

presented infant monkeys with a choice between two artificial mothers; the monkeys preferred the warm, cloth mothers to cold ones with food

Question 15

Mary Ainsworth

Answer 15

: researcher who described attachment styles in infants as measured by the “strange situation” test

Question 16

secure attachment

Answer 16

demonstrated when infants seem to view their caregiver as a “secure base” for exploration, seeking closeness to him/her and being upset at separation.

Question 17

strange situation

Answer 17

test developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment style in infants; involves separation and reunion with a parent

Question 18

anxious attachment

Answer 18

demonstrated by babies who seem constantly afraid of potential separation from the caregiver; they cling to caregivers in strange settings and display intense distress upon separation

Question 19

avoidant attachment

Answer 19

demonstrated by babies who seem to avoid contact and closeness with caregivers

Question 20

Lawrence Kohlberg

Answer 20

used moral dilemmas to assess moral thinking in children; most well-known for his description of levels of morality (preconventional, conventional, postconventional)

Question 21

Sex

Answer 21

either of the two categories (male or female) into which most organisms are divided

Question 22

Gender

Answer 22

in psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female

Question 23

Gender Roles

Answer 23

behaviors that tend to be associated with being male or female

Question 24

Gender Identity

Answer 24

your identity as it is experienced with regard to your individuality as male or female

Question 25

Gender-Schema Theory

Answer 25

the theory that children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and female and that they adjust their behavior accordingly.

Question 26

Androgyny

Answer 26

showing characteristics of both sexes

Question 27

Sexual Orientation

Answer 27

: an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation).

Question 28

Alfred Kinsey:

Answer 28

regarded by some as the father of the scientific study of human sexuality. Published a series of reports which described common sexual behaviors in the US

Question 29

Homophobia

Answer 29

prejudice against (fear or dislike of) homosexual people and homosexuality

Question 30

intersexed

Answer 30

Condition in which a person’s biological sex is ambiguous, often combining aspects of both male and female anatomy and physiology

Question 31

transgendered

Answer 31

Condition in which a person’s psychological gender identity conflicts with his or her biological sex.

Question 32

transsexual

Answer 32

A transgendered person who undergoes surgery and hormone treatments to physically transform his or her body into the opposite sex.