Unit 6 Mods 42-45 Flashcards
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
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
“Monster makers” agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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 waned and they look away sooner
Maturation
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively un influenced 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 (schemas) to incorporate new information
Sensorimotor stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2) during which infants no the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
Object permanence
The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Preoperational stage
In Piaget‘s theory, the stage (about 2 to 6 or 7) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic