Unit 9

Question 0

Embryo

Answer 0

The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

Question 1

Zygote

Answer 1

The fertilized egg; it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Question 2

Teratogens

Answer 2

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Question 3

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Answer 3

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial disproportions

Question 4

Habituation

Answer 4

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

Question 5

Maturation

Answer 5

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively not influenced by experience

Question 6

Cognition

Answer 6

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Question 7

Schema

Answer 7

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Question 8

Assimilation

Answer 8

Interpreting out new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Question 9

Accommodations

Answer 9

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Question 10

Sensorimotor stage

Answer 10

In Piagets theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Question 11

Object permanence

Answer 11

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Question 12

Preoperational stage

Answer 12

In Piagets theory, the stage (from 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Question 13

Conservation

Answer 13

The principle ( which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of the objects

Question 14

Egocentrism

Answer 14

In Piagets Theory, the preoperational Childs difficulty taking another’s point of view

Question 15

Theory of mind

Answer 15

Peoples ideas about their own and others mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

Question 16

Concrete operational stage

Answer 16

In Piagets theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Question 17

Formal operational stage

Answer 17

In Piagets theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Question 18

Autism

Answer 18

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding others states of mind

Question 19

Stranger anxiety

Answer 19

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

Question 20

Attachment

Answer 20

An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Question 21

Critical period

Answer 21

An optimal period shortly after birth when an organisms exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Question 22

Imprinting

Answer 22

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

Question 23

Temperament

Answer 23

A persons characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Question 24

Basic trust

Answer 24

According to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Question 25

Self concept

Answer 25

Our understanding and evaluation of who we are

Question 26

Gender

Answer 26

In psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and females

Question 27

Aggression

Answer 27

Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

Question 28

X chromosome

Answer 28

The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two X chromosomes; males have one. And X chromosome from each parent produces a female child

Question 29

Y chromosome

Answer 29

The sex chromosome found in only males. When paired with an X chromosome with the mother, it produces a male child

Question 30

Testosterone

Answer 30

The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristic during puberty

Question 31

Role

Answer 31

A set of expectations (Norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Question 32

Gender role

Answer 32

A set of expected behaviors for both males and females

Question 33

Gender identity

Answer 33

Our sense of being male or female

Question 34

Gender typing

Answer 34

The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

Question 35

Social learning theory

Answer 35

The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

Question 36

Adolescence

Answer 36

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Question 37

Puberty

Answer 37

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

Question 38

Primary sex characteristics

Answer 38

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

Question 39

Secondary sex characteristics

Answer 39

Nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts, and hips, male voice quality and body hair

Question 40

Menarche

Answer 40

The first menstrual period

Question 41

Identity

Answer 41

Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify A sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Question 42

Social identity

Answer 42

The “we” aspect of our self concept; the part of our answer to “who am I?” That comes from our group memberships

Question 43

Intimacy

Answer 43

In Eriksons theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

Question 44

Emerging adulthood

Answer 44

For some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

Question 45

Menopause

Answer 45

The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Question 46

Cross sectional study

Answer 46

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Question 47

Longitudinal study

Answer 47

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Question 48

Crystallized intelligence

Answer 48

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Question 49

Fluid intelligence

Answer 49

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Question 50

Social clock

Answer 50

The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement