Unit 9 vocab

Question 0

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

Answer 0

embryo

Question 1

the fertilized egg

it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Answer 1

zygote

Question 2

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Answer 2

fetus

Question 3

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

Answer 3

teratogens

Question 4

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, syptoms include noticeable facial misproportions

Answer 4

fetal alcohol syndrome FAS

Question 5

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

Answer 5

habituatioin

Question 6

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

Answer 6

maturation

Question 7

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

Answer 7

cognition

Question 8

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets info

Answer 8

schema

Question 9

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Answer 9

assimilation

Question 10

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new info

Answer 10

accomodation

Question 11

in Piaget’s 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

Answer 11

sensorimotor stage

Question 12

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Answer 12

object permanece

Question 13

in Piaget’s 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

Answer 13

preoperational stage

Question 14

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

Answer 14

conservation

Question 15

in Piaget’s theory the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

Answer 15

egocentrism

Question 16

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

Answer 16

theory of mind

Question 17

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6/7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Answer 17

concrete operational stage

Question 18

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Answer 18

formal operational stage

Question 19

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

Answer 19

autism

Question 20

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

Answer 20

stranger anxiety

Question 21

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

Answer 21

attachment

Question 22

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Answer 22

critical period

Question 23

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

Answer 23

imprinting

Question 24

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Answer 24

temperament

Question 25

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

Answer 25

basic trust

Question 26

our understanging and evaluation of who we are

Answer 26

self-concept

Question 27

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

Answer 27

gender

Question 28

physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

Answer 28

aggression

Question 29

the sex chromosome found in both men and women

Answer 29

X chromosome

femals have 2 males have 1
an X from each parent produces a female

Question 30

the sex chromosome found only in males

Answer 30

Y chromosomes

when paired with an x from the mother it produces a male

Question 31

the most important of the male sex hormones. stimulates the growth of male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Answer 31

testosterone

Question 32

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought ot behave

Answer 32

role

Question 33

a set of expected behaviors for males or for femals

Answer 33

gender role

Question 34

our sense of being male or female

Answer 34

gender identity

Question 35

the acquisition of traditional masculine or feminine role

Answer 35

gender typing

Question 36

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

Answer 36

social learning theory

Question 37

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

Answer 37

adolescence

Question 38

the period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

Answer 38

puberty

Question 39

the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduciton possible

Answer 39

primary sex characteristics

Question 40

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

Answer 40

secondary sex characteristics

Question 41

the first menstrual period

Answer 41

menarche

Question 42

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

Answer 42

identity

Question 43

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships

Answer 43

social identity

Question 44

in Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescense and early adulthood

Answer 44

intimacy

Question 45

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

Answer 45

emerging adulthood

Question 46

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

Answer 46

menopause

Question 47

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

Answer 47

cross-sectional study

Question 48

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a lond period

Answer 48

longitudinal study

Question 49

our acculumated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Answer 49

crystallized intelligence

Question 50

our abillity to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Answer 50

fluid intelligence

Question 51

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

Answer 51

social clock

Question 52

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Answer 52

developmental psych