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58 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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what is temperment
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a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
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what is heritability
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the proportion fo variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied
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what is interaction
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the effect that one factor, like environment, depends on another factor, like heredity
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what is molecular genetics
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the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes.
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how do humans differ from one another and how are they similar
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differ in personality, interests, physical appearance, family background, culture and native language
similar in biological heritage and needs, shared brain architecture, ability to use language, senses and our social behaviors |
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what types of questions interest behavior geneticists
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the extent that genetics and environment influence our behavior, creating individual differences
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how does the stability of our temperament illustrate the influence of heredity on development
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it suggest that heredity plays a much larger role than environment in the development of temperament
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what does it mean to say that genes are self regulating
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genes are not blueprints they can react differently in different environments
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what is the promise and perils of molecular genetics research
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will be able to identify teams of genes that put people at risk for disorders and can inform expecting parents if that is the case. Ethical issue of abortion ensues
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what is evolutionary psychology
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study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection
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what is natural selection
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among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
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define mutation
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a random error in gene replication that leads to a change
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define gender
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the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
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what are evolutionary psychologists interested in
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how natural selection has shaped behaviors found throughout the human species
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what are some evolutionary explanations for gender differences in sexuality
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men- attracted to multiple healthy fertile partners increases chances of spreading genes widely
women- increase own and childres survival by searching for mates with economic resources and social status |
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what is a criticism of evolutionary explanations of human behaviors
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they start with an effect and work backward to an explanation
evolutionary perspective underestimates cultural expectations and socialization absolves people from taking ethical and moral responsibility of their sexual behavior |
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what prenatal conditions can affect development
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they differ in terms of nutrition and exposure to toxic agents. even identical twins sharing a placenta can have unequal access to nourishment and protection from virus's
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how can experience modify the brain
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a child's neural connections increase in areas associated with repetitive activities. Unused synapeses degenerate. Most evident in childs brains it continues throughout life
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what areas of a child's lives do parents influence
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manners, political and religious beliefs.
personality is only marginally affected by environment |
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define culture
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the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
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define norm
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an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. norms prescribe 'proper' behavior
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personal space
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the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies
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individualism
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giving priority to ones own goals over group goals and defining ones identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
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collectivism
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giving priority to the goals of ones group (often extended family or work group) and defining ones identity accordingly
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what are some survival benefits of culture
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lets us preserve innovations and pass them on to the next generation.
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how do cultures differ
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ideas, attitudes, values and traditions. Variations embedded in each cultures norms.
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what is the gender schema theory
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children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and female and that they adjust their behavior accordingly
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social learning theory
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we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
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how are males and females different biologically and psychologically
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biologically-body fat, muscle, height, age of onset of puberty, life expectancy
psychologically-vulnerabiity to certain disorders. more women diagnosed with depression, more men with antisocial personality disorder |
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what is developmental psychology
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a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
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define zygote
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the fertilized egg; it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
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embryo
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the developing human organism from about 2 week after fertilization through the second month
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fetus
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the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
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teratogens
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agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
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fetal alcohol syndrome
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physical and cognitive abnormalities in children cause by a pregnant womans heavy drinking. in severe cases symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions
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rooting reflex
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a baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple
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habituation
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decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
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what are the three areas of change that developmental psychologist study,
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physical, mental, and social changes throughout the life span.
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maturation
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biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
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schema
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a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
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assimilation
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interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas
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accommodation
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adapting one's current understandings (schemas)to incorporate new information
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cognition
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all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
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sensorimotor stage
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in Piaget's theory the stage (birth to @2yrs) when infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
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object permanence
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the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
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preoperational stage
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Piaget's theory, the stage(2-7 years) when a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
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conservation
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the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects
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egocentrism
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Piaget
the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view |
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theory of mind
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people's ideas about their own and others' mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict
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autism
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a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interactions, and understanding of others states of mind
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concrete operational stage
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Piaget
the stage of cognitive development (7-11) where children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events |
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formal operational stage
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piaget
stage of cognitive development(@12) when people begin to think logically about abstract concepts |
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stranger anxiety
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the fear of strangers that infants commonly display , beginning by @ 8 months of age
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attachment
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an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation
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critical period
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an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development
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imprinting
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the process by which certain animal form attachments during a critical period very early in life
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basic trust
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according erik erikson a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers
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self concept
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a sense of one's identity and personal worth
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