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42 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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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Zygote
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the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into a embryo
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Embryo
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the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization throughout 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 (FAS)
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physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s 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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Maturation
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biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experiences
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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 (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which 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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in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 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
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Conservation
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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 forms of objects
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Egocentrism
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in Piaget’s theory, 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 interaction, and understanding of others’ states of mind
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Concrete operational stage
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in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which 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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in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which 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 about 8 mouths 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 animals for m attachments during a critical period very early in life
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Basic trust
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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
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Self-concept
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a sense of one’s identity and personal worth
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Adolescence
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the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
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Puberty
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the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing
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Primary sex characteristics
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the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible
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Secondary sex characteristics
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nonproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breast and hips, male voice quality, and body hair
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Menarche
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the first menstrual period
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Identity
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one’s sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
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Intimacy
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in Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary development task in late adolescence and early adulthood
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Menopause
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the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
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Alzheimer’s disease
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a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.
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Cross-sectional study
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a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another
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Longitudinal study
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research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period
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Crystallized intelligence
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one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
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Fluid intelligence
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one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
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Social clock
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the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
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