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204 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
What is developmental psychology?
Study of growth and
change throughout life
What is the nature–nurture issue?
How much developmental
change is due to heredity and how much is due to environment
What is the difference between heredity and environmental growth?
Heredity defines the upper limits of our growth and change

Environment affects the degree to which the upper limits are reached
What type of research compares people of different ages with one another at the same point in time?
Cross-sectional research
What is Longitudinal research?
Longitudinal research traces the behavior of one or more participants as the participants become older.
Sequential research is what?
Combines the two methods (cross-sectional and longitudinal) by taking several different age groups and examining them at several points in time
What happens at the moment of conception?
A male’s sperm cell and a female’s egg cell unite, with each contributing to the new individual’s genetic makeup
Genetic information is transmitted how?
Genetic information is transmitted through genes in the chromosomes.
The union of sperm and egg produces what?
A zygote
The zygote contains how many chromosomes?
23
How many of the 23 pairs of chromosomes come from the mother and how many from the father?
One of each pair
The zygote becomes what after two weeks?
An embryo
By week 8 the embryo becomes what and has what types of responses?
The embryo becomes a fetus and responds to touch and other stimulation.
Viability (may survive if born prematurely) if a fetus is reached at what week of prenancy?
The 22nd week.
A fetus is normally born around which week of prenancy? Typically weighing and measuring what?
The 38th week, 7lbs, 20 inches
Genes affect physical attributes and a wide array of personal characteristics such as?
Cognitive abilities, personality traits,and psychological disorders
Birth defects such as phenylketonuria (PKU) and Down syndrome are caused by what?
Genetic abnormalities
Some of the environmental influences on fetal growth include?
The mother’s nutrition, illnesses, alcohol, and nicotine intake
Newborns or neonates in the presence of certain stimuli have what abilities?
Reflexes, and unlearned involuntary responses that occur automatically
What type of ability allows infants to distinguish color, depth, sound, tastes, and
smells relatively soon after birth?
Sensory abilities
Children typically triple what in their first year?
Their birth weight
Define cogntive childhood attachment.
The positive emotional bond
between a child and a particular individual—marks social development in infancy
True or False? As children become older, the nature of their social interactions with peers changes
True
How does play in children initially develop and grow?
Initially play occurs relatively independently, but it becomes increasingly cooperative
What are the different child-rearing styles?
Authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved
According to Erikson, eight stages of psychosocial
development involve people’s changing interactions and understanding of themselves
and others. During childhood, four of the stages occur. What are those four stages?
1) Trust-versus-mistrust (birth to 1½ years)

2) Autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt (1½ to 3 years)

3) Initiative-versus-guilt (3 to 6 years)

4) industry-versus-inferiority (6 to 12 years)
Piaget’s theory suggests that cognitive development
proceeds through four stages in which qualitative changes occur in thinking. What are the four stages?
1) Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)

2) Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)

3) Concrete operational stage (7 to 12 years)

4) Formal operational stage (12 years to adulthood)
What type of approaches suggest that quantitative changes occur in children’s
ability to organize and manipulate information about the world, such as significant increases in speed of processing, attention span, and memory. In addition, children advance in metacognition, the awareness and understanding of one’s own cognitive processes?
Information-processing
Vygotsky argued that children’s cognitive
development occurs how?
As a consequence of social
interactions in which children and others work together to solve problems
What is adolescence?
The developmental stage between childhood and adulthood, is marked by the
onset of puberty
At what point does sexual maturity occur?
Adolescence
According to Kohlberg’s three-level model moral judgments during adolescence increase in sophistication. True of False?
True
How does Gilligan suggest that women view morality?
Morality is viewed in terms of caring for individuals rather than in terms of broad,
general principles of justice
What is the third leading cause of death in adolescents?
Suicide
According to Erikson’s model of psychosocial development, adolescence may be accompanied by what?
An identity crisis
Adolescence is followed by
how many more stages of psychosocial development
that cover the remainder of the life span per Erikson's model?
Three more stages of psychosocial development.
True or False? The characterization of a stormy adolescence is a myth for most adolescents.
True
What is the differece between Kohlberg and Gillians theories?
Kohlberg’s theory focuses on stages and Gilligan’s rests on gender differences.
According to Erikson what is identity-versus-role-confusion stage?
According to Erikson, a time
in adolescence of major testing to determine one’s unique qualities
The distinguishing character
of the individual: who each of us is, what our roles are, and what we are capable of is called what?
Identity
According to Erikson what is the Intimacy-versus-isolation stage?
A period during early adulthood that focuses on developing close relationships
Erikson's Generativity-versus-stagnation stage is what?
A period in middle adulthood during which we take stock of our contributions to family and society.
Ego-integrity-versus-despair
stage is Erikson's idea of what?
A period from late adulthood until death during which we review life’s accomplishments and failures.
Early adulthood marks the peak of what?
Physical health.
Physical changes occur relatively gradually in men and women during adulthood true or false?
True
What is menopause?
A major physical change that occurs at the end of middle adulthood for women, after which they are no longer fertile.
During middle adulthood, people typically experience what is called a _______ _______ in which the notion that life is not unending becomes more important.
Midlife transition
At what age do people realize that their lives and
accomplishments are fairly well set, and they try to come to terms with them?
Fifties
What are four of the important developmental milestones during adulthood?
1) Marriage
2) Family Changes
3) Divorce
4) Work
What is the professional name of specialists who study aging, are making important contributions to clarifying the capabilities of older adults?
Gerontologists
What may bring physical declines caused by genetic preprogramming or physical wear and tear?
Old age
Although the activities of people in late adulthood
are not all that different from those of younger people, older adults experience declines in what three areas?
1) Reaction time
2) Sensory abilities
3) Physical stamina
What is not an inevitable part of aging?
Intellectual decline
What type of intelligence declines with age?
Fluid intelligence
Long-term memory abilities are sometimes impaired with old age. True or False?
True
What type of intelligence tests shows slight increases with age, and short-term memory remains at about the same level.
Crystallized intelligence
What is the difference between disengagement theory and activity theory?
Disengagement theory sees successful aging as a process of gradual withdrawal from the physical, psychological, and social worlds.

Activity theory suggests that the maintenance of interests and activities from earlier years leads to successful aging.
According to Kübler-Ross, dying people move through five stages as they face death. What are those five stages?
1) Denial
2) Anger
3) Bargaining
4) Depression
5) Acceptance
What are genetic preprogramming theories of
aging?
Theories that suggest that human cells have a built-in time limit to their reproduction, and that after a certain time they are no longer able to divide.
What are the wear-and-tear theories of aging?
Theories that suggest that the
mechanical functions of the body simply stop working efficiently.
What two major theories explain some of the physical changes that take place in older adults?
Genetic preprogramming
and the Wear-and-tear
views
What is alzheimer's disease?
A progressive brain disorder that leads to a gradual and irreversible decline in cognitive abilities.
What is life review?
The process by which people examine and evaluate their lives
Trait approaches have been used to identify what?
Relatively enduring dimensions along which
people differ from one another
Learning approaches to personality concentrate
on what?
Observable behavior
To what kind of theorist personality is the sum of learned responses to the external environment?
A strict learning theorist
What do social cognitive approaches concentrate on?
The role of cognitions in determining personality.
What do the social cognitive approaches pay particular attention to?
Self-efficacy and self-esteem in determining behavior
Biological and evolutionary approaches to personality
focus on ______________
_____________________.
The way in which personality
characteristics are inherited
Humanistic approaches consider the core of personality in terms of?
A person’s ability to change and improve
The major personality approaches differ
substantially from one another how?
The differences may reflect both their focus on different aspects of personality and the overall complexity of personality
Define self-actualization
A state of selffulfillment
in which people realize their
highest potential, each in a unique way
What is unconditional positive regard?
An attitude of acceptance and respect on the part of an observer, no matter what a person says or does.
Psychological tests such as the MMPI are standard
assessment tools that measure behavior
objectively. What are two standards that the measurements must abide by?
1) They must be reliable - measuring what they are trying to measure consistently

2) They must be valid -measuring what they are supposed to measure
What are two types of projective personality tests?
1) Rorschach Test

2) Thematic Apperception Test
Projective personality tests present an ambiguous stimulus in what way?
The test administrator infers information about the test taker from his or her responses.
Self-report measures ask people about what?
A sample range of their behaviors
Self-report measures are used how?
To infer the presence of particular personality
characteristics
How is behavioral assessment based?
On the principles of learning theory
What does behavioral assessment employ?
Direct measurement of an individual’s behavior to determine characteristics related to personality
What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2 )?
A widely used self-report test that identifies people with psychological difficulties and is employed to predict some everyday behaviors.
Define test standardization
A technique used to validate questions in personality tests by studying the responses of people with known diagnoses.
What is the Rorschach test?
A test that involves showing a series of symmetrical visual stimuli to people who then are asked what the figures represent to them
Define the Thematic Aperception Test (TAT ) Behavioral assessment
A test consisting of a series of pictures about which a person is asked to write a story
What is one commonly
accepted view of intelligence?
The capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges
The earliest psychologists assumed that there is a general factor for mental ability called g.However, later psychologists disputed the view that intelligence is ___________.
Unidimensional
Some researchers suggest that intelligence can be broken down into what two types?
1) Fluid intelligence

2) Crystallized intelligence
What does Gardner’s theory
of multiple intelligences propose?
There are eight spheres of intelligence
Information-processing approaches examine what?
The processes underlying intelligent behavior rather than the structure of intelligence
What is practical intelligence?
Intelligence related to
overall success in living;
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence
is the set of skills that underlie the accurate
assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation
of emotions
How has an IQ, or intelligence quotient, score been approached?
Intelligence tests have traditionally compared
a person’s mental age and chronological age
What are definitions of abnormality?
Deviation from the average, deviation from the ideal, a sense of personal discomfort, the inability to function effectively, and legal conceptions
Although no single definition is adequate, abnormal behavior can be considered to be behavior that _______?
Causes people to experience distress and prevents them from functioning in their daily lives
Most psychologists believe what two behaviors should be
considered in terms of a continuum?
1) Abnormal behavior

2) Normal behavior
The medical perspective views abnormality as what?
A symptom of an underlying disease
Psychoanalytic perspectives suggest that abnormal behavior stems from where?
Childhood conflicts in the unconscious.
Behavioral approaches view abnormal behavior not as a ____________________ but as the _________________.
symptom of an underlying problem

the problem itself
What does the cognitive approach suggest?
Abnormal behavior is the result of faulty cognitions
(thoughts and beliefs).
How can abnormal behavior be remedied through the cognitive approach?
By changing one’s
flawed thoughts and beliefs.
Humanistic approaches emphasize what?
The responsibility people have for their own behavior, even when such behavior is seen as abnormal
What approach views abnormal behavior in terms of difficulties arising from family and other social relationships?
Sociocultural
What is the most widely used system for classifying
psychological disorders?
The DSM-IV-TR—Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision
What disorder is present when a person experiences so much anxiety that it affects daily functioning?
Anxiety disorder
What are four specific types of anxiety disorders?
1) Phobic disorder

2) Panic disorder

3) Generalized anxiety disorder

4) Obsessive-compulsive disorder
What are somatoform disorders?
Psychological difficulties that take on a physical (somatic) form, but for which there is no medical cause. Examples are hypochondriasis and conversion disorders
What type of disorder is marked by the separation,
or dissociation, of different facets of a person’s personality that are usually integrated?
Dissociative disorder
What are the three most major kinds of dissociative disorders?
1) Dissociative identity disorder

2) Dissociative amnesia

3) Dissociative fugue
How are mood disorders are characterized?
Emotional states of depression or euphoria so strong that they intrude on everyday living
What are two forms of mood disorders?
1) Major depression

2) Bipolar disorder
What is one of the more severe forms of mental illness?
Schizophrenia
What are three of the six most common symptoms of schizophrenia?
1) Declines in functioning
2) Declines in thought
3) Language disturbances
4) Perceptual disorders
5) Emotional disturbance
6) Withdrawal from others.
Genetic, biochemical, and environmental factors provide strong evidence linked to what major disorder?
Schizophrenia
According to the predisposition model, what produces schizophrenia disorder?
An interaction among various factors produces the disorder
People with personality disorders experience
little or no personal distress, but they do suffer how?
An inability to function as normal members of society
What are the three major personality disorders?
1) Antisocial personality disorder

2) Borderline personality disorder

3) Narcissistic personality disorder
What are three major childhood disorders?
1) Major depression

2) Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD)

3) Autism
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
A disorder characterized by obsessions or compulsions.
Compulsion
An irresistible urge to
repeatedly carry out some act that seems strange and unreasonable
Conversion disorder
A major somatoform disorder that involves an actual physical disturbance, such as
the inability to use a sensory organ or the complete or partial inability to move an arm or leg.
What is the difference between Dissociative disorder, Dissociative identity disorder (DID), Dissociative amnesia, and Dissociative fugue?
Dissociative disorder - Psychological dysfunctions characterized by the separation of different facets of a person’s personality that are normally integrated.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) - A disorder in which a person displays characteristics of two or more distinct personalities; also called multiple personality disorder

Dissociative amnesia - A disorder in which a significant, selective memory loss occurs.

Dissociative fugue - A form of amnesia in which the individual leaves home and sometimes assumes a new
identity.
Bipolar disorder
A disorder in which a person alternates between periods of euphoric feelings of mania and periods of depression.
Explain the differences between Personality disorder, Antisocial personality disorder, Borderline personality disorder, and Narcissistic personality disorder
Personality disorder - A disorder characterized by a set of inflexible, maladaptive behavior patterns that keep a person from functioning appropriately in society.

Antisocial personality disorder - A disorder in which individuals show no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others.

Borderline personality disorder - A disorder in which individuals have difficulty developing a secure sense of who they are.

Narcissistic personality disorder - A personality disturbance characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A disorder marked by inattention, impulsiveness, a low tolerance for frustration, and a great deal of inappropriate activity
Autism
A severe developmental
disability that impairs children’s ability to communicate and relate to others
Psychotherapy(psychologically based therapy) and biomedical therapy (biologically based therapy) share the goal of resolving psychological problems how?
By modifying people’s thoughts, feelings, expectations, evaluations, and ultimately behavior
What is the psychoanalytic approach?
An approach that brings unresolved past conflicts and unacceptable impulses from the unconscious into the conscious, where patients may deal with the problems more effectively
What techniques do psychoanalytic therapists use?
Free association and dream interpretation
What are the views on behavioral approaches to treatment?
The view that abnoraml behavior is the problem rather than the symptom of some underlying cause.
What six methods are used with behavioral approaches?
1) Aversive conditioning

2) Systematic desensitization

3) Observational learning

4) Token systems

5) Contingency contracting

6) Dialectical behavior
What is the goal of cognitve approaches to treatment?
To help a person resconstruct his or her faulty belief system into a more realistic, rational, and logical view of the world.
What are two examples of cognitive treatment?
1) Rational-emotive behavior therapy

2) Cognitive therapy
Define Psychotherapy
A trained therapist uses psychological techniques to help a person overcome difficulties and disorders, resolve problems or assist in personal growth.
Define Biomedical therapy
Uses drugs and other medical procedures to improve psychological functioning
What is Transference?
The transfer of love or anger to a psychoanalyst that was originally directed towards parents or other authority figures
What are forms of behavioral treatment approaches?
Treatment approaches that build on the basic processes of learning such as reinforcement and extinction and assume normal and abnormal behavior are learned
Explain aversive conditioning
A form of therapy that reduces unwanted behavior by providing an unwanted stimulous
What is systematic desensitization?
A technique where gradual anxiety producing exposure is paired with relaxation techniques.
Define exposure
A form of therapy where indiivduals are confronted suddenly or gradually with a stimulous they fear.
What is Dialectical behavior therapy?
Focuses on getting people to accept who they are regardless of whether it matches their ideal.
What is the cognitive-behavioral approach?
Incorporates the basic principles of learning to change the way people think.
Explain rational-emotive behavior therapy
Therapy that attempts to restructure a person's belief system into something more rational, realistic and logical.
What is Humanistic behavior therapy based on?
The premise that people have control of their behavior, can make choices about their lives, and solve their own problems
What does Interpersonal therapy focus on?
Social relationships
What is the difference beween group therapy, family therapy, and self help groups?
Group therapy - several people meet with a therapist in a group to discuss problems.

Family therapy - focuses on family and it's dynamics

Self-help groups - people with similar problems get together to discuss and share feelings and experiences.
True of false? Most research suggests that in general therapy is more effective than no therapy.
True
Is there a therapy that works best? Yes or no and why
No. Some types of therapy are more appropriate for some problems than others.
Because no single type of psychotherapy is effective a therapist will sometimes use what?
A variety of techniques and perspectives
What is person-centered therapy?
The goal of reaching one's potential for self actualization.
What is spontaneous remission?
Recovery without treatment
What is social psychology?
The study of the ways in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others and the nature and causes of individual behavior in social
situations
What are attitudes?
Evaluations of a particular persons behavior, belief, or concept
When does cognitive dissonance occur?
When an individual simultaneously holds two
cognitions—attitudes or thoughts—that contradict each other.
How would someone with cognitive dissonance resolve a contradiction?
The person may modify one cognition, change its importance, add a cognition, or deny a link between the two cognitions, thereby bringing about a reduction in dissonance
Social cognition involves what?
The way people understand and make sense of others and themselves.
People form impressions of others through the use of?
Central traits and personality characteristics that receive unusually heavy emphasis when we form an impression.
Attribution theory tries to explain how we understand the causes of behavior, particularly with respect to ________ or _________ factors.
Situational or dispositional
Is attribution prone to error even though logical processes are involved?
Yes
Why is attribution prone to error?
People are susceptible to the halo effect, assumed-similarity bias, self-serving bias, and fundamental attribution error (the tendency to overattribute others’ behavior to dispositional causes and the corresponding failure to recognize the importance
of situational causes).
Explain central route processing.
Message interpretation characterized by thoughtful consideration of the issues and arguments used to persuade.
What is peripheral route processing?
Message interpretation characterized by consideration of the source and related general information rather than of the message itself.
Define schema
Sets of cognitions about people and social experiences
What is the difference between dispositional and situational causes of behavior?
Dispositional causes are perceived causes of behavior that are based on internal traits or personality factors

Situational causes are perceived causes of behavior that are based on environmental factors
What is the halo effect?
A phenomenon in which an initial understanding that a person has positive traits is used to infer other uniformly positive characteristics
Define assumed similarity bias
The tendency to think of people as being similar to oneself, even when meeting them for the first time.
Explain self serving bias
The tendency to attribute personal success to personal factors (skill, ability, or effort) and to attribute failure to factors outside oneself.
What are stereotypes?
Generalized beliefs and expectations about a specific group and its members.
What can sterotyping lead to?
Prejudice and selffulfilling prophecies
What is prejudice?
The negative (or positive) evaluation of a particular group and its members
How do children learn stereotyping and prejudice?
By observing the behavior of parents, other adults, and peers
What does the social identity theory suggest?
Group membership is used as a source of pride and self-worth, and this may lead people to think of their own group as better than others.
What can stereotyping and prejudice can lead to?
Discrimination, behavior directed toward individuals
on the basis of their membership in a particular group
What are ways of reducing prejudice and discrimination?
Increasing contact, demonstrating positive values against prejudice, and education.
What is discrimination?
Behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group.
What are the primary determinants of liking?
Proximity, exposure, similarity, and physical
attractiveness
How is loving distinguished from liking?
The presence of intense physiological arousal, an
all-encompassing interest in another, fantasies about the other, rapid swings of emotion, fascination, sexual desire, exclusiveness, and strong feelings of caring
What are two ways love can be categorized?
Passionate or companionate
What are four components of love?
1) Intimacy
2) Passion
3) Decision
4) Commitment.
What is aggression?
Intentional injury of or harm to another person.
Explanations of aggression include what three things?
1) Instinct approaches
2) Frustration-aggression theory
3) Observational learning
Helping behavior in emergencies is determined
in part by what?
The phenomenon of diffusion of responsibility, which results in a lower likelihood
of helping when more people are present
Deciding to help is the outcome of a four-stage
process consisting of what?
1) Noticing a possible need for help
2) Interpreting the situation as requiring aid
3) Assuming responsibility for taking action,
4) Deciding on and implementing a form of
assistance.
Explain passionate love
A state of intense absorption in someone that includes intense physiological arousal, psychological interest, and caring for the needs of another.
Explain companionate love
The strong affection we have for those with whom our lives are deeply involved
What is catharsis?
The process of discharging built-up aggressive energy
Define prosocial behavior
Helping behavior
What is the diffusion of responsibility?
The tendency for people to feel that responsibility for acting is shared, or diffused, among those present.
Explain altruism
Helping behavior that is beneficial to others but clearly requires self-sacrifice.
What is stress?
A response to threatening or challenging environmental conditions
What are stressors?
The circumstances that produce stress—of both a positive and a negative nature
True of false? The way an environmental circumstance is interpreted affects whether it will be considered stressful.
True
What are three general classes of events that provoke stress?
1) Cataclysmic events

2) Personal stressors

3) Background stressors
(daily hassles)
Immediate physiological reactions are produced by what?
Stress
In the short term reactions to stress may be ______, but in the long term they may have ______ _________, including the development of psychophysiological disorders.
Adaptive, negative consequences
What are the three stages in stress that Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS) suggest?
1) Alarm and mobilization

2) Resistance

3) Exhaustion
How can stress can be reduced?
By developing a sense of control over one’s circumstances
What two strategies can coping with stress take the form of?
1) Emotion-focused strategies

2) Problem-focused coping strategies
Define cataclysmic events
Strong stressors that occur suddenly, affecting many
people at once (e.g., natural disasters)
What are personal stressors?
Major life events, such as the death of a family member, that have immediate negative consequences that generally fade with time.
What is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
A phenomenon in which victims of major catastrophes or strong personal stressors feel long-lasting effects that may include reexperiencing them even in vivid flashbacks or dreams
What are psychophysiological disorders?
Medical problems influenced by an interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties.
What is psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)?
The study of the relationship among psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain.
Explained learned helplessness
A state in which people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled
What is social support?
A mutual network of caring, interested others