Psyc Book Vocab

Front 1

developmental psychology

Back 1

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

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zygotes

Back 2

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

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embryo

Back 3

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

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fetus

Back 4

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 during prenatal development and cause harm

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fetal alc syndrom (FAS)

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physical and cognitive anormalities in children caused by a pregnant womans heavy drinking. in severe cases symptom is noticable facial misproportions

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habituation

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

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maturation

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

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cognition

Back 9

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

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schemas

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a concept or framework that organizes and interperts information

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assimilate

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intererperting our new experience in trems of our existing schemas

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accomodate

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adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

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sensorimotor stage

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in piagets theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in tems of thier 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

Back 15

a child learns to use launguage but doesnt yet comprend the metnal operations of concrete logic

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conservation

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the principle that properties such as a mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

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egocentrism

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piagets theory, the preop childs difficulty taking anothers point of view

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theory of mind

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peoples ideas about their own andothers mental states about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

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concrete operational stage

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in paigets theory, the stage of cog. develop. 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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stage of cogn. devel during which people befgin to think logically about abstract concepts

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autism

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disorder that appears in childhoos and is makrd be deficient communcation, social interaction, and understanding of others states of mind

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stranger anxiety

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

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attachement

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emotioal tie with another person, shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing disrress on separation

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critical period

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

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imprinting

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the process by which certain animals from attachements 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 trusthworhty; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

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self concept

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our understanding and evaluation of who we are

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social psychology

Back 28

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

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attribution theory

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the theory that we expain someones behavior by crediting either the situation or the persons disposition

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fundamental attribution error

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the tendency for observers, when analyzing anothers behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

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attitude

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feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

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central route to persuasion

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occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

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peripheral route to persuasion

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occurs when people are influenced by incididental cues, such as a speakers attractiveness

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foot in the door phenonemon

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tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

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role

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ser of explanations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

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cognitive dissoance theory

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the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent.

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conformity

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adjusting ones behvior or htinking to coincide with a group standard

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conformity

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adjusting ones behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

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normative social influence

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influence resulting from a persons desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

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informational social influence

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influence resulting from ones willingness to accept others opinions about reality

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psychological disorder

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deviant, distressful, and dysfunctinal behavior patterns

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adhd

Back 42

a psych disorder marked by the appearance of age 7 of one or more of 3 symptoms; innattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivness

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medical model

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concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and be cured through treatment in hospital

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dsm-iv-tr

Back 44

american psych. associastions diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition

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anxiety disorders

Back 45

psych. disorder characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behavior that reduce anxiety