Psyc12010

Front 1

The tendency of 8to 12month-old infants to search for a hidden object in the place they last found it (A) rather than in its new hiding place (B).

Back 1

A-not-B error

Front 2

The practice in education of grouping students according to ability and educating them in classes with students of comparable academic or intellectual standing

Back 2

ability grouping; also called ability tracking or simply tracking.

Front 3

A dimension of parenting capturing the extent to which parents are supportive, sensitive to their childrenÍs needs, and willing to provide affection and praise when their children meet their expectations.

Back 3

acceptance_responsiveness

Front 4

In PiagetÍs cognitive developmental theory, the process of modifying existing schemes to incorporate or adapt to new experiences. Contrast with assimilation. In vision, a change in the shape of the eyeÍs lens to bring objects at differing distances into focus.

Back 4

accommodation

Front 5

The life-threatening disease in which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) destroys the immune system and makes victims susceptible to rare, so-called opportunistic, infections that eventually kill them. AIDS is transmitted through sexual activity, drug needle sharing, and from mother to child before or during birth.

Back 5

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Front 6

A perspective holding that aging adults will find satisfaction to the extent that they maintain an active lifestyle. Contrast with disengagement theory.

Back 6

activity theory

Front 7

The issue in developmental theory centering on whether humans are active contributors to their own development or are passively shaped by forces beyond their control.

Back 7

activity_passivity issue

Front 8

In PiagetÍs cognitive developmental theory, a personÍs inborn tendency to adjust to the demands of the environment, consisting of the complementary processes of assimilation and accommodation.

Back 8

adaptation

Front 9

The transitional period between childhood and adulthood that begins with puberty and ends when the individual has acquired adult competencies and responsibilities.

Back 9

adolescence

Front 10

A characteristic of adolescent thought that involves difficulty differentiating between the personÍs own thoughts and feelings and those of other people; evident in the personal fable and imaginary audience phenomena.

Back 10

adolescent egocentrism

Front 11

The rapid increase in physical growth that occurs during adolescence.

Back 11

adolescent growth spurt

Front 12

Method of studying genetic and environmental influence that involves determining whether adopted children are more similar to their biological parents (whose genes they share) or adoptive parents (who shaped their environment).

Back 12

adoption study

Front 13

A period of increased production of adrenal hormones, starting around 6_8 years of age, that normally precedes increased production of gonadal hormones associated with puberty.

Back 13

adrenarche

Front 14

In developmental research, the effects of getting older or of developing. Contrast with cohort effects and time of measurement effects.

Back 14

age effects

Front 15

Socially defined age groups or strata, each with different statuses, roles, privileges, and responsibilities in society.

Back 15

age grades

Front 16

Expectations about what people should be doing or how they should behave at different points in the life span.

Back 16

age norms

Front 17

A point (around the 24th prenatal week) when a fetus may survive outside the uterus if the brain and respiratory system are well enough developed and if excellent medical care is available.

Back 17

age of viability

Front 18

Prejudice against elderly people.

Back 18

ageism

Front 19

An orientation toward individual action and achievement that emphasizes traits of dominance, independence, assertiveness, and competitiveness; considered masculine.

Back 19

agency

Front 20

Damage to cells in the retina responsible for central vision.

Back 20

age-related macular degeneration

Front 21

To most developmentalists, positive, negative, and neutral changes in the mature organism; different from biological aging.

Back 21

aging

Front 22

One of the possible variants of a particular gene.

Back 22

allele

Front 23

The idea that the letters in printed words represent the sounds in spoken words.

Back 23

alphabetic principle

Front 24

A pathological condition of the nervous system that results in an irreversible loss of cognitive capacities; the leading cause of dementia in later life.

Back 24

AlzheimerÍs disease

Front 25

A method of extracting amniotic fluid from a pregnant woman so that fetal body cells within the fluid can be tested for chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic defects.

Back 25

amniocentesis

Front 26

A watertight membrane that surrounds the developing embryo, regulating its temperature and cushioning it against injuries.

Back 26

amnion

Front 27

Lacking any sense of morality; without standards of right and wrong.

Back 27

amoral

Front 28

In SternbergÍs triarchic theory, the information-processing skills such as thinking critically and analytically.

Back 28

analytic component

Front 29

A genetic female who was exposed to male sex hormones during the prenatal period and therefore developed male like external genitals and some masculine behaviors.

Back 29

androgenized female

Front 30

Male hormones that help trigger the adolescent growth spurt and the development of the male sex organs, secondary sex characteristics, and sexual motivation.

Back 30

androgens

Front 31

A gender-role orientation in which the person blends both positive masculinestereotyped and positive feminine-stereotyped personality traits.

Back 31

androgyny

Front 32

A psychological change that begins in midlife, when parenting responsibilities are over, in which both men and women retain their gender-typed qualities but add to them qualities traditionally associated with the other sex, thus becoming more androgynous.

Back 32

androgyny shift

Front 33

The slower and less dramatic male counterpart of menopause, characterized by decreasing levels of testosterone and symptoms that include low libido, fatigue and lack of energy, erection problems, memory problems, and loss of pubic hair.

Back 33

andropause

Front 34

Condition in which the top of the neural tube fails to close and the main portion of the brain above the brain stem fails to develop properly.

Back 34

anencephaly

Front 35

A life-threatening eating disorder characterized by failure to maintain a normal weight, a strong fear of weight gain, and a distorted body image; literally, ñnervous lack of appetite.î

Back 35

anorexia nervosa

Front 36

A lack of sufficient oxygen to the brain that may result in neurological damage or death.

Back 36

anoxia

Front 37

Grieving before death for what is happening and for what lies ahead.

Back 37

anticipatory grief

Front 38

Vitamins C, E, and similar substances that may increase longevity, although not for long, by inhibiting the free radical activity associated with oxidation and in turn preventing age-related diseases.

Back 38

antioxidant

Front 39

A test routinely used to assess a newbornÍs heart rate, respiration, color, muscle tone, and reflexes immediately after birth and 5 minutes later; used to identify high-risk babies.

Back 39

Apgar test

Front 40

A language disorder.

Back 40

aphasia

Front 41

A method of conception that involves injecting sperm from a womanÍs partner or from a donor into the uterus.

Back 41

artificial insemination

Front 42

An autistic spectrum disorder in which the child has normal or above-average intelligence, has good verbal skills, and wants to establish social relationships but has seriously deficient mindreading and social skills.

Back 42

Asperger syndrome

Front 43

PiagetÍs term for the process by which children interpret new experiences in terms of their existing schemata.

Back 43

assimilation; contrast with accommodation.

Front 44

Making available to individuals who wish to commit suicide the means by which they may do so, such as when a physician provides a terminally ill patient who wants to die with enough medication to overdose.

Back 44

assisted suicide

Front 45

Children who have a higher than normal chance of either short-term or long-term problems because of genetic defects, prenatal hazards, or perinatal damage.

Back 45

at risk

Front 46

A strong affectional tie that binds a person to an intimate companion and is characterized by affection and a desire to maintain proximity.

Back 46

attachment

Front 47

The theory of close relationships developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth and grounded in ethological theory (with psychoanalytic theory and cognitive theory); it says that close emotional bonds such as parent_child attachments are biologically based and contribute to species survival.

Back 47

attachment theory

Front 48

Focusing perception and cognition on something in particular.

Back 48

attention

Front 49

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Back 49

A disorder characterized by attentional difficulties, impulsive behavior, and overactive or fidgety behavior.

Front 50

A restrictive style of parenting combining high demandingness-control and low acceptance_responsiveness in which adults impose many rules, expect strict obedience, and often rely on power tactics rather than explanations to elicit compliance.

Back 50

authoritarian parenting

Front 51

A flexible style of parenting combining high demandingness_control and high acceptance_responsiveness in which adults lay down clear rules but also grant a fair amount of autonomy to their children and explain the rationale for their restrictions.

Back 51

authoritative parenting

Front 52

A pervasive and severe developmental disorder that begins in infancy and is characterised by such problems as an aversion to social contact, deviant communication or mutism, and repetitive, stereotyped behavior.

Back 52

autism

Front 53

Also called pervasive developmental disorders because they affect many aspects of functioning, these disorders, which include autism, Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, and others, all involve social and communication problems.

Back 53

autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)

Front 54

Memory of everyday events that the individual has experienced.

Back 54

autobiographical memory

Front 55

The process by which information processing becomes effortless and highly efficient as a result of continued practice or increased expertise.

Back 55

automatization

Front 56

The most mature Piagetian stage of morality in which rules are viewed as agreements between individuals that can be changed through a consensus of those individuals and in which the older child or adolescent pays more attention to intentions than to consequences in judging actions.

Back 56

autonomous morality; Contrast with heteronomous morality

Front 57

The capacity to make decisions independently, serve as oneÍs own source of emotional strength, and otherwise manage life tasks without being overdependent on other people; an important developmental task of adolescence.

Back 57

autonomy

Front 58

The psychosocial conflict in which toddlers attempt to demonstrate their independence from and control over other people; second of EriksonÍs stages.

Back 58

autonomy versus shame and doubt

Front 59

An insecure infant care-giver bond or other intimate relationship characterised by little separation anxiety and a tendency to avoid or ignore the attachment object upon reunion.

Back 59

avoidant attachment

Front 60

An early form of vocalization that appears between 4 and 6 months of age and involves repeating consonant_vowel combinations such as ñbabaî or ñdadada.î

Back 60

babbling

Front 61

Carefully recorded observations of the growth and development of children by their parents over a period; the first scientific investigations of development.

Back 61

baby biographies

Front 62

The huge generation of people born between 1946 (the close of World War II) and 1964.

Back 62

baby boom generation

Front 63

Standardized test to measure the mental, motor, and behavioral progress of infants and young children.

Back 63

Bayley Scales of Infant Development

Front 64

The scientific study of the extent to which genetic and environmental differences among individuals are responsible for differences among them in traits such as intelligence and personality.

Back 64

behavioral genetics

Front 65

A temperamental characteristic reflecting a personÍs tendency to withdraw from unfamiliar people and situations.

Back 65

behavioral inhibition

Front 66

A school of thinking in psychology that holds that conclusions about human development should be based on controlled observations of overt behavior rather than on speculation about unconscious motives or other unobservable phenomena; the philosophical underpinning of early theories of learning.

Back 66

behaviorism

Front 67

The theory of mind reflecting an understanding that peopleÍs desires and beliefs guide their behavior and that their beliefs are not always an accurate reflection of reality; evident by age 4.

Back 67

belief_desire psychology; Contrast with desire psychology

Front 68

A state of loss that provides the occasion for grief and mourning.

Back 68

bereavement

Front 69

A toxic protein that injures neurons and is located in the senile plaques associated with AlzheimerÍs disease.

Back 69

beta-amyloid

Front 70

The five major dimensions used to characterize peopleÍs personalities: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Back 70

Big Five (OCEAN)

Front 71

The phenomenon in which a studentÍs academic self-concept and performance are likely to be more positive in an academically unselective school than in a highly selective one with many high-achieving students.

Back 71

big-fish_little-pond effect

Front 72

BronfenbrennerÍs model of development that emphasizes the roles of both nature and nurture as the developing person interacts with a series of environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem).

Back 72

bioecological model

Front 73

The deterioration of organisms that leads inevitably to their death.

Back 73

biological aging

Front 74

The physical characteristics that define male and female.

Back 74

biological sex

Front 75

Money and EhrhardtÍs theory of gender-role development that focuses on how biological events influence the development of boys and girls and how early biological developments influence how society reacts to children.

Back 75

biosocial theory

Front 76

A hollow sphere of about 100 to 150 cells that the zygote forms by rapid cell division as it moves through the fallopian tube.

Back 76

blastocyst

Front 77

An indicator of body fat calculated from a personÍs height and weight.

Back 77

body mass index (BMI)

Front 78

As distinguished from attachment, a more biologically-based process in which parent and infant form a connection through contact in the first hours after birth when both are highly alert.

Back 78

bonding

Front 79

A delivery in which the fetus emerges feet first or buttocks first rather than head first.

Back 79

breech presentation

Front 80

A life-threatening eating disorder characterized by recurrent eating binges followed by purging activities such as vomiting.

Back 80

bulimia nervosa

Front 81

Repeatedly inflicting harm through words or actions on weaker peers who cannot or do not defend themselves.

Back 81

bullying

Front 82

A technique demonstrated to extend the life span of laboratory animals involving a highly nutritious but severely calorie restricted diet.

Back 82

caloric restriction

Front 83

The psychological distress associated with providing care for someone with physical, cognitive, or both types of impairment.

Back 83

caregiver burden

Front 84

In genetics, individuals who possesses a recessive gene associated with a disease and who, although they do not have the disease, can transmit the gene for it to offspring.

Back 84

carrier

Front 85

Transactional, multifactor model of substance use that envisions a chain of influences starting with a child with a difficult temperament born into troubled family and ending with involvement in a deviant adolescent peer group.

Back 85

cascade model of substance use

Front 86

An in-depth examination of an individual (or a small number of individuals), typically carried out by compiling and analyzing information from a variety of sources such as observing, testing, and interviewing the person or people who know the individual.

Back 86

case study

Front 87

A pathologic condition of the eye involving opacification (clouding) of the lens that can impair vision or cause blindness.

Back 87

cataracts

Front 88

A phenomenon in which children who have experienced growth deficits will grow rapidly and catch up to the growth trajectory they are genetically programmed to follow.

Back 88

catch-up growth

Front 89

A personÍs classification of the self along socially significant dimensions such as age and sex.

Back 89

categorical self

Front 90

An inherited digestive problem in which gluten (the proteins found in all wheat products) triggers an immune response that damages a personÍs small intestine.

Back 90

celiac disease

Front 91

An individual who lives to be 100 years of age.

Back 91

centenarian

Front 92

In PiagetÍs theory, the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem when two or more aspects are relevant.

Back 92

centration

Front 93

The principle that growth proceeds from the head (cephalic region) to the tail (caudal region).

Back 93

cephalocaudal principle

Front 94

A neurological disability caused by anoxia that is associated with difficulty controlling muscle movements.

Back 94

cerebral palsy

Front 95

A surgical procedure in which an incision is made in the motherÍs abdomen and uterus so that the baby can be removed through the abdomen.

Back 95

cesarean section

Front 96

Compared to traits, more situation-specific and changeable aspects of personality; ways in which people adapt to their roles and environments, including motives, goals, plans, schemas, selfconceptions, stage-specific concerns, and coping mechanisms.

Back 96

characteristic adaptations

Front 97

Mistreating or harming a child physically, emotionally, or sexually, as distinguished from another form of child maltreatment, neglect of the childÍs basic needs.

Back 97

child abuse

Front 98

A model of family influence in which children are believed to influence their parents rather than vice versa.

Back 98

child effects model

Front 99

A broad term for inadequate care or harmful treatment of a child; encompasses both child abuse and child neglect.

Back 99

child maltreatment

Front 100

A household climate that includes low income along with low levels of responsive to childrenÍs basic needs.

Back 100

child poverty

Front 101

Speech used by adults speaking with young children; it involves short, simple sentences spoken slowly and in a high pitched voice, often with much repetition and with exaggerated emphasis on key words.

Back 101

child-directed speech

Front 102

A lack of memory for the early years of a personÍs life.

Back 102

childhood amnesia

Front 103

A membrane that surrounds the amnion and becomes attached to the uterine lining to gather nourishment for the embryo.

Back 103

chorion

Front 104

An alternative to amniocentesis in which a catheter is inserted through the cervix to withdraw fetal cells from the chorion for prenatal testing to detect genetic defects.

Back 104

chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

Front 105

A threadlike structure made up of genes; in humans, there are 46 chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell.

Back 105

chromosome

Front 106

Conditions in which a child has too few, too many, or incomplete chromosomes because of errors in the formation of sperm or ova.

Back 106

chromosome abnormalities

Front 107

In BronfenbrennerÍs bioecological approach, the system that captures the way changes in environmental systems, such as social trends and life events, are patterned over a personÍs lifetime.

Back 107

chronosystem

Front 108

According to neo-Freudian Harry Stack Sullivan, a close friendship in childhood that provides emotional support and teaches children how to participate in intimate relationships.

Back 108

chumship

Front 109

The logical understanding that parts or subclasses are included in the whole class and that the whole is therefore greater than any of its parts.

Back 109

class inclusion

Front 110

A type of learning in which a stimulus that initially had no effect on the individual comes to elicit a response because of its association with a stimulus that already elicits the response.

Back 110

classical conditioning

Front 111

An unstandardized interviewing procedure used by Piaget in which a childÍs response to each successive question (or problem) determines what the investigator will ask next.

Back 111

clinical method

Front 112

A small friendship group that interacts frequently. See crowd.

Back 112

clique

Front 113

A surgically implanted amplification device that stimulates the auditory nerve to provide the sensation of hearing to a deaf individual.

Back 113

cochlear implant

Front 114

In genetics, an instance in which two different but equally powerful genes produce a phenotype in which both genes are expressed.

Back 114

codominance

Front 115

A home in which family members are locked in power struggles, each trying to control the other through aggressive tactics such as threatening, yelling, and hitting.

Back 115

coercive family environment

Front 116

The activity of knowing and the processes through which knowledge is acquired (for example, attending, perceiving, remembering, and thinking).

Back 116

cognition

Front 117

Well-established psychotherapy approach that involves identifying and changing distorted thinking and maladaptive emotions and behavior associated with it.

Back 117

cognitive behavioral therapy

Front 118

The extra brain power or cognitive capacity that some people can fall back on as aging and diseases such as AlzheimerÍs begin to take a toll on brain functioning.

Back 118

cognitive reserve

Front 119

When two single adults live together as an unmarried couple.

Back 119

cohabitation

Front 120

A group of people born at the same time; a particular generation of people.

Back 120

cohort

Front 121

In cross-sectional research, the effects on findings that the different age groups (cohorts) being compared were born at different times and had different formative experiences.

Back 121

cohort effects; Contrast with age effects and time of measurement effects.

Front 122

A culture in which people define themselves in terms of group memberships, give group goals higher priority than personal goals, and socialize children to seek group harmony.

Back 122

collectivist culture; Contrast with individualistic culture.

Front 123

An orientation that emphasizes the well-being of others and includes traits of emotionality and sensitivity to others; considered feminine.

Back 123

communality

Front 124

The co-occurrence of two or more psychiatric conditions in the same individual.

Back 124

comorbidity

Front 125

In SternbergÍs triangular theory of love, affectionate love characterized by high intimacy and commitment but low passion.

Back 125

companionate love

Front 126

An emotional response to a death that is unusually prolonged or intense and that impairs functioning.

Back 126

complicated grief; pathological grief

Front 127

The moment of fertilization, when a sperm penetrates an ovum, forming a zygote.

Back 127

conception

Front 128

The percentage of cases in which a particular attribute is present for both members of a pair of people (for example, twins) if it is present for one member.

Back 128

concordance rate

Front 129

PiagetÍs third stage of cognitive development, lasting from about age 7 to age 11, when children are acquiring logical operations and can reason effectively about real objects and experiences.

Back 129

concrete operations stage

Front 130

A learned response to a stimulus that was not originally capable of producing the response.

Back 130

conditioned response (CR)

Front 131

An initially neutral stimulus that elicits a particular response after it is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that always elicits the response.

Back 131

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Front 132

A persistent pattern of behavior in which a child or adolescent violates the rights of others or age-appropriate societal norms, as through fighting, bullying, and cruelty.

Back 132

conduct disorder

Front 133

A spouse, relative, or friend to whom a person feels emotionally close and with whom that person can share thoughts and feelings.

Back 133

confidant

Front 134

Defects that are present at birth and are caused by genetic factors, prenatal events, or both.

Back 134

congenital malformations

Front 135

The recognition that certain properties of an object or substance do not change when its appearance is altered in some superficial way.

Back 135

conservation

Front 136

In information processing, the processing and organizing of information into a form suitable for long-term storage.

Back 136

consolidation

Front 137

Children who are small for age (at or below the 5th percentile on a growth chart) and late entering puberty, but growing at a normal or near-normal pace.

Back 137

constitutional growth delay

Front 138

In the Twenty Questions task and similar hypothesis-testing tasks, questions that rule out more than one answer to narrow the field of possible choices rather than asking about only one hypothesis at a time.

Back 138

constraint-seeking questions

Front 139

The position taken by Piaget and others that humans actively create their own understandings of the world from their experiences, as opposed to being born with innate ideas or being programmed by the environment.

Back 139

constructivism

Front 141

In SternbergÍs triangular theory of love, love with high levels of all three components of love: passion, intimacy, and decision/commitment.

Back 141

consummate love

Front 142

The pleasurable tactile sensations provided by a parent or a soft, terry cloth mother substitute; believed to foster attachments in infant monkeys and possibly humans.

Back 142

contact comfort

Front 143

Maintenance of attachment to a loved one after the personÍs death through reminiscence, use of the personÍs possessions, consultation with the deceased, and the like.

Back 143

continuing bond

Front 144

The debate among theorists about whether human development is best characterized as gradual and continuous or abrupt and stagelike.

Back 144

continuity_discontinuity issue

Front 145

The amount of light-dark transition or boundary area in a visual stimulus.

Back 145

contour

Front 146

KohlbergÍs term for the third and fourth stages of moral reasoning in which societal values are internalized and judgments are based on a desire to gain approval or uphold law and social order.

Back 146

conventional morality

Front 147

Thinking that involves ñconvergingî on the one best answer to a problem; what IQ tests measure.

Back 147

convergent thinking; Contrast with divergent thinking.

Front 148

An early form of vocalization that involves repeating vowel-like sounds.

Back 148

cooing

Front 149

Procedures that involve assigning students, usually of different races or ability levels, to work teams that are reinforced for performing well as teams and that encourage cooperation among teammates.

Back 149

cooperative learning

Front 150

During PiagetÍs sensorimotor period, the infantÍs combining of actions to solve problems, using one scheme as a means to an end, as in batting aside a barrier in order to grasp a toy.

Back 150

coordination of secondary schemes

Front 151

The extent and manner in which the two parents coordinate their parenting and function as a team in relation to their children.

Back 151

coparenting

Front 152

A measure, ranging from 11.00 to 21.00, of the extent to which two variables or attributes are systematically related to each other in either a positive or a negative way.

Back 152

correlation coefficient

Front 153

A research technique that involves determining whether two or more variables are related. It cannot indicate that one thing caused another, but it can suggest that a causal relationship exists or allow us to predict one characteristic from our knowledge of another.

Back 153

correlational method

Front 154

Excessive discussion and analysis of personal problems with a close friend.

Back 154

co-rumination

Front 155

Sympathetic pregnancy, or the experiencing by fathers of some of the same physiological symptoms their pregnant partners experience (for example, bloating, weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, and nausea).

Back 155

couvade

Front 156

In SternbergÍs triarchic theory, the aspect of intelligence that varies with experience on a task.

Back 156

creative component

Front 157

The ability to produce novel responses or works.

Back 157

creativity

Front 158

A defined period in the development of an organism when it is particularly sensitive to certain environmental influences; outside this period, the same influences will have far less effect.

Back 158

critical period

Front 159

A process in which genetic material is exchanged between pairs of chromosomes during meiosis.

Back 159

crossing over

Front 160

The ability to use one sensory modality to identify a stimulus or a pattern of stimuli already familiar through another modality.

Back 160

cross-modal perception

Front 161

A developmental research design in which different age groups are studied at the same point and compared.

Back 161

cross-sectional design

Front 162

A network of heterosexual cliques that forms during adolescence and facilitates mixed-sex social activities.

Back 162

crowd; See clique.

Front 163

Those aspects of intellectual functioning that involve using knowledge acquired through experience.

Back 163

crystallized intelligence; contrast with fluid intelligence.

Front 164

Recollecting objects, events, or experiences in response to a hint or cue. Contrast with pure recall memory and recognition memory.

Back 164

cued recall memory

Front 165

Change in a species achieved not through biological evolution but through learning and passing on from one generation to the next new ways of adapting to the environment.

Back 165

cultural evolution

Front 166

A system of meanings shared by a population of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Back 166

culture

Front 167

The situation that arises in testing when one cultural or subcultural group is more familiar with test items than another group and therefore has an unfair advantage.

Back 167

culture bias

Front 168

The notion that impoverished environments inhibit intellectual growth and that these inhibiting effects accumulate over time.

Back 168

cumulative-deficit hypothesis

Front 169

Theories that emphasize several haphazard processes that cause cells and organ systems to deteriorate. Contrast with programmed theories of aging.

Back 169

damage theories of aging

Front 170

The process by which the eyes become more sensitive to light over time as they remain in the dark.

Back 170

dark adaptation

Front 171

The ability to focus on two or more dimensions of a problem at one time.

Back 171

decentration

Front 172

To separate the demands of a task at hand from prior beliefs and knowledge.

Back 172

decontextualize

Front 173

Mechanisms used by the ego to defend itself against anxiety caused by conflict between the idÍs impulses and social demands.

Back 173

defense mechanisms

Front 174

The ability to imitate a novel act after a delay.

Back 174

deferred imitation

Front 175

A clouding of consciousness characterized by alternating periods of disorientation and coherence.

Back 175

delirium

Front 176

A dimension of parenting reflecting the extent to which parents as opposed to children exert control over decisions and set and enforce rules.

Back 176

demandingness_control; also called permissiveness-restrictiveness.

Front 177

A progressive loss of cognitive capacities such as memory and judgment that affects some aging individuals and that has a variety of causes.

Back 177

dementia

Front 178

A defense mechanism in which anxiety-provoking thoughts are kept out of, or isolated from, conscious awareness.

Back 178

denial

Front 179

The aspect of behavior measured in an experiment and assumed to be under the control of, or dependent on, the independent variable.

Back 179

dependent variable

Front 180

The earliest theory of mind: an understanding that desires guide behavior (for example, that people seek things they like and avoid things they hate).

Back 180

desire psychology; Contrast with belief_desire psychology.

Front 181

Systematic changes in the individual occurring between conception and death; such changes can be positive, negative, or neutral.

Back 181

development

Front 182

The age at which half of a large group of infants or children master a skill or display a behavior; the average age for achieving a milestone in development.

Back 182

developmental norm

Front 183

A field of study concerned with the origins and course of maladaptive or psychopathological behavior.

Back 183

developmental psychopathology

Front 184

A numerical measure of an infantÍs performance on a developmental test relative to the performance of other infants the same age.

Back 184

developmental quotient (DQ)

Front 185

A distinct phase within a larger sequence of development; a period characterized by a particular set of abilities, motives, behaviors, or emotions that occur together and form a coherent pattern.

Back 185

developmental stage

Front 186

A metabolic disorder characterized by high levels of glucose or sugar in the blood leading to symptoms of thirst, excessive urination, fatigue, and problems involving eyes, kidneys, and other organs.

Back 186

diabetes

Front 187

An advanced form of thought that involves detecting paradoxes and inconsistencies among ideas and trying to reconcile them.

Back 187

dialectical thinking

Front 188

The view that psychopathology results from the interaction of a personÍs predisposition to psychological problems and the experience of stressful events.

Back 188

diathesis_stress model

Front 189

In brain development, the progressive diversification of cells that results in their taking on different characteristics and functions.

Back 189

differentiation

Front 190

Characteristic mode of response in which the individual is irregular in habits and adapts slowly, often with vigorous protest, to changes in routine or new experiences. Contrast with easy temperament and slow-to-warm-up temperament.

Back 190

difficult temperament

Front 191

Identity status characterizing individuals who have not questioned who they are and have not committed themselves to an identity.

Back 191

diffusion status

Front 192

Grief that is not fully recognized or appreciated by other people and therefore may not receive much sympathy and support, as in the loss of a gay partner.

Back 192

disenfranchised grief

Front 193

A perspective that holds that successful aging involves a mutually satisfying withdrawal of the aging individual and society from each other.

Back 193

disengagement theory; contrast with activity theory

Front 194

A disturbed attachment pattern observed in socially deprived children that involves indiscriminate friendliness toward both parents and strangers, lack of appropriate wariness of strangers, and difficulty regulating emotions well enough to participate in real, reciprocal social interactions.

Back 194

disinhibited attachment

Front 195

An insecure infant_caregiver bond, common among abused children, that combines features of the resistant and avoidant attachment styles and is characterized by the infantÍs dazed response to reunion and confusion about whether to approach or avoid the caregiver.

Back 195

disorganized_disoriented attachment

Front 196

Relatively enduring dimensions or qualities of personality along which people differ (for example, extraversion, aloofness).

Back 196

dispositional traits

Front 197

Thinking that requires coming up with a variety of ideas or solutions to a problem when there is no one right answer.

Back 197

divergent thinking; contrast with convergent thinking

Front 198

Deoxyribonucleic acid, the double helix molecule whose chemical code makes up chromosomes and serves as our genetic endowment; it is made up of sequences of the chemicals (adenine), C (cytosine), G (guanine), and T (thymine).

Back 198

DNA

Front 199

A relatively powerful gene that is expressed phenotypically and masks the effect of a less-powerful recessive gene.

Back 199

dominant gene

Front 200

The view that sexual behavior appropriate for members of one gender is inappropriate for members of the other.

Back 200

double standard

Front 201

A chromosomal abnormality in which the child has inherited an extra 21st chromosome and is, as a result, mentally retarded.

Back 201

Down syndrome; also called trisomy 21

Front 202

The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which spells out defining features and symptoms for the range of psychological disorders.

Back 202

DSM-IV

Front 203

A theory of coping with bereavement in which the bereaved oscillate between loss-oriented coping in which they deal with their emotions, restoration-oriented coping in which they try to manage practical tasks and reorganize their lives, and periods of respite from coping.

Back 203

dual process model of bereavement

Front 204

The view that both deliberate thought and more automatic emotion-based intuitions can inform decisions about moral issues and motivate behavior.

Back 204

dual process model of morality

Front 205

A perspective on development applied to motor development which proposes that more sophisticated patterns of motor behavior emerge over time through a ñself-organizingî process in which children modify their motor behavior in adaptive ways on the basis of the sensory feedback they receive when they try different movements.

Back 205

dynamic systems theory

Front 206

Serious difficulties learning to read in children who have normal intellectual ability and no sensory impairments or emotional difficulties that could account for their learning problems.

Back 206

dyslexia

Front 207

Characteristic mode of response in which the individual is even-tempered, content, and open and adaptable to new experiences.

Back 207

easy temperament; contrast with difficult temperament and slow-to-warm-up temperament

Front 208

The repetition of sounds, such as when an autistic child parrots what someone else says.

Back 208

echolalia

Front 209

In the context of science, an individual who recognizes that no single theory can explain everything but that each has something to contribute to our understanding.

Back 209

eclectic

Front 210

Dimension of temperament pertaining to being able to sustain attention, control oneÍs behavior, and regulate oneÍs emotions (as opposed to unable to regulate oneÍs arousal and stay calm and focused).

Back 210

effortful control; see negative affectivity and surgency/extraversion

Front 211

Psychoanalytic term for the rational component of the personality.

Back 211

ego

Front 212

The tendency to view the world from the personÍs own perspective and fail to recognize that others may have different points of view.

Back 212

egocentrism

Front 213

A strategy for remembering that involves adding something to or creating meaningful links between the bits of information the person is trying to retain.

Back 213

elaboration

Front 214

Female version of the Oedipus complex, in which a 4 to 6 year-old girl is said to envy her father for possessing a penis and would choose him as a sex object in the hope of sharing this valuable organ that she lacks.

Back 214

Electra complex

Front 215

Second phase of prenatal development, lasting from the third through the eighth prenatal week, during which the major organs and anatomical structures begin to develop.

Back 215

embryonic period

Front 216

The developmental precursors of reading skills in young children, including knowledge, skills, and attributes that will facilitate the acquisition of reading competence.

Back 216

emergent literacy

Front 217

Newly identified period of the life span extending from about age 18 to age 25, when young people are neither adolescents nor adults and are exploring their identities, careers, and relationships.

Back 217

emerging adulthood

Front 218

The processes involved in initiating, maintaining, and altering emotional responses.

Back 218

emotion regulation

Front 219

The vicarious experiencing of another personÍs feelings.

Back 219

empathy

Front 220

The term used to describe the family after the last child departs the household.

Back 220

empty nest

Front 221

The first step in learning and remembering something, it is the process of getting information into the information-processing system, or learning it, and organizing it in a form suitable for storing.

Back 221

encoding

Front 222

A type of gland that secretes chemicals called hormones directly into the bloodstream. Endocrine glands play critical roles in stimulating growth and regulating bodily functions.

Back 222

endocrine gland

Front 223

Events or conditions outside the person that are presumed to influence and be influenced by the individual.

Back 223

environment

Front 224

The process through which nature and nurture, genes and environment, jointly bring forth development in ways that are difficult to predict at the outset, according to GottliebÍs epigenetic psychobiological systems perspective.

Back 224

epigenesis; in a more specific sense, epigenetic effects refer to ways in which environmental influences alter gene expression

Front 225

Gilbert GottliebÍs view that development is the product of interacting biological and environmental forces that form a larger, dynamic system, both over the course of evolution and during the individualÍs life.

Back 225

epigenetic psychobiological systems perspective

Front 226

A type of explicit memory consisting of specific episodes that one has experienced.

Back 226

episodic memory

Front 227

In PiagetÍs theory, the process of seeking a state of mental stability in which our thoughts (schemes) are consistent with the information we receive from the external world.

Back 227

equilibration

Front 228

A balance of contributions and gains in a social relationship that results in neither partner feeling over or underbenefited.

Back 228

equity

Front 229

The female hormone responsible for the development of the breasts, the female sex organs, and secondary sex characteristics and for the beginning of menstrual cycles.

Back 229

estrogen

Front 230

A sense of personal identification with the individualÍs ethnic group and its values and cultural traditions.

Back 230

ethnic identity

Front 231

A personÍs classification in or affiliation with a group based on common heritage or traditions.

Back 231

ethnicity

Front 232

The belief that oneÍs own cultural or ethnic group is superior to others.

Back 232

ethnocentrism

Front 233

A discipline and theoretical perspective that focuses on the evolved behavior of different species in their natural environments.

Back 233

ethology

Front 234

Literally, ñgood deathî; specifically, hastening, either actively or passively, the death of someone suffering from an incurable illness or injury.

Back 234

euthanasia

Front 235

Grounding what they do in research and ensuring that the curricula and treatments they provide have been demonstrated to be effective.

Back 235

evidence-based practice

Front 236

The application of evolutionary theory and its concept of natural selection to understanding why humans think and behave as they do.

Back 236

evolutionary psychology

Front 237

Processes that direct and monitor the selection, organization, manipulation, and interpretation of information in the information-processing system, including executive functions.

Back 237

executive control processes

Front 238

The planning and organizational functions that reside in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.

Back 238

executive functions

Front 239

In BronfenbrennerÍs bioecological approach, settings not experienced directly by individuals still influence their development (for example, effects of events at a parentÍs workplace on childrenÍs development).

Back 239

exosystem

Front 240

A conversational tactic used by adults in speaking to young children in which they respond to a childÍs utterance with a more grammatically complete expression of the same thought.

Back 240

expansion

Front 241

A research strategy in which the investigator manipulates or alters some aspect of a personÍs environment to measure its effect on the individualÍs behavior or development.

Back 241

experiment

Front 242

The holding of all other factors besides the independent variable in an experiment constant so that any changes in the dependent variable can be said to be caused by the manipulation of the independent variable.

Back 242

experimental control

Front 243

Memory that involves consciously recollecting the past.

Back 243

explicit memory; contrast with implicit memory

Front 244

A family unit composed of parents and children living with other kin such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, or a combination of these. Compare with nuclear family.

Back 244

extended family household

Front 245

Childhood behavioral problem that involves ñundercontrolledî behavior such as aggression or acting out difficulties that disturb other people.

Back 245

externalizing problem; contrast with internalizing problem

Front 246

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a learned response when it is no longer reinforced.

Back 246

extinction

Front 247

Baron-CohenÍs theory that individuals with autism have brains that are more masculine, or skilled at systemizing, than feminine, or skilled at empathizing.

Back 247

extreme male brain hypothesis

Front 248

Remembering and reporting events the person has witnessed or experienced.

Back 248

eyewitness memory

Front 249

A condition observed in infants who, because of either physical causes or emotional deprivation, are characterized by stunted growth, weight loss, and delays in cognitive and socioemotional development.

Back 249

failure to thrive

Front 250

A research paradigm used to assess an important aspect of a theory of mind, mainly the understanding that people can hold incorrect beliefs and be influenced by them.

Back 250

false belief task

Front 251

The sequence of changes in family composition, roles, and relationships that occurs from the time people marry until they die.

Back 251

family life cycle

Front 252

The conceptualization of the family as a whole consisting of interrelated parts, each of which affects and is affected by every other part, and each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole.

Back 252

family systems theory

Front 253

A group of symptoms commonly observed in the offspring of mothers who use alcohol heavily during pregnancy, including a small head, widely spaced eyes, and mental retardation.

Back 253

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Front 254

The third phase of prenatal development, lasting from the ninth prenatal week until birth; during this period, the major organ systems begin to function effectively and the fetus grows rapidly.

Back 254

fetal period

Front 255

Skills that involve precise movements of the hands and fingers or feet and toes.

Back 255

fine motor skills; contrast with gross motor skills

Front 256

In psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism in which development is arrested and part of the libido remains tied to an early stage of development.

Back 256

fixation

Front 257

Aspects of intelligence that involve actively thinking and reasoning to solve novel problems.

Back 257

fluid intelligence; contrast with crystallized intelligence

Front 258

The rise in average IQ scores over the 20th century.

Back 258

Flynn effect

Front 259

An identity status characterising individuals who appear to have committed themselves to a life direction but who have adopted an identity prematurely, without much thought.

Back 259

foreclosure status

Front 260

PiagetÍs fourth and final stage of cognitive development (from age 11 or 12), when the individual begins to think more rationally and systematically about abstract concepts and hypothetical ideas.

Back 260

formal operations stage

Front 261

A chromosome abnormality in which one arm of the X chromosome is only barely connected to the rest of the chromosome; the most common hereditary cause of mental retardation.

Back 261

fragile X syndrome

Front 262

Twins who are not identical and who result when a mother releases two ova at roughly the same time and each is fertilized by a different sperm.

Back 262

fraternal twins

Front 263

Chemically unstable byproducts of metabolism that have an extra electron and react with other molecules to produce toxic substances that damage cells and contribute to aging.

Back 263

free radicals

Front 264

An analysis of the semantic relations (meanings such as naming and locating) that children express in their earliest sentences.

Back 264

functional grammar

Front 265

A brain-scanning technique that uses magnetic forces to measure the increase in blood flow to an area of the brain that occurs when that brain area is active. By having children and adults perform cognitive tasks while lying very still in an fMRI scanner, researchers can determine which parts of the brain are involved in particular cognitive activities.

Back 265

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Front 266

The view that verbatim and general or gistlike accounts of an event are stored separately in memory.

Back 266

fuzzy-trace theory

Front 267

A combination of all those features that a society associates with or considers appropriate for being a man and woman.

Back 267

gender

Front 268

The stage of gender typing in which children realize that their sex is stable across situations or despite changes in activities or appearance.

Back 268

gender consistency

Front 269

A solid understanding of oneself as male-female, man-woman.

Back 269

gender constancy

Front 270

IndividualsÍ basic awareness that they are either a male or a female.

Back 270

gender identity

Front 271

A magnification of differences between males and females during adolescence associated with increased pressure to conform to traditional gender roles.

Back 271

gender intensification

Front 272

A pattern of behaviors and traits that defines how to act the part of a female or a male in a particular society.

Back 272

gender role

Front 273

Organized sets of beliefs and expectations about males and females that guide information processing.

Back 273

gender schema (plural: schemata)

Front 274

The formation of separate boysÍ and girlsÍ peer groups during childhood.

Back 274

gender segregation

Front 275

The hypothesis that males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables.

Back 275

gender similarities hypothesis

Front 276

The stage of gender typing in which children realize that their sex remains the same over time.

Back 276

gender stability

Front 277

Overgeneralized and largely inaccurate beliefs about what males and females are like.

Back 277

gender stereotypes

Front 278

The process by which children become aware of their gender and acquire the motives, values, and behaviors considered appropriate for members of their biological sex.

Back 278

gender typing

Front 279

A functional unit of heredity made up of DNA and transmitted from generation to generation.

Back 279

gene

Front 280

The activation of particular genes in particular cells of the body at particular times in life.

Back 280

gene expression

Front 281

Interventions that involve substituting normal genes for the genes associated with a disease or disorder; otherwise altering a personÍs genetic makeup.

Back 281

gene therapy

Front 282

A systematic interrelationship between an individualÍs genes and that individualÍs environment; ways in which genes influence the kind of home environment provided by parents (passive gene_ environment correlation), the social reactions to the individual (evocative gene_environment correlation), and the types of experiences the individual seeks (active gene_environment correlation).

Back 282

gene_environment correlation

Front 283

The phenomenon in which the effects of peopleÍs genes depend on the kind of environment they experience and in which the effects of the environment depend on their genetic endowment.

Back 283

gene_environment interaction

Front 284

Representations that people create over time of the typical sequence of actions related to an event.

Back 284

general event representation; also called ñscripts.î

Front 285

The psychosocial conflict in which middle-aged adults must gain the sense that they have produced something that will outlive them and genuinely care for younger generations to avoid self-preoccupation.

Back 285

generativity versus stagnation; seventh of EriksonÍs stages

Front 286

A service designed to inform people about genetic conditions they or their unborn children are at risk of inheriting.

Back 286

genetic counseling

Front 287

The genetic endowment that an individual inherits.

Back 287

genotype; contrast with phenotype

Front 288

First phase of prenatal development, lasting about 2 weeks from conception until the developing organism becomes attached to the wall of the uterus.

Back 288

germinal period

Front 289

The study of aging and old age.

Back 289

gerontology

Front 290

The possession of unusually high general intellectual potential or of special abilities in such areas as creativity, mathematics, or the arts.

Back 290

giftedness

Front 291

A condition in which increased fluid pressure in the eye damages the optic nerve and causes progressive loss of peripheral vision and ultimately blindness.

Back 291

glaucoma

Front 292

In BowlbyÍs attachment theory, the most mature phase of attachment in which parent and child accommodate to each otherÍs needs and the child becomes more independent.

Back 292

goal-corrected partnership

Front 293

The extent to which the childÍs temperament and the demands of the childÍs social environment are compatible or mesh, according to Thomas and Chess; more generally, a good match between person and environment.

Back 293

goodness of fit

Front 294

The emotional response to loss. Contrast with mourning.

Back 294

grief

Front 295

The view commonly held, but now challenged, that to cope adaptively with death bereaved people must confront their loss, experience painful emotions, work through these emotions, and move toward a detachment from the deceased.

Back 295

grief work perspective

Front 296

Skills that involve large muscles and whole body or limb movements (for example, kicking the legs or drawing large circles).

Back 296

gross motor skills; contrast with fine motor skills.

Front 297

The physical changes that occur from conception to maturity.

Back 297

growth

Front 298

Hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates childhood physical growth and the adolescent growth spurt.

Back 298

growth hormone

Front 299

A process in which children learn by actively participating in culturally relevant activities with the aid and support of their parents and other knowledgeable individuals.

Back 299

guided participation

Front 300

A simple form of learning that involves learning not to respond to a repeated stimulus; learning to be bored by the familiar.

Back 300

habituation

Front 301

The estimate that human cells can double only 50 times, plus or minus 10, and then will die.

Back 301

Hayflick limit

Front 302

An attribution style in which someone tends to avoid challenges and to cease trying„to give up„when they experience failure, based on the belief that they can do little to improve.

Back 302

helpless orientation

Front 303

A deficiency in the bloodÍs ability to clot. It is more common among males than females because it is associated with a sex-linked gene on the X chromosome.

Back 303

hemophilia

Front 304

The amount of variability in a population on some trait dimension that is attributable to genetic differences among those individuals.

Back 304

heritability

Front 305

A term meaning subject to authority and referring to the childhood beliefs that rules are handed down by authority figures and are sacred and unalterable and that wrongness should be judged on the basis of consequences rather than intentions; typical of children ages 6 to 10, according to Piaget.

Back 305

heteronomous morality; contrast with autonomous morality

Front 306

A single-word utterance used by an infant that represents an entire sentenceÍs worth of meaning.

Back 306

holophrase

Front 307

A widely used instrument that allows an observer to determine how intellectually stimulating or impoverished a home environment is.

Back 307

Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory

Front 308

Mate selection or marriage on the basis of similarity in demographic and personal characteristics.

Back 308

homogamy

Front 309

A term used by Piaget to characterize that different cognitive skills related to the same stage of cognitive development emerge at different times.

Back 309

horizontal d_calage

Front 310

Taking estrogen and progestin to compensate for hormone loss because of menopause in women.

Back 310

hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

Front 311

A program that supports dying persons and their families through a philosophy of caring rather than curing, either in a facility or at home.

Back 311

hospice

Front 312

A sudden experience of warmth and sweating, often followed by a cold shiver, that occurs in a menopausal woman.

Back 312

hot flash

Front 313

Ways in which humans deliberately exercise cognitive control over their environments and lives, according to Bandura.

Back 313

human agency

Front 314

A massive, government-sponsored effort to decipher the human genetic code.

Back 314

Human Genome Project

Front 315

A genetic disease caused by a single, dominant gene that strikes in middle age to produce a deterioration of physical and mental abilities and premature death.

Back 315

HuntingtonÍs disease

Front 316

See attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Back 316

hyperactivity

Front 317

A theoretical prediction about what will hold true if we observe a phenomenon.

Back 317

hypothesis

Front 318

A form of problem solving in which a person starts with general or abstract ideas and deduces or traces their specific implications; ñif_thenî thinking.

Back 318

hypothetical-deductive reasoning

Front 319

A psychoanalytic term for the inborn component of the personality that is driven by the instincts or selfish urges.

Back 319

id

Front 320

Idealized expectations of what oneÍs attributes and personality should be like.

Back 320

ideal self

Front 321

Monozygotic twins who develop from a single zygote that later divides to form two genetically identical individuals.

Back 321

identical twins

Front 322

FreudÍs term for the individualÍs tendency to emulate, or adopt the attitudes and behaviors of, another person, particularly the same-sex parent.

Back 322

identification

Front 323

A self-definition or sense of who one is, where one is going, and how one fits into society.

Back 323

identity

Front 324

An identity status characterizing individuals who have carefully thought through identity issues and made commitments or resolved their identity issues.

Back 324

identity achievement status

Front 325

The psychosocial conflict in which adolescents must form a coherent self-definition or remain confused about their life directions; fifth of EriksonÍs stages.

Back 325

identity versus role confusion

Front 326

A form of adolescent egocentrism that involves confusing oneÍs own thoughts with the thoughts of a hypothesized audience for behavior and concluding that others share these preoccupations.

Back 326

imaginary audience

Front 327

A play companion invented by a child in the preoperational stage who has developed the capacity for symbolic thought.

Back 327

imaginary companion

Front 328

Memory that occurs unintentionally and without consciousness or awareness.

Back 328

implicit memory; Contrast with explicit memory.

Front 329

An innate form of learning in which the young of certain species will follow and become attached to moving objects (usually their mothers) during a critical period early in life.

Back 329

imprinting

Front 330

The educational practice of integrating handicapped students into regular classrooms rather than placing them in segregated special education classes

Back 330

inclusion; also called mainstreaming

Front 331

A condition in which a stronger gene fails to mask all the effects of a weaker partner gene; a phenotype results that is similar but not identical to the effect of the stronger gene.

Back 331

incomplete dominance

Front 332

The aspect of the environment that a researcher deliberately changes or manipulates in an experiment to see its effect on behavior; a causal variable.

Back 332

independent variable; Contrast with dependent variable

Front 333

The instance in which the relationship between two individuals in a family is modified by the behavior or attitudes of a third family member.

Back 333

indirect effect

Front 334

A culture in which individuals define themselves as individuals and put their own goals ahead of their groupÍs goals, and one in which children are socialized to be independent and self-reliant.

Back 334

individualistic culture; Contrast with collectivist culture

Front 335

A form of discipline that involves explaining why a childÍs behavior is wrong and should be changed by emphasizing its effects on other people.

Back 335

induction

Front 336

The psychosocial conflict in which school-aged children must master important cognitive and social skills or feel incompetent; fourth of EriksonÍs stages.

Back 336

industry versus inferiority

Front 337

A coupleÍs inability to get pregnant after a year of trying to do so.

Back 337

infertility

Front 338

An approach to cognition that emphasizes the fundamental mental processes involved in attention, perception, memory, and decision making.

Back 338

information-processing approach

Front 339

The psychosocial conflict in which preschool children must learn to initiate new activities and pursue bold plans or become self-critical; third of EriksonÍs stages.

Back 339

initiative versus guilt

Front 340

An inborn biological force assumed to motivate a particular response or class of responses.

Back 340

instinct

Front 341

Teaching children of different racial/ethnic backgrounds in the same classroom.

Back 341

integration

Front 342

The psychosocial conflict in which elderly adults attempt to find a sense of meaning in their lives and to accept the inevitability of death; eighth of EriksonÍs stages.

Back 342

integrity versus despair

Front 343

Significantly below-average intellectual functioning with limitations in areas of adaptive behavior such as self-care and social skills, originating before age 18 (previously known as mental retardation).

Back 343

intellectual disability

Front 344

A numerical measure of a personÍs performance on an intelligence test relative to the performance of other examinees of the same age, typically with a score of 100 defined as average.

Back 344

intelligence quotient (IQ)

Front 345

The passing down from generation to generation of parenting styles, abusive or otherwise.

Back 345

intergenerational transmission of parenting

Front 346

In attachment theory, cognitive representation of self and other that children construct from their interactions with caregivers and that shape their expectations about relationships.

Back 346

internal working model

Front 347

Childhood behavioral problem that represents an ñovercontrolledî pattern of coping with difficulties and is expressed in anxiety, depression, and other forms of inner distress. Contrast with externalizing problem.

Back 347

internalizing problem

Front 348

The psychosocial conflict in which young adults must commit themselves to a shared identity with another person or remain aloof and unconnected to others; sixth of EriksonÍs stages.

Back 348

intimacy versus isolation

Front 349

Organized systems of knowledge, believed to be innate, that allow children to make sense of the world in areas such as physics and psychology.

Back 349

intuitive theories

Front 350

Procedure in which several eggs are removed from a womanÍs ovary, fertilized by sperm in a petri dish in the laboratory, then transferred to the womanÍs uterus in hopes that one will implant on the wall of the uterus.

Back 350

in vitro fertilization (IVF)

Front 351

The act of looking at the same object at the same time with someone else; a way in which infants share perceptual experiences with their caregivers.

Back 351

joint attention

Front 352

Law-breaking by a minor.

Back 352

juvenile delinquency

Front 353

Holding a young infant skin-to-skin on a parentÍs chest; often used with premature babies to help maintain body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen levels in the blood.

Back 353

kangaroo care

Front 354

A chromosomal portrait created by staining chromosomes, photographing them under a high-power microscope, and arranging them into a predetermined pattern.

Back 354

karyotype

Front 355

A sex chromosome abnormality in which males inherit two or more X chromosomes (XXY or XXXY); these males fail to develop secondary sex characteristics and often show deficiencies on tests of verbal abilities.

Back 355

Klinefelter syndrome

Front 356

A personÍs existing information about a content area, significant for its influence on how well that individual can learn and remember.

Back 356

knowledge base

Front 357

Prepared childbirth in which parents attend classes and learn mental exercises and relaxation techniques to ease delivery.

Back 357

Lamaze method

Front 358

A symbolic system in which a limited number of signals can be combined according to rules to produce an infinite number of messages.

Back 358

language

Front 359

A set of linguistic processing skills that nativists believe to be innate; presumably the LAD enables a child to infer the rules governing othersÍ speech and then use these rules to produce language.

Back 359

language acquisition device (LAD)

Front 360

Learning occurs but is not evident in behavior; children can learn from observation even though they do not imitate (perform) the learned responses.

Back 360

latent learning

Front 361

The specialization of the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex of the brain.

Back 361

lateralization

Front 362

A relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavioral potential) that results from a personÍs experiences or practice.

Back 362

learning

Front 363

A goal adopted by learners in which they seek to learn new things so that they can improve their abilities. Contrast with performance goal.

Back 363

learning goal

Front 364

FreudÍs term for the biological energy of the sex instinct.

Back 364

libido

Front 365

The average number of years a newborn baby can be expected to live; now almost 78 years in the United States.

Back 365

life expectancy

Front 366

Process in which elderly adults reflect on unresolved conflicts of the past and evaluate their lives; it may contribute to a sense of integrity and readiness for death.

Back 366

life review

Front 367

A perspective that views development as a lifelong, multidirectional process that involves gain and loss, is characterized by considerable plasticity, is shaped by its historical-cultural context, has many causes, and is best viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Back 367

life-span perspective

Front 368

The concept that the development of the individual is intertwined with the development of other family members.

Back 368

linked lives

Front 369

The ability to use printed information to function in society, achieve goals, and develop potential.

Back 369

literacy

Front 370

A document in which people state in advance that they do not wish to have extraordinary medical procedures applied if they are hopelessly ill.

Back 370

living will

Front 371

The process of moving from one location to another.

Back 371

locomotion

Front 372

A developmental research design in which one group of subjects is studied repeatedly over months or years.

Back 372

longitudinal design

Front 373

Memory store in which information that has been examined and interpreted is stored relatively permanently.

Back 373

long-term memory

Front 374

A form of discipline that involves withholding attention, affection, or approval after a child misbehaves.

Back 374

love withdrawal

Front 375

A weight at birth of less than 2500 grams, or 5 _ pounds, associated with increased risk of developmental problems.

Back 375

low birth weight (LBW)

Front 376

In BronfenbrennerÍs bioecological approach, the larger cultural or subcultural context of development.

Back 376

macrosystem

Front 377

An affective or mood disorder characterized by at least one episode of feeling profoundly sad and hopeless, losing interest in almost all activities, or both.

Back 377

major depressive disorder

Front 378

In achievement situations, aiming to learn new things in order to learn or improve ability; contrast with performance goal.

Back 378

mastery (learning) goal

Front 379

An intrinsic motive to master and control the environment evident early in infancy.

Back 379

mastery motivation

Front 380

A tendency to thrive on challenges and persist in the face of failure because of healthy attributions that lead to the belief that increased effort will pay off.

Back 380

mastery orientation

Front 381

A noninvasive method of prenatal diagnosis involving testing for substances in maternal blood; more recently, analysis of fetal cells that have slipped through the placenta into the motherÍs blood.

Back 381

maternal blood sampling

Front 382

Developmental changes that are biologically programmed by genes rather than caused primarily by learning, injury, illness, or some other life experience.

Back 382

maturation

Front 383

A ceiling on the number of years that any member of a species lives; 120 years for humans.

Back 383

maximum life span

Front 384

The initial stage of mastery of memory strategies in which children cannot spontaneously use or benefit from strategies even if they are taught to use them.

Back 384

mediation deficiency

Front 385

The process in which a germ cell divides, producing sperm or ova, each containing half of the parent cellÍs original complement of chromosomes.

Back 385

meiosis; In humans, the products of meiosis normally contain 23 chromosomes

Front 386

The ability to store and later retrieve information about past events.

Back 386

memory

Front 387

A femaleÍs first menstrual period.

Back 387

menarche

Front 388

The ending of a womanÍs menstrual periods and reproductive capacity around age 51.

Back 388

menopause

Front 389

A measure of intellectual development that reflects the level of age-graded problems that a child is able to solve; the age at which a child functions intellectually.

Back 389

mental age

Front 390

In BronfenbrennerÍs bioecological approach, interrelationships between microsystems or immediate environments (for example, ways in which events in the family affect a childÍs interactions at a day care center).

Back 390

mesosystem

Front 391

A research method in which the results of multiple studies addressing the same question are synthesized to produce overall conclusions.

Back 391

meta-analysis

Front 392

Knowledge of the human mind and of the range of cognitive processes, including thinking about personal thought processes.

Back 392

metacognition

Front 393

Knowledge of language as a system.

Back 393

metalinguistic awareness

Front 394

A personÍs knowledge about memory and about monitoring and regulating memory processes.

Back 394

metamemory

Front 395

In BronfenbrennerÍs bioecological approach, the immediate settings in which the person functions (for example, the family).

Back 395

microsystem

Front 396

The phenomenon in which middle-aged adults sometimes experience heavy responsibilities for both the younger and the older generations in the family.

Back 396

middle generation squeeze

Front 397

A period of major questioning, inner struggle, and re-evaluation hypothesized to occur in an adultÍs early 40s.

Back 397

midlife crisis

Front 398

A level of memory loss between normal loss with age and pathological loss from disease.

Back 398

mild cognitive impairment

Front 399

Theory of autism that holds that the malfunctioning of behavior simulating mirror neuron systems accounts for the deficits individuals with autism show in imitation, theory of mind skills, empathy, and language.

Back 399

mirror neuron hypothesis

Front 400

Neural cells in several brain areas that are activated when we perform an action or observe someone else performing it.

Back 400

mirror neurons

Front 401

Loss of a pregnancy before survival of the baby outside the womb is possible.

Back 401

miscarriage

Front 402

The process in which a cell duplicates its chromosomes and then divides into two genetically identical daughter cells.

Back 402

mitosis

Front 403

The analysis of particular genes and their effects, including the identification of specific genes that influence particular traits and the comparison of animals or humans who have these specific genes and those who do not.

Back 403

molecular genetics

Front 404

The emotional component of morality, including feelings of guilt, shame, and pride regarding oneÍs conduct.

Back 404

moral affect

Front 405

According to Bandura, the ability to avoid self condemnation when engaged in immoral behavior by justifying, minimizing, or blaming others for oneÍs actions.

Back 405

moral disengagement

Front 406

The cognitive component of morality; the thinking that occurs when people decide whether acts are right or wrong.

Back 406

moral reasoning

Front 407

Standards of conduct that focus on the basic rights and privileges of individuals.

Back 407

moral rules; Contrast with social-conventional rules

Front 408

The ability to distinguish right from wrong, to act on this distinction, and to experience pride when doing something right and to experience guilt or shame when doing something wrong.

Back 408

morality; Morality has affective, cognitive, and behavioral components

Front 409

GilliganÍs term for what she says is the dominant moral orientation of females, in which the individual emphasizes concern and responsibility for the welfare of other people rather than abstract rights.

Back 409

morality of care; Contrast with morality of justice

Front 410

GilliganÍs term for what she says is the dominant moral orientation of males, in which moral dilemmas are viewed as inevitable conflicts between the rights of two or more parties that must be settled by law.

Back 410

morality of justice ; Contrast with morality of care

Front 411

A period of time in high school or college when young adults are relatively free of responsibilities and can experiment with different roles to find their identities.

Back 411

moratorium period

Front 412

Identity status characterizing individuals who are experiencing an identity crisis or actively exploring identity issues but who have not yet achieved an identity.

Back 412

moratorium status

Front 413

The basic units of meaning that exist in a word.

Back 413

morphemes

Front 414

Culturally prescribed ways of displaying reactions to a loss.

Back 414

mourning; Contrast with grief

Front 415

A change in the structure or arrangement of one or more genes that produces a new phenotype.

Back 415

mutation

Front 416

A close, affectively positive, and cooperative relationship in which child and parent are attached to each other and are sensitive to each otherÍs needs; a contributor to moral development.

Back 416

mutually responsive orientation

Front 417

A fatty sheath that insulates neural axons and thereby speeds the transmission of neural impulses.

Back 417

myelin

Front 418

The depositing of a fatty sheath around neural axons that insulates them and thereby speeds the transmission of neural impulses.

Back 418

myelination

Front 419

Unique and integrative ñlife storiesî that we construct about our pasts and futures to give ourselves an identity and our lives meaning; an aspect of personality.

Back 419

narrative identities

Front 420

An individual whose approach to human development emphasizes the contribution of genetic factors; specifically, a person who believes that infants enter the world equipped with knowledge that allows them to perceive a meaningful world from the start.

Back 420

nativist ; Contrast with empiricist

Front 421

The evolutionary principle that individuals who have characteristics advantageous for survival in a particular environment are most likely to survive and reproduce. Over many generations, this process of ñsurvival of the fittestî will lead to changes in a species and the development of new species.

Back 421

natural selection

Front 422

A research method in which the scientist observes people as they engage in common everyday activities in their natural habitats.

Back 422

naturalistic observation; Contrast with structured observation

Front 423

The debate over the relative importance of biological predispositions (nature) and environmental influences (nurture) as determinants of human development.

Back 423

nature_nurture issue

Front 424

Dimension of temperament that concerns the tendency to be sad, fearful, easily frustrated, and irritable (as opposed to laid back and adaptable).

Back 424

negative affectivity; See effortful control and surgency/extraversion

Front 425

The process in operant conditioning in which a response is weakened or made less probable when its consequence is the removal of a pleasant stimulus from the situation.

Back 425

negative punishment

Front 426

The process in operant conditioning in which a response is strengthened or made more probable when its consequence is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus from the situation.

Back 426

negative reinforcement

Front 427

A parenting style low in demandingness_control and low in acceptance_responsiveness; uninvolved parenting.

Back 427

neglectful parenting

Front 428

Pertaining to events or developments in the first month after birth.

Back 428

neonatal

Front 429

The process of generating new neurons across the lifespan.

Back 429

neurogenesis

Front 430

The basic unit of the nervous system; a nerve cell.

Back 430

neuron

Front 431

The brainÍs remarkable ability to change in response to experience throughout the life span, as when it recovers from injury or benefits from stimulating learning experiences.

Back 431

neuroplasticity

Front 432

Experiences unique to the individual that are not shared by other members of the family and that tend to make members of the same family different.

Back 432

nonshared environmental influences; Contrast with shared environmental influences

Front 433

A symmetrical (bellshaped) curve that describes the variability of characteristics within a population. Most people fall at or near the average score; there are relatively few high or low scores.

Back 433

normal distribution

Front 434

A family unit consisting of husband_father, wife_mother, and at least one child. Compare with extended family household.

Back 434

nuclear family

Front 435

Condition of being overweight; specifically, being 20% or more above the ñidealî weight for oneÍs height, age, and sex.

Back 435

obesity

Front 436

The understanding that objects continue to exist when they are no longer visible or otherwise detectable to the senses; fully mastered by the end of infancy.

Back 436

object permanence

Front 437

Learning that results from observing the behavior of other people; emphasized in BanduraÍs social cognitive theory.

Back 437

observational learning

Front 438

FreudÍs term for the conflict that 4 to 6-year-old boys experience when they develop an incestuous desire for their mothers and a jealous and hostile rivalry with their fathers.

Back 438

Oedipus complex

Front 439

The sense of smell, made possible by sensory receptors in the nasal passage that react to chemical molecules in the air.

Back 439

olfaction

Front 440

Also called instrumental conditioning, a form of learning in which freely emitted acts (or operants) become more or less probable depending on the consequences they produce.

Back 440

operant conditioning

Front 441

Sexual activity involving contact between the mouth and genitals.

Back 441

oral sex

Front 442

In PiagetÍs cognitive developmental theory, a personÍs inborn tendency to combine and integrate available schemes into more coherent and complex systems or bodies of knowledge; as a memory strategy, a technique that involves grouping or classifying stimuli into meaningful clusters.

Back 442

organization

Front 443

The process, occurring during the period of the embryo, in which every major organ takes shape in a primitive form.

Back 443

organogenesis

Front 444

An attentional system that that reacts to events in the environment; contrast with a focusing system that deliberately seeks out and maintains attention to events.

Back 444

orienting system

Front 445

WernerÍs principle that development proceeds from global and undifferentiated states toward more differentiated and integrated patterns of response.

Back 445

orthogenetic principle

Front 446

A joint problem among older adults resulting from a gradual deterioration of the cartilage that cushions the bones and keeps them from rubbing together.

Back 446

osteoarthritis

Front 447

A disease affecting older adults in which bone tissue is lost, leaving bones fragile and easily fractured.

Back 447

osteoporosis

Front 448

The young childÍs tendency to use a word to refer to a wider set of objects, actions, or events than adults do (for example, using the word car to refer to all motor vehicles). Contrast with underextension.

Back 448

overextension

Front 449

SieglerÍs view that the development of problem-solving skills is not a matter of moving from one problemsolving approach to a better one with age but of knowing and using a variety of strategies at each age, becoming increasingly selective with experience about which strategies to use in particular situations, and adding new strategies to oneÍs collection.

Back 449

overlapping waves theory

Front 450

The overgeneralization of observed grammatical rules to irregular cases to which the rules do not apply (for example, saying mouses rather than mice).

Back 450

overregularization

Front 451

A hormone that plays important roles in facilitating parent-infant attachment as well as reducing anxiety and encouraging affiliation in other social relationships.

Back 451

oxytocin

Front 452

Care aimed not at curing but at meeting the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of dying patients.

Back 452

palliative care

Front 453

A model of family influence in which parents (particularly mothers) are believed to influence their children rather than vice versa.

Back 453

parent effects model

Front 454

The notion that the demands of parenthood cause men and women to adopt distinct roles and psychological traits.

Back 454

parental imperative

Front 455

Model of grieving describing four predominant reactions to loss of an attachment figure: numbness, yearning, disorganization and despair, and reorganization.

Back 455

Parkes/Bowlby attachment model of bereavement

Front 456

A social equal; a person who functions at a level of behavioral complexity similar to that of the self, often someone of similar age.

Back 456

peer

Front 457

The interpretation of sensory input.

Back 457

perception

Front 458

Phenomenon in which the most obvious features of an object or situation have disproportionate influence on the perceptions and thought of young children.

Back 458

perceptual salience

Front 459

A goal adopted by learners in which they attempt to prove their ability rather than to improve it.

Back 459

performance goal; Contrast with learning (or mastery) goal

Front 460

The environment surrounding birth.

Back 460

perinatal environment

Front 461

A maternal-fetal specialist who focuses on high-risk pregnancies.

Back 461

perinatologist

Front 462

A lax style of parenting combining low demandingness_control and high acceptance_responsiveness in which adults love their children but make few demands on them and rarely attempt to control their behavior.

Back 462

permissive parenting

Front 463

Mistake made when an information processor continues to use the same strategy that was successful in the past over and over despite the strategyÍs lack of success in the current situation.

Back 463

perseveration error

Front 464

A form of adolescent egocentrism that involves thinking that oneself and oneÍs thoughts and feelings are unique or special.

Back 464

personal fable

Front 465

The organized combination of attributes, motives, values, and behaviors that is unique to each individual.

Back 465

personality

Front 466

The way in which a personÍs genotype is expressed in observable or measurable characteristics.

Back 466

phenotype

Front 467

A genetic disease in which the child is unable to metabolize phenylalanine; if left untreated, it soon causes hyperactivity and mental retardation.

Back 467

phenylketonuria (PKU)

Front 468

One of the basic units of sound used in a particular spoken language.

Back 468

phoneme

Front 469

The understanding that spoken words can be decomposed into some number of basic sound units, or phonemes; an important skill in learning to read.

Back 469

phonological awareness

Front 470

A grasp in which the thumb is used in opposition to the fingers, enabling an infant to become more dexterous at lifting and manipulating objects.

Back 470

pincer grasp

Front 471

The ñmaster glandî located at the base of the brain that regulates the other endocrine glands and produces growth hormone.

Back 471

pituitary gland

Front 472

An organ, formed from the chorion and the lining of the uterus, that provides for the nourishment of the unborn child and the elimination of its metabolic wastes.

Back 472

placenta

Front 473

An openness of the brain cells (or of the organism as a whole) to positive and negative environmental influence; a capacity to change in response to experience.

Back 473

plasticity

Front 474

A characteristic influenced by the action of many gene pairs rather than a single pair.

Back 474

polygenic trait

Front 475

A well-defined group that a researcher who studies a sample of individuals is interested in drawing conclusions about.

Back 475

population

Front 476

The process in operant conditioning whereby a response is weakened when its consequence is an unpleasant event.

Back 476

positive punishment

Front 477

The process in operant conditioning whereby a response is strengthened when its consequence is a pleasant event.

Back 477

positive reinforcement

Front 478

The tendency of older adults to pay more attention to, better remember, and put more priority on positive information than on negative information.

Back 478

positivity effect; see also socioemotional selectivity theory

Front 479

KohlbergÍs term for the fifth and sixth stages of moral reasoning, in which moral judgments are based on a more abstract understanding of democratic social contracts or on universal principles of justice that have validity apart from the views of particular authority figures.

Back 479

postconventional morality

Front 480

Proposed stages of cognitive development that lie beyond formal operations.

Back 480

postformal thought

Front 481

An episode of severe, clinical depression lasting for months in a woman who has just given birth; to be contrasted with milder cases of the ñbaby blues,î in which a new mother is tearful and moody in the first days after birth.

Back 481

postpartum depression

Front 482

A psychological disorder involving flashbacks to traumatizing events, nightmares, and feelings of helplessness and anxiety in the face of danger experienced by victims of extreme trauma such as soldiers in combat and sexually abused children.

Back 482

posttraumatic stress disorder

Front 483

A form of discipline that involves the use of superior power to administer spankings, withhold privileges, and so on.

Back 483

power assertion

Front 484

In SternbergÍs triarchic theory, the aspect of intelligence that varies from one sociocultural context to another.

Back 484

practical component

Front 485

Rules specifying how language is to be used appropriately in different social contexts to achieve goals.

Back 485

pragmatics

Front 486

KohlbergÍs term for the first two stages of moral reasoning, in which societyÍs rules are not yet internalized and judgments are based on the punishing or rewarding consequences of an act.

Back 486

preconventional morality

Front 487

Prenatal diagnostic procedure in which a motherÍs eggs are fertilized in the laboratory using in vitro fertilization techniques, DNA tests are conducted on the first cells that result from mitosis of each fertilized egg, and only eggs that do not have chromosome abnormalities or genes associated with disorders are implanted in the uterus.

Back 487

preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Front 488

Several symptoms experienced shortly before each menstrual period that include having tender breasts, feeling bloated, and being irritable and moody.

Back 488

premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Front 489

According to Piaget, a period during the preschool years when children show little awareness or understanding of rules and cannot be considered to be moral beings.

Back 489

premoral period

Front 490

The physical environment of the womb.

Back 490

prenatal environment

Front 491

PiagetÍs second stage of cognitive development, lasting from about age 2 to age 7, when children think at a symbolic level but have not yet mastered logical operations.

Back 491

preoperational stage

Front 492

Problems of the aging ear, which commonly involve loss of sensitivity to highfrequency or high-pitched sounds.

Back 492

presbycusis

Front 493

Problems of the aging eye, especially loss of near vision related to a decreased ability of the lens to accommodate to objects close to the eye.

Back 493

presbyopia

Front 494

Symbolic play in which one actor, object, or action symbolizes or stands for another.

Back 494

pretend play

Front 495

During PiagetÍs sensorimotor period, the infantÍs repetition of interacting acts centered on his or her own body (e.g., repeatedly kicking).

Back 495

primary circular reaction

Front 496

Nonsocial speech, or speech for the self, commonly used by preschoolers to guide their activities and believed by Vygotsky to be the forerunner of inner speech, or silent thinking in words.

Back 496

private speech

Front 497

The use of the informationprocessing system to achieve a goal or arrive at a decision.

Back 497

problem solving

Front 498

A phase in the mastery of memory strategies in which children can use strategies they are taught but cannot produce them on their own.

Back 498

production deficiency

Front 499

A genetic disorder caused by a single dominant gene that makes victims age prematurely and die early.

Back 499

progeria

Front 500

Theories that emphasize the systematic genetic control of aging processes. Contrast with damage theories of aging.

Back 500

programmed theories of aging

Front 501

Defense mechanism that involves seeing in others the motives we fear we possess, as when a husband charges his wife with being the one who is jealous and insecure, not he.

Back 501

projection

Front 502

Positive actions toward other people such as helping and cooperating.

Back 502

prosocial behavior

Front 503

Influences that prevent the damaging effects of risk factors or help children overcome disadvantages.

Back 503

protective factors

Front 504

In development, the principle that growth proceeds from the center of the body (or the proximal region) to the extremities (or the distal regions).

Back 504

proximodistal principle

Front 505

The theoretical perspective associated with Freud and his followers that emphasizes unconscious motivations for behavior, conflicts within the personality, and stages of psychosexual development.

Back 505

psychoanalytic theory

Front 506

The research tradition that spawned standardized tests of intelligence and that views intelligence as a trait or a set of traits that can be measured and that varies from person to person.

Back 506

psychometric approach

Front 507

FreudÍs five stages of development, associated with biological maturation and shifts in the libido: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

Back 507

psychosexual stages

Front 508

EriksonÍs eight stages of development (trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity), emphasizing social influences more and biological urges less than FreudÍs psychosexual stages.

Back 508

psychosocial stages

Front 509

The point at which a person reaches sexual maturity and is physically capable of conceiving a child.

Back 509

puberty

Front 510

An experiment-like study that evaluates the effects of different treatments but does not randomly assign individuals to treatment groups.

Back 510

quasi experiment

Front 511

A technique in which research participants are placed in experimental conditions in an unbiased or random way so that the resulting groups are not systematically different.

Back 511

random assignment

Front 512

A sample formed by identifying all members of the larger population of interest and then selecting a portion of them in an unbiased or random way to participate in the study; a technique to ensure that the sample studied is representative or typical of the larger population of interest.

Back 512

random sample

Front 513

Defense mechanism that involves expressing motives that are just the opposite of oneÍs real motives, as when a woman who unconsciously wants to gratify her sexual urges instead takes up a crusade against all the sex on television.

Back 513

reaction formation

Front 514

The interval between the presentation of a stimulus and a response to it.

Back 514

reaction time

Front 515

A psychiatric diagnosis affecting socially deprived and maltreated children that involves either emotionally withdrawn behavior or ñdisinhibitedî attachment that involves indiscriminate interest in people with lack of appropriate wariness of strangers.

Back 515

reactive attachment disorder

Front 516

Recollecting or actively retrieving objects, events, and experiences when examples or cues are not provided. Contrast with cued recall memory and recognition memory.

Back 516

recall memory

Front 517

A less powerful gene that is not expressed phenotypically when paired with a dominant gene.

Back 517

recessive gene

Front 518

The notion in social cognitive theory that the flow of influence between people and their environments is a two-way street; the environment may affect the person, but the personÍs characteristics and behavior will also influence the environment.

Back 518

reciprocal determinism

Front 519

The mutual give and take by both parties in a human relationship that forms an important basis for morality.

Back 519

reciprocity

Front 520

Identifying an object or event as one that has been experienced before, such as when a person must select the correct answer from several options. Contrast with cued recall memory and recall memory.

Back 520

recognition memory

Front 521

A new family that forms after the remarriage of a single parent, sometimes involving the blending of two families into a new one.

Back 521

reconstituted family

Front 522

An unlearned and automatic response to a stimulus.

Back 522

reflex

Front 523

A defense mechanism that involves retreating to an earlier, less traumatic stage of development.

Back 523

regression

Front 524

A strategy for remembering that involves repeating the items the person is trying to retain.

Back 524

rehearsal

Front 525

A form of postformaloperational thought in which it is understood that there are multiple ways of viewing a problem and that the solutions people arrive at will depend on their starting assumptions and perspective.

Back 525

relativistic thinking

Front 526

A state of active, irregular sleep associated with dreaming; named for the rapid eye movements associated with it.

Back 526

REM sleep

Front 527

Removing unacceptable thoughts or traumatic memories from consciousness, as when a young woman who was raped has no memory at all of having been raped (or less drastically, engages in denial, knowing deep down that she was raped but not accepting the reality of it).

Back 527

repression

Front 528

Standards of conduct that investigators are ethically bound to honor to protect their research participants from physical or psychological harm.

Back 528

research ethics

Front 529

The ability of many organ systems to respond to demands for extraordinary output, such as when the heart and lungs work at maximal capacity.

Back 529

reserve capacity

Front 530

An insecure infantcaregiver bond or other intimate relationship characterized by strong separation anxiety and a tendency to show ambivalent reactions to the attachment object upon reunion, seeking and yet resisting contact.

Back 530

resistant attachment

Front 531

A group of hereditary disorders that involve gradual deterioration of the light-sensitive cells of the retina.

Back 531

retinitis pigmentosa (RP)

Front 532

The process of retrieving information from long-term memory when it is needed.

Back 532

retrieval

Front 533

In PiagetÍs theory, the ability to reverse or negate an action by mentally performing the opposite action.

Back 533

reversibility

Front 534

Repetitive movements observed in infants shortly before a new motor skill emerges.

Back 534

rhythmic stereotypies

Front 535

A ritual that marks a personÍs ñpassageî from one status to another, usually in reference to rituals marking the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Back 535

rite of passage

Front 536

The ability to assume other peopleÍs perspectives and understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. See perspective-taking skills.

Back 536

role-taking skills

Front 537

A disease that has little effect on a pregnant woman but may cause several serious birth defects, such as blindness, deafness, and mental retardation, in unborn children exposed in the first 3 to 4 months of gestation.

Back 537

rubella; german measles

Front 538

SieglerÍs approach to studying the development of problem solving that determines what information about a problem children take in and what rules they then formulate to account for this information.

Back 538

rule assessment approach

Front 539

Way of managing stress that involves dwelling on problems and attempting to analyze them; may help explain higher rates of depression in females than in males.

Back 539

ruminative coping

Front 540

The group of individuals chosen to be the subjects of a study.

Back 540

sample

Front 541

The phenomenon in which extraordinary talent in a particular area is displayed by a person who is otherwise mentally retarded.

Back 541

savant syndrome

Front 542

Jerome BrunerÍs term for providing structure to a less skilled learner to encourage advancement.

Back 542

scaffolding

Front 543

A cognitive structure or organized pattern of action or thought used to deal with experiences.

Back 543

scheme (or schema; plural: schemes or schemata)

Front 544

A serious form of mental illness characterized by disturbances in logical thinking, emotional expression, and interpersonal behavior.

Back 544

schizophrenia

Front 545

A reluctance or refusal to go to school or to remain there, sometimes called school phobia because it often involves intense anxiety.

Back 545

school refusal behavior

Front 546

An attitude or value about the pursuit of knowledge that dictates that investigators must be objective and must allow their data to decide the merits of their theorizing.

Back 546

scientific method

Front 547

A mental representation of a typical sequence of actions related to an event that is created in memory and that then guides future behaviors in similar settings.

Back 547

script

Front 548

During PiagetÍs sensorimotor period, the infantÍs repetition of interesting actions on objects (e.g., repeatedly shaking a rattle to make a noise).

Back 548

secondary circular reaction

Front 549

A trend in industrialized society toward earlier maturation and greater body size.

Back 549

secular trend

Front 550

An infant_caregiver bond or intimate relationship in which the individual welcomes close contact, uses the attachment object as a source of comfort, and dislikes but can manage separations.

Back 550

secure attachment

Front 551

A point of safety, represented by an infantÍs attachment figure, that permits exploration of the environment.

Back 551

secure base

Front 552

Deliberately concentrating on one thing and ignoring something else.

Back 552

selective attention

Front 553

A method of studying genetic influence that involves deliberately determining whether a trait can be bred in animals through selective mating.

Back 553

selective breeding

Front 554

The concept that older people cope with aging through a strategy that involves focusing on the skills most needed, practicing those skills, and developing ways to avoid the need for other skills.

Back 554

selective optimization with compensation (SOC)

Front 555

PeopleÍs perceptions of their unique attributes or traits.

Back 555

self-concept

Front 556

A ñsecondary emotionî such as embarrassment or pride that requires an awareness of self; unlikely to emerge until about 18 months of age.

Back 556

self-conscious emotion

Front 557

The belief that one can effectively produce desired outcomes in a particular area of life.

Back 557

self-efficacy

Front 558

PeopleÍs overall evaluation of their worth as based on an assessment of the qualities that make up the self-concept.

Back 558

self-esteem

Front 559

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or photograph, which occurs in most infants by 18 to 24 months of age.

Back 559

self-recognition

Front 560

A type of explicit memory consisting of general facts.

Back 560

semantic memory

Front 561

The aspect of language centering on meanings.

Back 561

semantics

Front 562

A boyÍs first ejaculation.

Back 562

semenarche

Front 563

The process by which information is detected by the sensory receptors and transmitted to the brain; the starting point in perception.

Back 563

sensation

Front 564

As compared to a critical period, a period of life during which the developing individual is especially susceptible to the effects of experience or has an especially high level of plasticity.

Back 564

sensitive period

Front 565

PiagetÍs first stage of cognitive development, spanning the first 2 years of life, in which infants rely on their senses and motor behaviors in adapting to the world around them.

Back 565

sensorimotor stage

Front 566

The first memory store in information processing in which stimuli are noticed and are briefly available for further processing.

Back 566

sensory register

Front 567

The point at which low levels of stimulation can be detected.

Back 567

sensory threshold

Front 568

A wary or fretful reaction that infants display when separated from their attachment objects.

Back 568

separation anxiety

Front 569

A developmental research design that combines the cross-sectional approach and the longitudinal approach in a single study to compensate for the weaknesses of each.

Back 569

sequential design

Front 570

A logical operation that allows a person to mentally order a set of stimuli along a quantifiable dimension such as height or weight.

Back 570

seriation

Front 571

An attribute determined by a gene that appears on one of the two types of sex chromosomes, usually the X chromosome.

Back 571

sex-linked characteristic

Front 572

A personÍs preference for sexual partners of the same or other sex, often characterized as primarily heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

Back 572

sexual orientation

Front 573

Experiences that individuals living in the same home environment share and that work to make them similar. Contrast with nonshared environmental influences.

Back 573

shared environmental influences

Front 574

The memory store in which limited amounts of information are temporarily held; called working memory when its active quality is being emphasized.

Back 574

short-term memory

Front 575

A spirit of competition, jealousy, or resentment that may arise between two or more brothers or sisters.

Back 575

sibling rivalry

Front 576

A genetic blood disease in which red blood cells assume an unusual sickle shape and become inefficient at distributing oxygen throughout the body.

Back 576

sickle-cell disease

Front 577

The genetic mechanism through which a characteristic is influenced by only one pair of genes, one gene from the mother and its partner from the father.

Back 577

single gene-pair inheritance

Front 578

The tendency to perceive an object as the same size despite changes in its distance from the eyes.

Back 578

size constancy

Front 579

A characteristic mode of response in which the individual is relatively inactive and moody and displays mild resistance to new routines and experiences but gradually adapts. Contrast with easy temperament and difficult temperament.

Back 579

slow-to-warm-up temperament

Front 580

A personal sense of when things should be done in life and when the individual is ahead of or behind the schedule dictated by age norms.

Back 580

social clock

Front 581

Thinking about the thoughts, feelings, motives, and behavior of the self and other people.

Back 581

social cognition

Front 582

BanduraÍs theory, which holds that children and adults can learn novel responses merely by observing the behavior of a model, making mental notes on what they have seen, and then using these mental representations to reproduce the modelÍs behavior; more broadly, a theory emphasizing the importance of cognitive processing of social experiences.

Back 582

social cognitive theory; social learning theory

Front 583

The process of defining and evaluating the self through comparisons with other people.

Back 583

social comparison

Front 584

The changing cadre of significant people who serve as sources of social support to the individual during the life span.

Back 584

social convoy

Front 585

A socially defined expectation about how people should behave in particular social contexts.

Back 585

social norm

Front 586

The ability to assume other peopleÍs perspectives and understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; role-taking skills.

Back 586

social perspective-taking skills

Front 587

A form of play that involves both cooperation with playmates and pretend or symbolic activity.

Back 587

social pretend play

Front 588

InfantsÍ monitoring of companionsÍ emotional reactions in ambiguous situations and use of this information to decide how they should feel and behave.

Back 588

social referencing

Front 589

Standards of conduct determined by social consensus that indicate what is appropriate within a particular social setting. Contrast with moral rules.

Back 589

social-conventional rules

Front 590

EaglyÍs view that gender-role stereotypes are created and maintained by differences in the roles that men and women play in society rather than being inherent in males and females.

Back 590

social-role hypothesis

Front 591

VygotskyÍs contextual theory of development, which maintains that cognitive development is shaped by the sociocultural context in which it occurs and grows out of childrenÍs social interactions with members of their culture.

Back 591

sociocultural perspective

Front 592

The position people hold in society based on such factors as income, education, occupational status, and the prestige of their neighborhoods.

Back 592

socioeconomic status (SES)

Front 593

CarstensenÍs notion that our needs change as we grow older and that we actively choose to narrow our range of social partners to those who can best meet our emotional needs.

Back 593

socioemotional selectivity theory

Front 594

Methods for determining who is well liked and popular and who is disliked or neglected in a group.

Back 594

sociometric techniques

Front 595

Physical or bodily signs of emotional distress such as loss of appetite or disruption of normal sleep patterns.

Back 595

somatic symptoms

Front 596

The genetic endowment that members of a particular species have in common; a contributor to universal species traits and patterns of maturation.

Back 596

species heredity

Front 597

Events at work affect home life, and events at home carry over into the work place.

Back 597

spillover effects

Front 598

Condition in which the bottom of the neural tube fails to fully close during prenatal development and part of the spinal cord is not fully encased in the protective covering of the spinal column.

Back 598

spina bifida

Front 599

A search for ultimate meaning in life that may or may not be carried out in the context of religion.

Back 599

spirituality

Front 600

A measure of the dispersion or spread around the mean of a distribution of scores; in the case of IQ tests with a mean score of 100, the standard deviation is 15, meaning that about two-thirds of people taking the test have scores between 85 and 115.

Back 600

standard deviation

Front 601

One of the most widely used, individually administered intelligence tests, which yields an IQ score.

Back 601

Stanford_Binet Intelligence Scale

Front 602

In PiagetÍs theory, the thought characteristic of the preoperational period that is fixed on end states rather than on the changes that transform one state into another.

Back 602

static thought; contrast with transformational thought

Front 603

Undifferentiated, primitive cells that have the ability both to multiply and to differentiate into a variety of specific cells.

Back 603

stem cell

Front 604

An individualÍs fear of being judged to have the qualities associated with negative stereotypes of his or her social group.

Back 604

stereotype threat

Front 605

An intelligence test based on SternbergÍs triarchic theory that uses a variety of question formats to assess practical, creative, and analytical components of intelligence.

Back 605

SternbergÍs Triarchic Abilities Tests (STAT)

Front 606

Fetal death that occurs late in pregnancy when survival outside womb would normally have been possible.

Back 606

stillbirth

Front 607

In information processing, the holding of information in the long-term memory store.

Back 607

storage

Front 608

HallÍs term for the emotional ups and downs and rapid changes that he believed characterize adolescence.

Back 608

storm and stress

Front 609

A series of mildly stressful experiences involving the departure of the parent and exposure to a stranger to which infants are exposed to determine the quality of their attachments; developed by Ainsworth.

Back 609

Strange Situation

Front 610

A wary or fretful reaction that infants often display when approached by an unfamiliar person.

Back 610

stranger anxiety

Front 611

A research method in which scientists create special conditions designed to elicit the behavior of interest to achieve greater control over the conditions under which they gather behavioral data.

Back 611

structured observation; contrast with naturalistic observation

Front 612

SternbergÍs concept that people are intelligent to the extent that they are able to succeed in life in their sociocultural context.

Back 612

successful intelligence

Front 613

The death of a sleeping baby because of a failure of the respiratory system; linked to maternal smoking.

Back 613

sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Front 614

The psychoanalytic term for the component of the personality that consists of the individualÍs internalized moral standards.

Back 614

superego

Front 615

A substance that aids breathing by preventing the air sacs of the lungs from sticking together.

Back 615

surfactant

Front 616

Dimension of temperament that involves the tendency to actively and energetically approach new experiences in an emotionally positive way (rather than to be inhibited and withdrawn). See negative affectivity and effortful control.

Back 616

surgency/extraversion

Front 617

The capacity to use symbols such as words, images, or actions to represent or stand for objects and experiences; representational thought.

Back 617

symbolic capacity

Front 618

The point at which the axon or dendrite of one neuron makes a connection with another neuron.

Back 618

synapse

Front 619

Harmonious, dancelike interaction between infant and caregiver in which each adjusts behavior in response to that of the other.

Back 619

synchronized routine

Front 620

Using the syntax of a sentence„that is, where a word is placed in a sentence„to determine the meaning of the word.

Back 620

syntactic bootstrapping

Front 621

Rules specifying how words can be combined to form meaningful sentences in a language.

Back 621

syntax

Front 622

A common sexually transmitted disease that may cross the placental barrier in the middle and later stages of pregnancy, causing miscarriage or serious birth defects.

Back 622

syphilis

Front 623

The brainÍs ability to analyze and explore how things work.

Back 623

systemize

Front 624

Theories of development holding that changes over the life span arise from the ongoing interrelationships between a changing organism and a changing environment, both of which are part of a larger, dynamic system.

Back 624

systems theories

Front 625

The idea that the mind of an infant is a ñblank slateî and that all knowledge, abilities, behaviors, and motives are acquired through experience.

Back 625

tabula rasa

Front 626

Early sentences that consist primarily of content words and omit the less meaningful parts of speech such as articles, prepositions, pronouns, and auxiliary verbs.

Back 626

telegraphic speech

Front 627

A stretch of DNA that forms the tip of a chromosome and that shortens after each cell division, possibly timing the death of cells.

Back 627

telomere

Front 628

A genetically based pattern of tendencies to respond in predictable ways; building blocks of personality such as activity level, sociability, and emotionality.

Back 628

temperament

Front 629

Any disease, drug, or other environmental agent that can harm a developing fetus.

Back 629

teratogen

Front 630

A rapid decline in intellectual abilities that people within a few years of dying often experience.

Back 630

terminal drop

Front 631

During PiagetÍs sensorimotor period, the infantÍs experimenting with actions to find new ways to solve problems or produce interesting effects.

Back 631

tertiary circular reaction

Front 632

Standards of normal performance on psychometric instruments based on the average scores and range of scores obtained by a large, representative sample of test takers.

Back 632

test norms

Front 633

The most important of the male hormones, or androgens; essential for normal sexual development during the prenatal period and at puberty.

Back 633

testosterone

Front 634

A mild tranquilizer that, taken early in pregnancy, can produce a variety of malformations of the limbs, eyes, ears, and heart.

Back 634

thalidomide

Front 635

A set of concepts and propositions designed to organize, describe, and explain a set of observations.

Back 635

theory

Front 636

The understanding that people have mental states (feelings, desires, beliefs, intentions) and that these states underlie and help explain their behavior.

Back 636

theory of mind

Front 637

In developmental research, the effects on findings of historical events occurring when the data for a study are being collected (for example, psychological changes brought about by an economic depression rather than as a function of aging).

Back 637

time of measurement effects; contrast with age effects and cohort effects

Front 638

Condition caused by exposure to high noise levels that involves ringing sounds in one or both ears and that can last for days, weeks, or indefinitely.

Back 638

tinnitus

Front 639

An irreversible loss of functioning in the entire brain, both the higher centers of the cerebral cortex that are involved in thought and the lower centers of the brain that control basic life processes such as breathing.

Back 639

total brain death

Front 640

A model of family influence in which parent and child are believed to influence each other reciprocally.

Back 640

transactional model

Front 641

Rules of syntax that allow a person to transform declarative statements into questions, negatives, imperatives and other kinds of sentences.

Back 641

transformational grammar

Front 642

In PiagetÍs theory, the ability to conceptualize transformations, or processes of change from one state to another, which appears in the stage of concrete operations. Contrast with static thought.

Back 642

transformational thought

Front 643

The ability to recognize the necessary or logical relations among elements in a serial order (for example, that if A is taller than B, and B is taller than C, then A must be taller than C).

Back 643

transitivity

Front 644

Robert SternbergÍs model describing types of love in terms of three components: passion, intimacy, and decision/ commitment.

Back 644

triangular theory of love

Front 645

An information-processing theory of intelligence that emphasizes three aspects of intelligent behavior: a practical component emphasizing the effect of context on what is intelligent; a creative component centering on whether a task is novel or familiar; and an analytic component focused on the cognitive processes used to solve a problem.

Back 645

triarchic theory of intelligence

Front 646

The psychosocial conflict of infancy in which infants must learn to trust others to meet their needs in order to trust themselves; first stage in EriksonÍs theory.

Back 646

trust versus mistrust

Front 647

A sex chromosome abnormality in which females inherit only one X chromosome (XO); they remain small in stature, fail to develop secondary sex characteristics, and may show some mental deficiencies.

Back 647

Turner syndrome

Front 648

Method of studying genetic and environmental influence in which the similarity of identical twins is compared to that of (less genetically similar) fraternal twins, often in studies involving both twins reared together and twins reared apart.

Back 648

twin study

Front 649

Holding objects by clamping them between the palm of hand and the fingers.

Back 649

ulnar grasp

Front 650

Method of examining physical organs by scanning them with sound waves„for example, scanning the womb and thereby producing a visual outline of the fetus to detect gross abnormalities.

Back 650

ultrasound

Front 651

A taste sensation that roughly equates to ñbrothyî or ñsavory.î

Back 651

umami

Front 652

The unlearned response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.

Back 652

unconditioned response (UCR)

Front 653

A stimulus that elicits a particular response without prior learning.

Back 653

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Front 654

FreudÍs term for feelings, experiences, and conflicts that influence a personÍs thinking and behavior even though they cannot be recalled.

Back 654

unconscious motivation

Front 655

The young childÍs tendency to use general words to refer to a smaller set of objects, actions, or events than adults do (for example, using candy to refer only to mints).

Back 655

underextension; contrast with overextension

Front 656

A system of common rules and properties of language that may allow infants to grow up learning any of the worldÍs languages.

Back 656

universal grammar

Front 657

The debate over the extent to which developmental changes are common to everyone (universal, as in most stage theories) or different from person to person (particularistic).

Back 657

universality_context-specificity issue

Front 658

The third phase in mastery of memory strategies in which children fail to benefit from a memory strategy they are able to produce.

Back 658

utilization deficiency

Front 659

The deterioration of functioning and cognitive capacities caused by a series of minor strokes that cut off the blood supply to areas of the brain; also called multiinfarct dementia.

Back 659

vascular dementia

Front 660

In observational learning, the consequences experienced by models, because of their behavior, that affect the learnerÍs likelihood of engaging in the behavior.

Back 660

vicarious reinforcement

Front 661

The ability of the lens of the eye to change shape to bring objects at different distances into focus.

Back 661

visual accommodation

Front 662

The ability to perceive detail in a visual stimulus.

Back 662

visual acuity

Front 663

An elevated glass platform that creates an illusion of depth and is used to test the depth perception of infants.

Back 663

visual cliff

Front 664

A phenomenon occurring around 18 months of age when the pace of word learning quickens dramatically.

Back 664

vocabulary spurt

Front 665

A set of widely used, individually administered intelligence tests that yield verbal, performance, and overall IQ scores.

Back 665

Wechsler Scales

Front 666

A combination of rich factual knowledge about life and procedural knowledge such as strategies for giving advice and handling conflicts.

Back 666

wisdom

Front 667

In language development, the ability to break the stream of speech sounds into distinct words.

Back 667

word segmentation

Front 668

A memory store, often referred to as a mental ñscratch pad,î that temporarily holds information when it is being actively operated upon; the active use of the short-term memory store.

Back 668

working memory

Front 669

The longer of the two sex chromosomes.

Back 669

X chromosome; normal females have two X chromosomes, whereas normal males have only one

Front 670

The shorter of the two sex chromosomes.

Back 670

Y chromosome; normal males have one Y chromosome, whereas females have none

Front 671

VygotskyÍs term for the difference between what a learner can accomplish independently and what a learner can accomplish with the guidance and encouragement of a more skilled partner.

Back 671

zone of proximal development

Front 672

A single cell formed at conception from the union of a sperm and an ovum.

Back 672

zygote