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42 Cards in this Set
- Front
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developmental psychology
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a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
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zygote
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the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.
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embryo
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the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
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fetus
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the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
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teratogens
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agents, such as chemicals and ciruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus druing prenatal development and cause harm.
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fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
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physical and cognitive abnormalities in children cuased by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.
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rooting reflex
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a baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to open the mouth and search for the nipple.
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maturation
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biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
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schema
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a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
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assimilation
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interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas
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accommodation
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adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.
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cognition
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all the mental activites associated with thinkin, knowing, remembering, and communitcating.
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sensorimotor stage
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in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activites.
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object permanenece
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the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
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preoperational stage
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in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2-6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.
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conservation
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the principle (which PIaget believed to be a part of concret operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
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egocentrism
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in Piaget's theory, the inability of the preoperational child to take another's point of view.
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theory of mind
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people's ideas about their own and others; mental states- about their feelings, preceptions, and thought and their behavior these might predict.
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autism
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a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.
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concrete operational stage
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in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development *from about 6or 7-11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
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formal operational stage
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in Piaget's theory, teh stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.
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stranger anxiety
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the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.
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attachment
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an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seseking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on seperation.
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critical period
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an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stiumuli or experiences produces proper development.
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imprinting
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the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.
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basic trust
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according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infacny by appropriate experiences with responzive caregivers.
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self-concept
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a sense of one's identity and personal worth
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adolesence
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the trasition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.
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puberty
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the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.
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primary sex charactersitic
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the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.
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secondary sex characteristics
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nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.
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menarche
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the first menstrual period
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identity
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one's sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent;s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.
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intimacy
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in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.
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menopuase
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the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.
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Alzheimer' disease
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a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and finally, phsycial functioning.
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cross-sectional study
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a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.
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longitudinal study
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research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.
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crystalilized intelligence
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one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase iwth age.
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fluid intelligence
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one's ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
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social clock
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the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.
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habituation
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decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and tehy look away sooner.
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