Psychology Chapter 5

Front 1

Three major issues that developmental psychology examines

Back 1

1. nature and nurture

2. continuity and stages

3. stability and change

Front 2

developmental psychology

Back 2

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

Front 3

zygote

Back 3

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

Front 4

embryo

Back 4

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

Front 5

fetus

Back 5

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Front 6

teratogens

Back 6

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Front 7

fetal alcohol syndrome

Back 7

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by pregnant woman’s heavy drinking

Front 8

habituation

Back 8

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

Front 9

maturation

Back 9

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes inbehavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Front 10

cognition

Back 10

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing,remembering and communicating.

Front 11

sensorimotor

Back 11

the stage during which infants know the world mostly interms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

Front 12

Preoperationalstage

Back 12

in Pagat’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to about 6 or 7)during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend themental operations of concrete logic.

Front 13

egocentrism

Back 13

in Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.

Front 14

theory of mind

Back 14

people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states-about their feelings, perceptions and thoughts, and the behaviors these mightpredict.

Front 15

concrete operational stage

Back 15

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

Front 16

formal operation stage

Back 16

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development(normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

Front 17

autism spectrum disorder

Back 17

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behavior.

Front 18

attachment

Back 18

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by seeking closeness to caregiver and showing distress on separation.

Front 19

critical period

Back 19

an optimal period early in the life of an organism where exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.

Front 20

self concept

Back 20

all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Front 21

3 main Parenting styles

Back 21

1. Authoritarian-coercive

2. Permissive-unrestraining

3. Authoritative-confrontive and balanced.

Front 22

adolescence

Back 22

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Front 23

puberty

Back 23

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.

Front 24

Identity

Back 24

our sense of self, according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Front 25

social identity

Back 25

the “we” aspect of our self-concept.

Front 26

intimacy

Back 26

the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood.

Front 27

menopause

Back 27

the time of natural cessation of menstruation

Front 28

cross-sectional study

Back 28

a study in which people of different age are compared with one another.

Front 29

longitudinal study

Back 29

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.

Front 30

neurocognitive disorders (NCD’s)

Back 30

acquired disorders marked by cognitive deficits.

Front 31

Alzheimer’s disease

Back 31

a neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.

Front 32

social clock

Back 32

culturally preferred timing of social events such asmarriage, parent and retirement.