Chapter 5: "developing Through The Life Span" - Psychology, Myers 9Th Edition

Front 1

zygote

Back 1

the fertilized egg;

it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

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embryo

Back 2

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

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fetus

Back 3

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

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teratogens

Back 4

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

Front 5

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS(

Back 5

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking.

In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.

Front 6

habituation

Back 6

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

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maturation

Back 7

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

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cognition

Back 8

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

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schema

Back 9

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

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assimilation

Back 10

interpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas

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accommodation

Back 11

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

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sensorimotor stage

Back 12

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

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object permanence

Back 13

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

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preoperational stage

Back 14

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

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conservation

Back 15

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete 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

Back 16

in Piaget's theory, the peroperational child's difficulty taking another point of view

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theory of mind

Back 17

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states - about their feelings, perceptions and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

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concrete operational stage

Back 18

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

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formal operational stage

Back 19

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about 12 years) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

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autism

Back 20

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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stranger anxiety

Back 21

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

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attachment

Back 22

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

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critical period

Back 23

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

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imprinting

Back 24

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

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basic trust

Back 25

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy.

Said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

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self-concept

Back 26

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

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adolescence

Back 27

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

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puberty

Back 28

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

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primary sex characteristics

Back 29

the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible.

(ovaries, testes, external genitalia)

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secondary sex characteristics

Back 30

non-reproductive sexual characteristics

(breasts, hips, body hair, etc)

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identity

Back 31

our 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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social identity

Back 32

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

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intimacy

Back 33

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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emerging adulthood

Back 34

for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to early twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

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menopause

Back 35

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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cross-sectional study

Back 36

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

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longitudinal study

Back 37

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

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crystallized intelligence

Back 38

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills.

Tends to increase with age

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fluid intelligence

Back 39

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly.

Tends to decrease during late adulthood

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social clock

Back 40

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood and retirement