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AP Psychology - Development Psychology Flashcards

Advanced Placement Psychology

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6575699662Developmental Psychologya branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.0
6575699663Zygotethe fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.1
6575699664Embryothe developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.2
6575699665Fetusthe developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.3
6575699666Teratogensagents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.4
6575699667Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.5
6575699668Habituationdecreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.6
6575699669Maturationbiological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.7
6575699670Cognitionall the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.8
6575699671Schemaa concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.9
6575699672Assimilationinterpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas.10
6575699673AccommodationDevelopment - adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.11
6575699674Sensorimotor Stagein 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 activities.12
6575699675Object Permanencethe awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.13
6575699676Preoperational Stagein Piaget's theory, the stage (from 2 to about 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.14
6575699677Conservationthe 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.15
6575699678Egocentrismin Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.16
6575699679Theory of Mindpeople's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.17
6575699680Concrete Operational Stagein Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.18
6575699681Formal Operational Stagein Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.19
6575699682Autisma disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.20
6575699683Stranger Anxietythe fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.21
6575699684Attachmentan emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.22
6575699685Critical Periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.23
6575699686Imprintingthe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.24
6575699687Temperamenta person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.25
6575699688Basic Trustaccording to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers.26
6575699689Self-Conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"27
6575699690Genderin psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.28
6575699691Aggressionphysical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.29
6575699692X Chromosomethe sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two of these; males have one. One chromosome from each parent produces a female child.30
6575699693Y Chromosomethe sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.31
6575699694Testosteronethe most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional levels in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.32
6575699695Rolea set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.33
6575699696Gender Rolea set of expected behaviors for males or for females.34
6575699697Gender Identityour sense of being male or female.35
6575699698Gender Typingthe acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.36
6575699699Social Learning Theorythe theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.37
6575699700Adolescencethe transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.38
6575699701Pubertythe period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.39
6575699702Primary Sex Characteristicsthe body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.40
6575699703Secondary Sex Characteristicsnonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.41
6575699704Menarchethe first menstrual period.42
6575699705Identityour sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.43
6575699706Social Identitythe "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.44
6575699707Intimacyin Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.45
6575699708Emerging Adulthoodfor some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood.46
6575699709Menopausethe time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.47
6575699710Cross-Sectional Studya study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.48
6575699711Longitudinal Studyresearch in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.49
6575699712Crystallized Intelligenceour accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.50
6575699713Fluid Intelligenceour ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.51
6575699714Social Clockthe culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.52

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