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AP Psychology - Development Psychology Flashcards

Advanced Placement Psychology
Enterprise High School, Redding, CA
All terms from Myers Psychology for AP (BFW Worth, 2011)

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8814026933Developmental Psychologya branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.0
8814026934Zygotethe fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.1
8814026935Embryothe developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.2
8814026936Fetusthe developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.3
8814026937Teratogensagents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.4
8814026938Fetal 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
8814026939Habituationdecreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.6
8814026940Maturationbiological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.7
8814026941Cognitionall the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.8
8814026942Schemaa concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.9
8814026943Assimilationinterpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas.10
8814026944AccommodationDevelopment - adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.11
8814026945Sensorimotor 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
8814026946Object Permanencethe awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.13
8814026947Preoperational 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
8814026948Conservationthe 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
8814026949Egocentrismin Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.16
8814026950Theory of Mindpeople's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.17
8814026951Concrete 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
8814026952Formal 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
8814026953Autisma disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.20
8814026954Stranger Anxietythe fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.21
8814026955Attachmentan emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.22
8814026956Critical Periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.23
8814026957Imprintingthe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.24
8814026958Temperamenta person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.25
8814026959Basic 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
8814026960Self-Conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"27
8814026961Genderin psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.28
8814026962Aggressionphysical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.29
8814026963X 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
8814026964Y Chromosomethe sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.31
8814026965Testosteronethe 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
8814026966Rolea set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.33
8814026967Gender Rolea set of expected behaviors for males or for females.34
8814026968Gender Identityour sense of being male or female.35
8814026969Gender Typingthe acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.36
8814026970Social Learning Theorythe theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.37
8814026971Adolescencethe transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.38
8814026972Pubertythe period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.39
8814026973Primary Sex Characteristicsthe body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.40
8814026974Secondary Sex Characteristicsnonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.41
8814026975Menarchethe first menstrual period.42
8814026976Identityour sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.43
8814026977Social Identitythe "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.44
8814026978Intimacyin Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.45
8814026979Emerging 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
8814026980Menopausethe time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.47
8814026981Cross-Sectional Studya study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.48
8814026982Longitudinal Studyresearch in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.49
8814026983Crystallized Intelligenceour accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.50
8814026984Fluid Intelligenceour ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.51
8814026985Social Clockthe culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.52

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