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AP Psychology - Development Psychology Flashcards

Advanced Placement Psychology

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6220834571Developmental Psychologya branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.0
6220834572Zygotethe fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.1
6220834573Embryothe developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.2
6220834574Fetusthe developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.3
6220834575Teratogensagents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.4
6220834576Fetal 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
6220834577Habituationdecreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.6
6220834578Maturationbiological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.7
6220834579Cognitionall the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.8
6220834580Schemaa concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.9
6220834581Assimilationinterpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas.10
6220834582AccommodationDevelopment - adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.11
6220834583Sensorimotor 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
6220834584Object Permanencethe awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.13
6220834585Preoperational 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
6220834586Conservationthe 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
6220834587Egocentrismin Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.16
6220834588Theory of Mindpeople's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.17
6220834589Concrete 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
6220834590Formal 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
6220834591Autisma disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.20
6220834592Stranger Anxietythe fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.21
6220834593Attachmentan emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.22
6220834594Critical Periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.23
6220834595Imprintingthe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.24
6220834596Temperamenta person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.25
6220834597Basic 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
6220834598Self-Conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"27
6220834599Genderin psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.28
6220834600Aggressionphysical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.29
6220834601X 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
6220834602Y Chromosomethe sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.31
6220834603Testosteronethe 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
6220834604Rolea set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.33
6220834605Gender Rolea set of expected behaviors for males or for females.34
6220834606Gender Identityour sense of being male or female.35
6220834607Gender Typingthe acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.36
6220834608Social Learning Theorythe theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.37
6220834609Adolescencethe transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.38
6220834610Pubertythe period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.39
6220834611Primary Sex Characteristicsthe body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.40
6220834612Secondary Sex Characteristicsnonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.41
6220834613Menarchethe first menstrual period.42
6220834614Identityour sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.43
6220834615Social Identitythe "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.44
6220834616Intimacyin Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.45
6220834617Emerging 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
6220834618Menopausethe time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.47
6220834619Cross-Sectional Studya study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.48
6220834620Longitudinal Studyresearch in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.49
6220834621Crystallized Intelligenceour accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.50
6220834622Fluid Intelligenceour ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.51
6220834623Social Clockthe culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.52

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