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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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9921588758Developmental Psychologya branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.0
9921588759Zygotethe fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.1
9921588760Embryothe developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.2
9921588761Fetusthe developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.3
9921588762Teratogensagents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.4
9921588763Fetal 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
9921588764Habituationdecreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.6
9921588765Maturationbiological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.7
9921588766Cognitionall the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.8
9921588767Schemaa concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.9
9921588768Assimilationinterpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas.10
9921588769AccommodationDevelopment - adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.11
9921588770Sensorimotor 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
9921588771Object Permanencethe awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.13
9921588772Preoperational 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
9921588773Conservationthe 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
9921588774Egocentrismin Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.16
9921588775Theory of Mindpeople's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.17
9921588776Concrete 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
9921588777Formal 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
9921588778Autisma disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.20
9921588779Stranger Anxietythe fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.21
9921588780Attachmentan emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.22
9921588781Critical Periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.23
9921588782Imprintingthe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.24
9921588783Temperamenta person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.25
9921588784Basic 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
9921588785Self-Conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"27
9921588786Genderin psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.28
9921588787Aggressionphysical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.29
9921588788X 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
9921588789Y Chromosomethe sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.31
9921588790Testosteronethe 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
9921588791Rolea set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.33
9921588792Gender Rolea set of expected behaviors for males or for females.34
9921588793Gender Identityour sense of being male or female.35
9921588794Gender Typingthe acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.36
9921588795Social Learning Theorythe theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.37
9921588796Adolescencethe transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.38
9921588797Pubertythe period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.39
9921588798Primary Sex Characteristicsthe body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.40
9921588799Secondary Sex Characteristicsnonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.41
9921588800Menarchethe first menstrual period.42
9921588801Identityour sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.43
9921588802Social Identitythe "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.44
9921588803Intimacyin Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.45
9921588804Emerging 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
9921588805Menopausethe time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.47
9921588806Cross-Sectional Studya study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.48
9921588807Longitudinal Studyresearch in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.49
9921588808Crystallized Intelligenceour accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.50
9921588809Fluid Intelligenceour ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.51
9921588810Social Clockthe culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.52

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