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AP Psychology - Development Psychology Flashcards

Advanced Placement Psychology

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5644012553Developmental Psychologya branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.0
5644012554Zygotethe fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.1
5644012555Embryothe developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.2
5644012556Fetusthe developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.3
5644012557Teratogensagents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.4
5644012558Fetal 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
5644012559Habituationdecreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.6
5644012560Maturationbiological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.7
5644012561Cognitionall the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.8
5644012562Schemaa concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.9
5644012563Assimilationinterpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas.10
5644012564AccommodationDevelopment - adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.11
5644012565Sensorimotor 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
5644012566Object Permanencethe awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.13
5644012567Preoperational 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
5644012568Conservationthe 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
5644012569Egocentrismin Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.16
5644012570Theory of Mindpeople's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.17
5644012571Concrete 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
5644012572Formal 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
5644012573Autisma disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.20
5644012574Stranger Anxietythe fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.21
5644012575Attachmentan emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.22
5644012576Critical Periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.23
5644012577Imprintingthe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.24
5644012578Temperamenta person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.25
5644012579Basic 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
5644012580Self-Conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"27
5644012581Genderin psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.28
5644012582Aggressionphysical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.29
5644012583X 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
5644012584Y Chromosomethe sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.31
5644012585Testosteronethe 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
5644012586Rolea set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.33
5644012587Gender Rolea set of expected behaviors for males or for females.34
5644012588Gender Identityour sense of being male or female.35
5644012589Gender Typingthe acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.36
5644012590Social Learning Theorythe theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.37
5644012591Adolescencethe transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.38
5644012592Pubertythe period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.39
5644012593Primary Sex Characteristicsthe body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.40
5644012594Secondary Sex Characteristicsnonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.41
5644012595Menarchethe first menstrual period.42
5644012596Identityour sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.43
5644012597Social Identitythe "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.44
5644012598Intimacyin Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.45
5644012599Emerging 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
5644012600Menopausethe time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.47
5644012601Cross-Sectional Studya study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.48
5644012602Longitudinal Studyresearch in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.49
5644012603Crystallized Intelligenceour accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.50
5644012604Fluid Intelligenceour ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.51
5644012605Social Clockthe culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.52

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