Developing Through the Life Span Flashcards

6212494682	Genetics	The science of heredity	0
6212496419	DNA	A complex molecule containing the genetic info that makes up the chromosomes	1
6212501310	Gene	A segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein	2
6212504611	Chromosomes	Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes	3
6212505980	Trait	Any measurable quality of an organism --E.g., height, eye color, blood type	4
6212508676	Genotype	The allele combination at a gene location --One is inherited from each parent --Bb, BB, bb	5
6212513690	Phenotype	The observed characteristic --Brown eyes, O-negative blood type	6
6212522791	Allele	A variant form of a gene A Gene "potential"	7
6212526013	Dominant Allele	An allele that codes for the functional protein Actively controls the expression of a trait	8
6212530385	Recessive Allele	An allele that codes for nonfunctional protein Only influences the expression of the trait when paired with an equally powerful allele	9
6212616859	Heterozygous	Bb --Phenotype=Brown eyes	10
6212624101	Homozygous-Dominant	BB --Phenotype=Brown eyes	11
6212630592	Homozygous-Recessive	bb --Phenotype=Blue eyes	12
6212634191	Combined expression	When two alleles are so equally dominant or recessive that the organism exhibits a "blended" trait --br ----Phenotype=Strawberry blonde	13
6212647120	Polygenic inheritance	The idea that almost all traits are controlled by the expression and repression of multiple pairs of genes Height. --There is no single gene location at which there is an allele combination that codes for "tall" of "short" --400 different locations	14
6212667386	Discontinuous and continuous variation	Discontinuous genetic variation --When a trait observed in individuals within a population appears in two or more distinct forms --An organism will display only one of the forms ---E.g., biological sex, blood type, eye color, hair color Continuous genetic variation --When a trait is not divided into two or more distinct forms ----E.g., height, weight ----(Graded scale) --Polygenic	15
6212703118	Polymorphism	A discontinuous genetic variation that results in several different forms or types of a given trait among the members of a single species --E.g., blood type Each form is common enough (form > 1% among population) that it isn't due to mutation alone	16
6212719243	Wild type allele	The allele that encodes the instructions for the phenotype most common to a particular natural population Isn't always a dominant form of the allele	17
6212721760	Mutant allele	Any other form of an allele that is not the wild type	18
6212741712	Conception	The moment at which a female becomes pregnant	19
6221041970	Ovum	The female sex cell	20
6221041971	Fertilization	The union of the ovum and the (male) sperm	21
6221043199	Zygote	The fertilized egg Enters into a two-week period of rapid cell division and becomes an embryo Differentiation --Cell specialization in structure and function	22
6221052649	Embryo	The developing human organism from about two weeks to the end of the second month Organs begin to form and function The heart begins to beat	23
6221055955	Placenta	Transfers nutrients and oxygen from the mother to the embryo (and later to the fetus) Forms as the zygote's outer cells attach to the uterine wall	24
6221057190	Umbilical cord	Connects the developing embryo to the placenta Supplies the embryo with nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood Formed by the end of the fifth prenatal weel	25
6221059195	Teratogen	Any factor that can cause a birth defect Chemicals and viruses are prominent teratogens Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) --Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's consumption of alcohol	26
6239377896	Fetus	The developing human organism from nine weeks after conception to birth	27
6239379680	Coordinated reflexes	Turning toward touch Withdrawing limbs from pain Rooting, sucking, and swallowing (a coordinated series of reflexes) Breathing	28
6239381559	Social Responsiveness	Turning toward the sound of human voices Gazing longer at a figure that resembles a human facial configuration than at one that doesn't	29
6239384309	Infancy	Newborn to toddler	30
6239385201	Childhood	Toddler to adolescent	31
6239386451	Reflexes	Innate, involuntary behavior patterns --Grasping --Startle --Rooting --Stepping --Sucking	32
6239389544	Pruning	Unused neural connections are shut down as used neural connections are bolstered Influenced by experience	33
6239390471	Maturation	Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior Relatively uninfluenced by experience	34
6239392351	Universal similarities	Sequence --Roll over --Sit unsupported --Crawl --Walk	35
6239393449	Individual Differences	25% of US babies walk by 11 months 50% walk within a week of their first birthday 90% walk by 15 months	36
6239397481	Genetic Influence	Identical twins typically begin sitting up and walking on nearly the same day	37
6239402426	Infantile Amnesia	The inability of people to remember anything that occurred before age three	38
6239403380	Dual level memory processing	Conscious recall --Basically nonexistent before age 3.5 --Explains infantile amnesia Unconscious processing --Infants can learn and retain associations when they are just months old	39
6239416614	Jean Piaget's theory	Stage-based model of children's cognitive development Cognition --All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating Schemas --Concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information --Assimilation ----Interpreting new experience in terms of existing schemas --Accommodation --Adapting one's current understanding (schemas) to incorporate new information Piaget's basic theory --Children develop a more advanced understanding of their world through experience that usually comes in the form of spurts of change	40
6239453488	Piaget's stages	Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operational Formal operational	41
6239457052	Sensorimotor stage	Infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities Birth to about two years Developmental phenomena --Object permanence ----The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived --Stranger anxiety ----The fear of strangers that infants commonly display	42
6239477614	Preoperational stage	The stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic Two years to about six or seven years	43
6239481932	Developmental phenomena	Animism --The belief that anything that moves is alive Conservation --The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects --Not well-developed Egocentrism --Difficulty taking another's point of view Theory of mind --People's ideas about their own and others' mental states --Not well-developed	44
6251268831	Concrete operational stage	The stage during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events Six or seven years to about twelve years	45
6251272597	Conservation	Understood by a child in the concrete operational stage	46
6251274451	Concrete concepts	Concepts about objects, written rules, and things that can be sensed physically	47
6251275723	Abstract concepts	Concepts that do not have a concrete, physical reality Not well-developed in this stage	48
6251275724	Mathematical transformations	Are understood by children in this stage	49
6251284906	Formal operational	The stage during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts Twelve years and up Developmental phenomena --Abstract logic ----Is understood by people in this stage --Mature moral reasoning ----Potential increases as adolescents understand hypothetical propositions and infer consequences	50
6251299616	Reflecting on Piaget's theory	Accepted ideas --Significant cognitive milestones (e.g., egocentrism, conservation) --Sequential (rather than age-dependent) development Modified ideas --Development is more continuous than Piaget proposed --Beginning of each type of thinking occurs at earlier ages --Formal logic is a smaller part of logic than Piaget proposed	51
6251318489	Lev Vygotsky theory	Emphasized children's social interactions, especially with more highly skilled children and adults Scaffolding --The process by which a more skilled learner gives help to a less skilled learner, reducing the amount of help as the learner becomes more capable Zone of proximal development (ZPD) --The difference between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with the help of a teacher	52
6262924795	Temperament	A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity Present very early in life Infants Easy --Regular (predictable) in their schedules of sleeping and eating --Adaptable to change --Generally happy; easy to soothe when distressed Difficult --Irregular in their schedules of sleeping and eating --Unhappy about change --Loud, active, and irritable	53
6262947222	Stranger Anxiety	The fear of strangers that infants commonly display Begins around eight months	54
6262954875	Attachment	An emotional tie with another person Primary predictors of attachment in humans --Body contact --Familiarity	55
6262961987	Body Contact	The Harlow monkey studies (1957-1963) The prevailing opinion --Attachment derives primarily from an association with nourishment The study --Created two artificial mothers ----A bare wire cylinder with a wooden head and an attached feeding bottle ----A cylinder wrapped in terry cloth (with no feeding tube) The results --The monkeys overwhelmingly preferred the cloth mother The conclusion --Body contact, rather than nourishment, is the single strongest predictor of attachment	56
6263013480	Familiarity	The amount of exposure an organism has to a given stimulus	57
6263015065	Critical period	An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development	58
6263018336	Imprinting	The process by which certain nonhuman animals form strong attachments during a critical period very early in life Konrad Lorenz's studies --Demonstrated that ducklings would imprint to many different things Human children --Exposure (familiarity) strengthens bonds, but children don't imprint	59
6263066254	Strange situation studies	Experiments that place children in a novel environment Measure secure vs. insecure attachment The setup --Caregiver (usually the mother) is present initially, then leaves for a period of time, then returns	60
6263088600	Secure attachment	In presence of caregiver --Play comfortably and happily --Explore their new environment When caregiver is absent --Are distressed When caregiver returns --Seek contact with caregiver	61
6263093083	Insecure attachment	In presence of caregiver --Less likely to explore the new environment --Often cling to the caregiver When caregiver is absent --Either cry loudly or seem indifferent When caregiver returns --Either remain upset or continue to seem indifferent	62
6263116077	Support for heredity	There is a strong correlation between temperament and attachment style --The more difficult one's temperament is, the likelier one is to demonstrate an insecure attachment and vice versa	63
6263131725	Support for experience	The research of Dymphna van den Boom The study --Randomly assigned 100 six- to nine-month old temperamentally-difficult infants to one of two conditions Experimental group --Mothers received personal training in sensitive responding Control group --Mothers did not receive personal training in sensitive responding The results (at twelve months) --68% of the infants in the experimental condition rated as securely attached --28% of the infants in the control condition rated as securely attached The conclusion --Experience is important in understanding attachment style	64
6263161688	Basic Trust (Eric Erikson)	A sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy Formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers A characteristic of securely attached children	65
6273317587	Deprivation of Attachment	Can interfere with and prevent appropriate cognitive and neurological development Neglect --Leads to withdrawn, frightened, and speechless behaviors --Severe and prolonged neglect can result in stunted brain development Abuse --30% of those abused as children will become adult abusers --7.5% of those not abused as children will become adult abusers	66
6273335662	Parenting styles	Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative	67
6273340491	Authoritarian	Parents impose rules and expect obedience Characteristics of children --Diminished social skills and self-esteem	68
6273347319	Permissive	Parents submit to children's desires, make few demands, and use little punishment Characteristics of children --Aggressive and immature	69
6273354944	Authoritative	Parents are both demanding and responsive Rules are set and enforced; justification of rules is explained Open discussion about rules is encouraged Characteristics of children --High self-esteem, high self-reliance, high social competence	70
6273368040	Adolescence	The transition period from childhood to adulthood	71
6273372658	Puberty	The period of sexual maturation, when a person becomes capable of reproducing Primary sex characteristics --The body structures that make reproduction possible Sequence --The order of changes during puberty is highly predictable Timing --The ages at which changes occur during puberty vary greatly on an individual basis	72
6273380321	Brain development	Myelin production --Increases during adolescence Frontal lobe development --Leads to improved judgment, impulse control, and long-term planning Limbic system development --Corresponds to more intense emotions --Typically precedes frontal lobe development, leading to impulsiveness, risky behaviors, and emotional outbursts	73
6282813291	Cognitive development		74
6282814220	Formal operations	Developing reasoning power --The primary cognitive benchmark in adolescence is abstract logic Adolescent egocentrism --Personal fable ----Type of thought in which people believe themselves to be utterly unique and protected from harm ----Typically declines across adolescence Imaginary audience --Type of thought in which people believe that other people are just as concerned about their thoughts and characteristics as they themselves are	75
6282830838	Developing morality	Preconventional Morality --Morality that focuses on self-interest --People obey rules either to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards --Associated with children nine years and younger	76
6282849972	Moral reasoning	Conventional morality --Laws and social rules are obeyed because they are laws and rules --Associated with those in early adolescence	77
6282855191	Cont	Postconventional morality --One follows self-defined, basic ethical principles --People's agreed-upon rights are affirmed --Associated with those who develop consistent abstract reasoning	78
6282872781	Criticism of Kohlberg	Postconventional morality appears mostly in the European and North American educated middle and wealthy classes Kohlberg's theory is biased against the moral reasoning of those in collectivistic cultures	79
6282887564	Thinking and behavior	As adolescent thinking matures, behavior becomes more caring and less selfish Empathy --The ability to adopt another's perspective --Increases across adolescence Delayed gratification --Putting off a smaller immediate reinforcer for a larger long-term reinforcer --Increases across adolescence	80
6282896630	Social development		81
6282898142	Psychosocial development	A stage-based model of social development Psychosocial tasks --Crises between two possibilities that require resolution --One is generally beneficial, the other is generally detrimental	82
6282907842	cont	Psychosocial tasks of adolescence and young adulthood --The primary psychosocial issue of adolescence is identity vs. role confusion Identity --One's sense of self The primary psychosocial issue of young adulthood is intimacy vs. isolation Intimacy --The ability to form close, loving relationships	83
6282928422	Parent and peer influence	During adolescence, parental influence typically diminishes as peer influence grows	84
6282929648	Emerging adulthood	The period of time between the end of adolescence and the full independence of the young adult A relatively new stage that is associated with Western culture	85
6282938479	Young adulthood	Physical and sensory abilities typically peak in one's twenties	86
6282939702	Middle adulthood Menopause	Menopause --The biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines Andropause --Gradual changes in the sexual hormones and reproductive system of middle-aged males	87
6282975253	Older adulthood	Sensory abilities --All sensory abilities decline Health Bad news --Immune system weakens ----Older people are more susceptible to life-threatening ailments (e.g., cancer and pneumonia) Good news --Abundance of antibodies ----Older people suffer fewer short-term ailments (e.g., common flu and common cold viruses)	88
6282980268	Cont	The brain --Neural processing slows as people age --Brain regions important to memory atrophy during aging --The average brain weight decreases by 5% from age 20 to age 80 --Physical exercise ----Stimulates brain cell development and strengthens neural connections ----Seems to slow the aging of the brain	89
6301512662	Aging and memory	Recall and recognition Recall --To produce answers from memory ----E.g., short answer response --Younger adults have better recall than older adults Recognition --To identify answers from among a group ----E.g., multiple choice response --There is no significant difference between older and younger adults Meaningful versus meaningless information --Older adults remember meaningful information better than they remember meaningless information	90
6301525967	Crystallized intelligence	Ones accumulated knowledge and verbal skills Tends to increase with age	91
6301533597	Fluid intelligence	Ones ability to reason speedily and abstractly Tends to decrease during late adulthood	92
6301553216	Social Clock	The culturally-preferred timing of social events (such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement)	93
6301555493	"Midlife Crisis"	The struggles that accompany the transition into middle adulthood Is not a universal developmental phenomenon --Unhappiness, divorce, anxiety, and suicide do not surge during this period of time	94
6301577749	Love	Marriage and divorce --Contemporary marriages are more likely to last when couples marry after age twenty and are well-educated --Premarital cohabitation predicts an increased probability of divorce --Marriage is a predictor of happiness and health	95
6301599282	cont	Work Work that is interesting and provides one with a sense of competence and accomplishment predicts increased levels of happiness	96
6301602412	Well being across the life span	Happiness and satisfaction ratings remain basically unchanged across the life span Older adults --Amygdala show diminishing activity in response to negative events while maintaining their responsiveness to positive events	97
6301618260	Death and dying	Grief Especially severe when death is sudden and unexpected Findings from grief research --Those who express the strongest grief immediately do not purge their grief more quickly --Bereavement therapy and self-help groups do little to enhance the healing power of time and supportive friends --Terminally ill and bereaved people do not go through predictable stages of grief	98
6301647178	Cont	Integrity --The feeling that one's life has been meaningful and worthwhile --An important affirmation of life (completion of life cycle) in many cultures --Integrity vs. despair ----Final stage of Erikson's psychosocial development	99
6301656081	Cellular Clock Theory	Cells are limited in the number of times they can reproduce to repair damage Telomeres --Structures on the ends of chromosomes that shorten each time a cell reproduces --When telomeres are too short, cells cannot reproduce and damage accumulates	100
6301678120	Free radical theory	Focuses on the damage done to cells over time Free radicals --Atoms or molecules have an unstable electron --Bounce around inside cell and "steal" electrons from other molecules ----This leads to increased damage to structures inside the cell	101