front 1 Developmental Psychology | back 1 a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the life span. |
front 2 Zygote | back 2 the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into embryo |
front 3 Embryo | back 3 the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month |
front 4 Fetus | back 4 the developing human organism from about 9 weeks after conception to birth |
front 5 Teratogens | back 5 agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm |
front 6 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) | back 6 physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial disproportions |
front 7 Maturation | back 7 biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience |
front 8 Cognition | back 8 all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating |
front 9 Schema | back 9 a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information |
front 10 Assimilation | back 10 interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas |
front 11 Accommodation | back 11 adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information |
front 12 Sensorimotor Stage | back 12 in Piaget’s Theory, (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities |
front 13 Object Performance | back 13 the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived |
front 14 Preoperational Stage | back 14 in Piaget’s Theory, (from about 2 to 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 |
front 15 Conservation | back 15 the principle (which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects |
front 16 Egocentrism | back 16 in Piaget’s Theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view |
front 17 Theory of Mind | back 17 people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental state – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict |
front 18 Concrete Operational Stage | back 18 in Piaget’s Theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about age 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events |
front 19 Autism | back 19 a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction and understanding of others’ state of mind |
front 20 Formal Operational Stage | back 20 in Piaget’s Theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people start to think logically about abstract concepts |
front 21 Stranger Anxiety | back 21 the fear of strangers that infant commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age |
front 22 Attachment | back 22 an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation |
front 23 Critical Period | back 23 an optimal period after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli of experiences produces proper development. |
front 24 Imprinting | back 24 the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life |
front 25 Basic Trust | back 25 According to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers |
front 26 Adolescence | back 26 the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence |
front 27 Puberty | back 27 the period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing |
front 28 Primary Sex Characteristics | back 28 the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible |
front 29 Secondary Sex Characteristics | back 29 nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair |
front 30 Menarche | back 30 The first menstrual period |
front 31 Identity | back 31 Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles |
front 32 Social Identity | back 32 the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group membership |
front 33 Intimacy | back 33 In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood |
front 34 Emerging Adulthood | back 34 for 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 |
front 35 Menopause | back 35 The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a women experiences as her ability to reproduce declines |
front 36 Crystalized Intelligence | back 36 our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age |
front 37 Fluid Intelligence | back 37 our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood |
front 38 Social Clock | back 38 the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement |