Developmental Psychology
X chromosome
The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two; males have one.
gender schema theory
The theory that children learn from their cultures a (mental) concept of what it means to be male and female and they adjust their behavior accordingly.
social learning theory
The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished. For example, this may contribute to the acquisition of gender roles.
animism
belief, often demonstrated by preoperational children, that inanimate objects have thoughts and feelings
Mark Rosenzweig
demonstrated the neurological consequences of being raised in an "impoverished" versus and "enriched" environment (in rats).
secure attachment
demonstrated when infants seem to view their caregiver as a "secure base" for exploration, seeking closeness to him/her and being upset at separation.
emerging adulthood
developmental stage proposed by Jeffrey Arnett; period between adolescence and assumption of typical adult roles (18-29, perhaps?)
G. Stanley Hall
founder of the APA; known for his work in developmental psych, particularly for defining adolescence as a period of "storm and stress"
teratogens
harmful environmental agents that disrupt proper development (e.g. alcohol)
basic trust
in Erikson's model, this attitude develops as a result of secure attachment; babies come to view the world as safe & predictable and believe that others will reliably meet their needs
preoperational
in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6/7) during which a child learns to communicate using symbols (language) but does not demonstrate mental operations of concrete logic.
rooting reflex
infant reflex wherein the baby will, when touched on the cheek, turn its head toward the direction of the touch and search for a nipple
social identity
The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.
norms
an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior
Lawrence Kohlberg
used moral dilemmas to assess moral thinking in children; most well-known for his description of levels of morality (preconventional, conventional, postconventional)
industry v. inferiority
4th stage in Erikson's model; children must master the skills valued by their society or feel inferior
identity v. role confusion
5th stage in Erikson's model; adolescents must develop a sense of identity or suffer lack of direction
prospective memory
The ability to remember to perform actions in the future; declines with age
Diana Baumrind
researcher who developed a model of parenting styles that included authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive
gender role
set of expected behaviors for males and females
primary sex characteristics
sex characteristics present at birth; the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
embryo
stage in prenatal development from 2 to 9 weeks, wherein organs and primary sex characteristics begin to develop
fetus
stage in prenatal development from 9 weeks to birth
zygote
stage in prenatal development from conception to 2 weeks
preconventional
stage of moral development in which children seek to avoid punishment or gain reward when determining right from wrong
conventional
stage of moral development wherein individuals seek to gain social approval or maintain the social order (follow rules and laws)
postconventional
stage of moral development wherein individuals use abstract reasoning to determine right from wrong, often by citing agreed-upon rights (e.g. "the right to live") or personal ethical principles
gender
A socially and culturally constructed set of distinctions between masculine and feminine sets of behaviors that is promoted and expected by society
schema
concept or framework that organizes and aids in interpretation of information
formal operational
in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development which begins about age 12 and is characterized by the ability to think logically about abstact concepts
accommodation
adjusting or changing one's schema's to account for new information
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; shown in infants by their seeking closeness with caregivers and displaying distress upon separation
sexual orientation
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation)
transgender
an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex
object permanence
awareness that things continue to exist even though they are not perceived; develops at 6-8 months of age
magical thinking
cognitive feature of preoperational children; unconstrained by adult understandings of reality, they may believe, for example, that it is possible to turn into a racecar
assimilation
interpreting new information with the context of existing schemas
retrospective memory
involves remembering events from the past or previously learned information; not as vulnerable to age-related declines
sucking reflex
when an object is placed in the baby's mouth, he will begin to suck on it
trust v. mistrust
1st stage in Erikson's model; infants must learn to view the world as a predictable, safe place or face a future of guarded skepicism
autonomy v. shame & doubt
2nd stage in Erikson's model; toddlers must be able to exercise some independence or will be ashamed and uncertain of their abilities
initiative v. guilt
3rd stage in Erikson's model; preschoolers must learn to start and direct creative tasks, or they may feel guilty about asserting themselves
intimacy v. isolation
6th stage in Erikson's model; young adults must form close, satisfying relationships or suffer loneliness
generativity v. stagnation
7th stage in Erikson's model; in middle age, adults must discover a sense of contributing to the world or they may feel a lack of purpose
integrity v. despair
8th stage in Erikson's model; when reflecting at the end of life, an older adult must feel a sense of satisfaction or experience despair (feelings of having wasted one's life)
autism spectrum disorder
A disorder characterized by deficits in social relatedness and communication skills that are often accompanied by repetitive, ritualistic behavior.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
A medical condition in which body deformation or facial development or mental ability of a fetus is impaired because the mother drank alcohol while pregnant
temperament
A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.
longitudinal study
A research approach that follows a group of people over time to determine change or stability in behavior.
neurocognitive disorder
An age-related disorder caused by brain dysfunction that affects thinking processes, memory, consciousness, and perception. Formerly called "dementia".
menopause
Cessation of menstruation; marks end of reproductive capactiy for women, typically occurring around age 50
More Knowledge Other (MKO)
In Vygotsky's theory, another person who possesses expertise and can help you learn something
zone of proximal development
In Vygotsky's theory, the context in which learning takes place; the gap between when a child can accomplish with assistance and when he can do something independently
fraternal birth order effect
Men with older brothers are more likely to demonstrate a homosexual orientation, increasing with the number of older brothers. This is presumed to be the result of changes to the prenatal environment that accompany successive male pregnancies.
Konrad Lorenz
Nobel Prize-winning researcher famous for his imprinting studies, and for advocating the study of animals in their natural environments
social development theory
Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development which emphasized the importance of other people (more knowledge others) in our mental growth
pruning
When applied to brain development, the process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die.
Jonathan Haidt
countered Kohlberg's theory with "Social Intuitionist" theory; believed we make moral choices based on emotional reactions ("moral feeling") not cold logic
social clock
culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
habituation
decreasing responsiveness to an unchanging stimulus; used to assess infant cognition
anxious attachment
demonstrated by babies who seem constantly afraid of potential separation from the caregiver; they cling to caregivers in strange settings and display intense distress upon separation
avoidant attachment
demonstrated by babies who seem to avoid contact and closeness with caregivers
Erik Erikson
famous for his 8-stage model of psychosocial development; neo-Freudian
stranger anxiety
fear of people other than those with whom the infant is familiar; appears around 8 months and peaks at 13 months
sensorimotor
in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to 2) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their impressions and motor activities
concrete operational
in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from 6/7 to 11/12) during which children gain the mental operations that allow them to think logically about real or "concrete" events
Moro reflex
infant startle response; when alarmed, the baby will fling his limbs outward, then retract them and hold them close to his body
testosterone
male sex hormone; both males and females have it, but additional amounts of it in males stimulates growth of male reproductive organs in a fetus and development of male characteristics during puberty
Carol Gilligan
moral development studies to follow up Kohlberg. She studied girls and women and found that they did not score as high on his six stage scale because they focused more on relationships rather than laws and principles. Their reasoning was merely different, not better or worse
Jean Piaget
most famous for his 4-stage model of cognitive development
Lev Vygotsky
most famous for social development theory (of child cognitive development)
secondary sex characteristics
nonreproductive sexual characteristics that appear as one reaches puberty, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair
fluid intelligence
one's ability to reason speedily and abstactly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
crystallized intelligence
one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
gender identity
one's sense of being male or female
menarche
onset of menstruation; key marker of onset of puberty for females
authoritative
parenting style (in Baumrind's model) characterized by high demandingness and high warmth; these parents explain reasons for rules and are open to negotiation (with older children)
permissive
parenting style (in Baumrind's model) characterized by low demandingness and high warmth; they submit to their children's desires, make few rules, and use little punishment
authoritarian
parenting style (in Baumrind's model)characterized by high levels of demandingness and low warmth; they impose rules and expect obedience
theory of mind
people's ideas about their own and others' mental states (about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict)
maturation
physical (or biological) process of growth; believed to occur in mostly universal sequence, though timing varies from individual to individual
Harry Harlow
presented infant monkeys with a choice between two artificial mothers; the monkeys preferred the warm, cloth mothers to cold ones with food
conservation
principle that certain properties of matter (e.g. mass, volume, number) remain the same despite changes in appearance; exhibited during the concrete operational phase
Alzheimer's disease
progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functioning; linked to deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine
intersex
refers to persons born with intermediate or atypical combinations of male and female physical characteristics (e.g., both male and female reproductive organs)
Mary Ainsworth
researcher who described attachment styles in infants as measured by the "strange situation" test
imprinting
rigid, inflexible attachments demonstrated by some animal species (e.g. ducks, sheep)
role
set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to be behave
cross-sectional study
study in which people of different ages are compared with one another
scaffolding
support of learning allows students to complete tasks they are not able to complete independently
strange situation
test developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment style in infants; involves separation and reunion with a parent
gender-typing
the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
culture
the enduring behavior, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted (via learning) from one generation to the next
categorization inability
the inability of preoperational children to group items according to rules or criteria
egocentrism
the inability of preoperational children to take the perspective of another
infantile amnesia
the inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3
interaction
the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).
Y chromosome
the sex chromosome found only in males.
critical period
time frame during which exposure to a particular stimulus must take place in order for proper development to occur
Babinski reflex
when stroked on the bottom of the foot, a baby will spread its toes
grasping reflex
when touched on the palm of the hand, a baby will wrap his fingers tightly around the stimulus
