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Psychology 122
Chapter 9
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Developmental Psychology | The branch of psychology that studies how people change over the lifespan. |
| Zygote | A single cell formed at conception from the union of the egg cell and the sperm cell. |
| Chromosome | A long, threadlike structure compased of twisted parallel strands of DNA; found in the cell nucleus. |
| Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) | The double-stranded molecule that encodes genetic instructions; the chemical basis of heredity. |
| Gene | A unit of DNA on a chromosome that encodes instructions for making a particular protein molecule; the basic unit of heredity. |
| Genotype | The genetic makeup of an individual organism. |
| Human Genome | The scientific description of the completeset of DNA in the human organisms, including gene locations. |
| Allele | One of the different forms of a particular gene. |
| Phenotype | The observable traits or characteristics of an organism as determined by the interaction of genetics and environmental factors. |
| Sex Chromosomes | Chromosomes, designated as X or Y, that determine biological sex; the 23rd pair of chromosomes in humans. |
| Prenatal Stage | The stage of development before birth; divided into the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods. |
| Germinal Period | The first two week of prenatal development. |
| Embryonic Period | The second period of prenatal development, extending from the third week through the eighth week. |
| Teratogens | Harmful agents or substances that can cause malformations of defect in embryo of fetus. |
| Fetal Period | The third and longest period of prenatal development, extending from the ninth week until birth. |
| Temperament | Inborn predispositions to consistently behave and react in a certain way. |
| Attachment | The emotional bond that forms between an infant and caregiver(s), especially between his or her parents. |
| Comprehension Vocabulary | The words that are understood by an infant or child. |
| Production Vocabulary | The words that an infant or child understands and can speak. |
| Sensorimotor Stage | In Piaget’s theory, the first stage of cognitive development, from birth to about age 2; the period during which the infant explores the environment and acquires knowledge through sensing and manipulating objects. |
| Object Permanence | The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it can no longer be seen. |
| Preoperational Stage | In Piaget’s theory, the second stage of cognitive development, which last from about age 2 to 7; characterized by increasing use of symbols and prelogical thought processes. |
| Symbolic Thought | The ability to use words, images, and symbols to represent the world. |
| Egocentrism | In Piaget’s theory, the inability to take another person’s point of view. |
| Irreversibility | In Piaget’s theory, the inability to mentally reserve a sequence of events or long operations. |
| Centration | In Piaget’s theory, the tendency to focus, or center, on only one aspect of a situation and ignore other important aspects of the situation. |
| Conservation | In Piaget’s theory, the understanding that two equal quantities remain equal even though the form or appearance is rearranged, as long as nothing is added or subtracted. |
| Concrete Operational Stage | In Piaget’s theory, the third stage of cognitive development, which lasts from about age 7 to adolescence; characterized by the ability to think logically about concrete objects and situations. |
| Formal Operational Stage | In Piaget’s theory, the fourth stage of cognitive development, which lasts from about adolescence through adulthood; characterized by the ability to think logically about abstract principals and hypothetical situations. |
| Zone of Proximal Development | In Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development, the difference between what children can accomplish on their own and what they can accomplish with the help of others who are more competent. |
| Information-Processing Model of Cognitive Development | The model that views cogitative development as a process that is continuous over the lifespan and that studies the development of basic mental processes such as attention, memory, and problem solving. |
| Adolescence | The transitional stage between late childhood and the beginning of adulthood, during which sexual maturity is reached. |
| Puberty | The stage of adolescence in which individual reaches sexual maturity and becomes physiologically capable of sexual reproduction. |
| Primary Sex Characteristics | Sexual organs that are directly involved in reproduction, such as the uterus, ovaries, penis, and testicles. |
| Secondary Sex Characteristics | Sexual characteristics that develop during puberty and are not directly involved in reproduction but differentiate between the sexes, such as male facial hair and female breast development. |
| Adolescent Growth Spurt | The period of accelerated growth during puberty, involving rapid increases in height and weight. |
| Menarche | A female’s first menstrual period, which occurs during puberty. |
| Identity | A person’s definition or description or himself or herself, including the values, beliefs, and ideas that guide the individual’s behavior. |
| Moral Reasoning | The aspect of cognitive development that has to do with how an individual reasons about moral decisions. |
| Menopause | The natural cessation of menstruation and the end of reproductive capacity in women. |
| Activity Theory of Aging | The psychosocial theory that life satisfaction in late adulthood is highest when people maintain the level of activity the displayed earlier in life. |
| Authoritarian Parenting Style | Parenting style in which parents are demanding and unresponsive towards their children’s needs or wishes. |
| Permissive Parenting Style | Parenting style in which parents are extremely tolerant and not demanding; permissive-indulgent parents are more responsive to their children, whereas permissive-indifferent parent are not. |
| Authoritative Parenting Style | Parenting style in which parents set clear standards for their children’s behavior but are also responsive to their children’s needs and wishes. |
| Induction | A discipline technique that combines parental control with explaining why behavior is prohibited. |
| Mary D. Salter Ainsworth (1913-1999) | American psychologist who devised the Strange Situation procedure to measure attachment; contributed to attachment theory. |
| Renee Baillargeon (b.1954) | Canadian-born Psychologist whose studies of cognitive development during infancy using visual rather than manual tasks challenged beliefs about the age at which permanence first appears. |
| Erik Erikson (1902-1994) | German-born American psychoanalyst who proposed an influential theory of psychological development throughout the lifespan. |
| Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) | American psychologist who proposed and influential theory of moral development. |
| Jean Piaget (1896-1980) | Swiss child psychologist whose influential theory proposed that children progress through distinct stages of cognitive development. |
| Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) | Russian psychologist who stressed the importance of social and cultural influences in cognitive development. |