Unit VI - Developmental Psychology

• zygote is the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.
• embryo is the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
• fetus is the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
• teratogens are agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
• fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features.
• habituation is decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus.
• Infant reflexes are responses that are normal in infants, but abnormal in other age groups. These include: Moro reflex. Sucking reflex (sucks when area around mouth is touched) Startle reflex (pulling arms and legs in after hearing loud noise)
• Infantile amnesia, the inability of adults to recollect early episodic memories
• Piaget is known for his theory of cognitive development that first introduced the notion that children think differently than adults, which was a new way of thinking at the time. He is also known for creating the term "genetic epistemology," which refers to the study of knowledge development
• sensorimotor stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
• preoperational stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage (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.
• concrete operational stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
• formal operational stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.
• object permanence is the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
• conservation is the 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.
• egocentrism in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.
• theory of mind is people's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.
• autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.
• attachment is an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation.
• Harlow's research demonstrated the importance of love and affection, specifically contact comfort, for healthy childhood development. His research demonstrated that children become attached to caregivers that provide warmth and love, and that this love is not simply based on providing nourishment.
• secure attachment is demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver's return.
• insecure attachment is demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness.
• A critical period is defined as the time during which a given behavior is especially susceptible to, and indeed requires, specific environmental influences to develop normally.
• Imprinting refers to a well-researched phenomenon within animals where they form an extremely close and dependent bond with the first animal they see after being born
• self-concept is all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, "Who am I?"
• gender roles are a set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or for females.
• gender identity is our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two.
• sexual orientation - our enduring sexual attraction, usually toward members of our own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation); variations include attraction toward both sexes (bisexual orientation).
• emerging adulthood - a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.
• The fifth stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is identity vs. role confusion, and it occurs during adolescence, from about 12-18 years. During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals
• social clock is the the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.
• Kohlberg's three stages are preconventional (in which morality is determined by the consequences for the person), conventional (in which morality is determined by social rules), and postconventional (in which morality is determined by core values).
•  older adults tend to perform more poorly on tests of free recall but have normal recognition memory.
• Grief is the experience of coping with loss.
• life satisfaction across the ages - in our 20s, we're at a moderate level of life satisfaction, then it drops down to the lowest levels in our early 50s, and then it starts shooting up through age 80
• Authoritarian parenting is a strict style of parenting that places high expectations on children. Authoritarian parents set rigid rules with no explanation, and expect their children to obey them without question or face severe punishment Children are aggressive, but can also be socially inept, shy and cannot make their own decisions.
• Authoritative. In this parenting style, the parents are nurturing, responsive, and supportive, yet set firm limits for their children. They attempt to control children's behavior by explaining rules, discussing, and reasoning. Research has repeatedly shown that children raised by authoritative parents tend to be more capable, happy, and successful According to Baumrind, children of authoritative parents: Are self-confident about their abilities to learn new things. Develop good social skills.
• Permissive parenting involves a lack of demands and expectations, children raised by parents with this style tend to grow up without a strong sense of self-discipline. They may be more unruly in school due to the lack of boundaries in the home and may be less academically motivated than many of their peers.