A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
gender
Biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
X chromosome
Sex chromosome found in both men and women
Y chromosome
Sex chromosome found only in males
testosterone
Most important of the male sex hormones
Gender role
Set of expected behaviors for males and for females
Gender identity
One's sense of being male or female
Gender typing
Acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
zygotes
The fertilized egg
Enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
embryo
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the 2nd month
fetus
Developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking
Rooting reflex
Baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple
maturation
Biological growth process that enable orderly changes in behavior
schemas
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
assimilate
Interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas
accommodate
Adapting one's current understandings to incorporate new information
cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Sensorimotor stage
The stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities in Piaget's theory from birth to about 2 years
Preoperational stage
The stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic in Piaget's theory from about 2 to 6 or 7 years old
conservation
The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of object
Theory of mind
People's ideas about their own and others' mental states
Concrete operational stage
The stage of cognitive development during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events in Piaget's theory from 6 to 11
Formal operational stage
The stage of cognitive development during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts in Piaget's theory beginning at the age of 12
Stranger anxiety
Fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months
attachment
Emotional tie with another person, shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation
imprinting
Process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life
Basic trust
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
self-concept
A sense of one's identity and personal worth
adolescence
Transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
puberty
Period of sexual maturation where a person becomes capable of reproducing
Primary sex characteristics
Body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
Secondary sex characteristics
Nonreproductive sexual characteristics
Trust vs. mistrust
Erikerison's stage:
Infancy (to 1)
If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust
Autonomy vs. shame/doubt
Erikerison's stage:
Toddlerhood (1-2)
Toddlers learn to exercise will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities
Initiative vs. guilt
Erikerison's stage:
Preschooler (3-5)
Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent
industry vs. inferiority
Erikerison's stage:
Elementary (6-puberty)
Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior
Identity vs. role confusion
Erikerison's stage:
Adolescence (teens-20s)
Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are
Intimacy vs. isolation
Erikerison's stage:
Young adult (20s-40s)
Young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated