Chapter 1: About Human Development

Question 1

cognitive development

Answer 1

pattern of change in mental abilities, such as learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity

Question 2

cohort

Answer 2

a group of people born at about the same time

Question 3

critical period

Answer 3

specific time when a given event or its absence has a specific impact on development

Question 4

culture

Answer 4

a society’s or group’s total way of life, including customs, traditions, beliefs, values, language, and physical products-all learned behavior, passed on from parents to children

Question 5

environment

Answer 5

totality of nonhereditary, or experiential, influences on development

Question 6

ethnic gloss

Answer 6

overgeneralization about an ethnic or cultural group that obscures differences within the group

Question 7

ethnic group

Answer 7

a group united by ancestry, race, religion, language, or national origins, which contribute to a sense of shared identity

Question 8

extended family

Answer 8

multigenerational kinship network of parents, children, and other relatives, sometimes living together in an extended-family household

Question 9

heredity

Answer 9

inborn traits or characteristics inherited from the biological parents

Question 10

historical generation

Answer 10

a group of people strongly influenced by a major historical event during their formative period

Question 11

human development

Answer 11

scientific study of processes of change and stability throughout the human life-span

Question 12

imprinting

Answer 12

instinctive form of learning in which, during a critical period in early development, a young animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees, usually the mother

Question 13

individual differences

Answer 13

differences in characteristics, influences, or developmental outcomes

Question 14

life-span development

Answer 14

scientific study of human development as a lifelong process

Question 15

maturation

Answer 15

unfolding of a natural sequence of physical and behavioral changes

Question 16

nonnormative

Answer 16

characteristic of an unusual event that happens to a particular person or a typical event that happens at an unusual time of life

Question 17

normative

Answer 17

characteristic of an event that occurs in a similar way for most people in a group

Question 18

nuclear family

Answer 18

two-generational kinship, economic, and household unit consisting of one or two parents and their biological children, adopted children, or stepchildren

Question 19

physical development

Answer 19

growth of body and brain, including patterns of change in sensory capacities, motor skills, and health

Question 20

plasticity

Answer 20

Range of modifiability of performance; “molding,” of the brain through experience

Question 21

psychosocial development

Answer 21

• Pattern of change in emotions, personality, and social relationships
• In Erikson’s eight-stage theory, the socially and culturally influenced process of development of the ego, or self

Question 22

risk factors

Answer 22

conditions that increase the likelihood of a negative developmental outcome

Question 23

sensitive periods

Answer 23

times in development when a person is particularly open to certain kinds of experiences

Question 24

social construction

Answer 24

a concept or practice that may appear natural and obvious to those who accept it, but that in reality is an invention of a particular culture or society

Question 25

socioeconomic status (SES)

Answer 25

socioeconomic status (SES) Combination of economic and social factors describing an
individual or family, including income, education, and occupation.

Question 26

pattern of change in mental abilities, such as learning, attention, memory, language, thinking,
reasoning, and creativity

Answer 26

cognitive development

Question 27

a group of people born at about the same time

Answer 27

cohort

Question 28

specific time when a given event or its absence has a specific impact on development

Answer 28

critical period

Question 29

a society’s or group’s total way of life, including customs, traditions, beliefs, values,
language, and physical products-all learned behavior, passed on from parents to children

Answer 29

culture

Question 30

totality of nonhereditary, or experiential, influences on development

Answer 30

environment

Question 31

overgeneralization about an ethnic or cultural group that obscures differences
within the group

Answer 31

ethnic gloss

Question 32

a group united by ancestry, race, religion, language, or national origins, which contribute to a sense of shared identity

Answer 32

ethnic group

Question 33

multigenerational kinship network of parents, children, and other relatives, sometimes living together in an extended-family household

Answer 33

extended family

Question 34

inborn traits or characteristics inherited from the biological parents

Answer 34

heredity

Question 35

a group of people strongly influenced by a major historical event during their formative period

Answer 35

historical generation

Question 36

scientific study of processes of change and stability throughout the human life-span

Answer 36

human development

Question 37

instinctive form of learning in which, during a critical period in early development, a young animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees, usually the mother

Answer 37

imprinting

Question 38

differences in characteristics, influences, or developmental outcomes

Answer 38

individual differences

Question 39

scientific study of human development as a lifelong process

Answer 39

life-span development

Question 40

unfolding of a natural sequence of physical and behavioral changes

Answer 40

maturation

Question 41

characteristic of an unusual event that happens to a particular person or a typical event that happens at an unusual time of life

Answer 41

nonnormative

Question 42

characteristic of an event that occurs in a similar way for most people in a group

Answer 42

normative

Question 43

two-generational kinship, economic, and household unit consisting of one or two parents and their biological children, adopted children, or stepchildren

Answer 43

nuclear family

Question 44

growth of body and brain, including patterns of change in sensory capacities, motor skills, and health

Answer 44

physical development

Question 45

Range of modifiability of performance; “molding,” of the brain through experience

Answer 45

plasticity

Question 46

• Pattern of change in emotions, personality, and social relationships
• In Erikson’s eight-stage theory, the socially and culturally influenced process of development of the ego, or self

Answer 46

psychosocial development

Question 47

conditions that increase the likelihood of a negative developmental outcome

Answer 47

risk factors

Question 48

times in development when a person is particularly open to certain kinds of experiences

Answer 48

sensitive periods

Question 49

a concept or practice that may appear natural and obvious to those who accept it, but that in reality is an invention of a particular culture or society

Answer 49

social construction

Question 50

socioeconomic status (SES) Combination of economic and social factors describing an
individual or family, including income, education, and occupation.

Answer 50

socioeconomic status (SES)