Chapter 5

Question 1

Zygote vs Embryo

Answer 1

Z: fertilized egg….enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

E: the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.

Question 2

Fetus

Answer 2

The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Question 3

Teratogens

Answer 3

aka “monster maker” ….agents, chemicals, viruses that can reach the embryo/fetus during development and cause harm.

Question 4

Habituation

Answer 4

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

Question 5

Schema

Answer 5

A concept/framework that organizes & interprets information.

Question 6

Assimilation

Answer 6

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

Question 7

Accommodation

Answer 7

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new info.

Question 8

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 8

0-2 years: sensorimotor stage
(experiencing the world through senses & actions)

2-7 years: preoperational stage
(representing things with words & images; using intuitive reasoning)

7-11 years: concrete operational stage
(thinking logically about concrete events, grasping analogies and forming arithmetical operations)

12+ years: formal operational stage
(abstract reasoning)

Question 9

Egocentrism

Answer 9

(Piaget) the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.

Question 10

Conservation

Answer 10

(Piaget) the principle that properties such as mass/volume/number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

Question 11

Theory of mind

Answer 11

Peoples ideas about their own and others’ mental states (such as feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and behaviours).

Question 12

Critical period

Answer 12

An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.

Question 13

Basic trust

Answer 13

(Erik Erikson) a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers.

Question 14

Kholberg’s levels of moral thinking

Answer 14

1. Preconventional Morality: 0-9 years
   (Self interest; obeys rules to avoid punishment)
2. Conventional morality: early adolescence
   (Obeys rules/laws to gain social approval)
3. Postconventional morality: adolescence and beyond
   (Actions reflect belief in basic rights and self defined ethical principles)

Question 15

Emerging adulthood

Answer 15

For some people in modern cultures this = a period from the late teens to mid 20s, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence, full independence and responsible adulthood.

Question 16

Longitudinal study

Answer 16

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.

Question 17

Social clock

Answer 17

The culturally preferred timing of social events like marriage, parenthood and retirement.

Question 18

Developmental psychology

Answer 18

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.