Chapter 4 - Developing Through the Life Span

Question 1

zygote

Answer 1

The fertilized egg; it enters a two week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Question 2

embryo

Answer 2

The developing human organism from about two weeks after fertilization through the second month

Question 3

fetus

Answer 3

The developing human organism from nine weeks after conception to birth

Question 4

teratogens

Answer 4

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Question 5

fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 5

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions

Question 6

rooting reflex

Answer 6

A baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple

Question 7

habituation

Answer 7

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

Question 8

maturation

Answer 8

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

Question 9

schema

Answer 9

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Question 10

assimilation

Answer 10

interpreting ones new experience in terms of one’s existing schemas

Question 11

accommodation

Answer 11

adapting one’s current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Question 12

cognition

Answer 12

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Question 13

sensorimotor stage

Answer 13

in piaget’s theory, The stage (From birth to about two years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Question 14

object permanence

Answer 14

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Question 15

Preoperational stage

Answer 15

in piaget’s theory, The stage (from about 2 to 6 or seven years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Question 16

conservation

Answer 16

The principle (which Piaget believe 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

Question 17

egocentrism

Answer 17

in Piaget’s theory, The preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

Question 18

Theory of mind

Answer 18

peoples ideas about their own and others’ mental states – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict

Question 19

autism

Answer 19

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of other states of mind

Question 20

concrete operational stage

Answer 20

in piaget’s theory, The stage of cognitive development (from about six or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Question 21

formal operational stage

Answer 21

in piaget’s theory, The stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Question 22

stranger anxiety

Answer 22

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about eight months of age

Question 23

attachment

Answer 23

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Question 24

critical period

Answer 24

an optimal period Shortly after birth when an organisms exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Question 25

imprinting

Answer 25

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

Question 26

Basic trust

Answer 26

according to Erick Erickson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Question 27

self-concept

Answer 27

A sense of one’s identity and personal worth

Question 28

Adolescence

Answer 28

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Question 29

puberty

Answer 29

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

Question 30

primary sex characteristics

Answer 30

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

Question 31

secondary sex characteristics

Answer 31

non-reproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Question 32

menarche

Answer 32

The first menstrual period

Question 33

identity

Answer 33

one’s sense of self; according to Ericsson, the adolescents task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Question 34

intimacy

Answer 34

in Ericksons theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

Question 35

menopause

Answer 35

The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Question 36

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 36

A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language and finally physical functioning

Question 37

cross-sectional study

Answer 37

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Question 38

longitudinal study

Answer 38

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

Question 39

crystallized intelligence

Answer 39

ones accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Question 40

fluid intelligence

Answer 40

one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Question 41

social clock

Answer 41

The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

Question 42

developmental psychology

Answer 42

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan