Human Development

Question 1

human development

Answer 1

the study of change and continuity in the individual across the life span.

Question 2

germinal stage

Answer 2

the first prenatal stage of development, which begins at conception and lasts two weeks.

Question 3

zygote

Answer 3

single cell that results when a sperm fertilizes an egg.

Question 4

embryo

Answer 4

the term for the developing organism from 2 weeks until about 8 weeks after conception.

Question 5

embryonic stage

Answer 5

the second prenatal stage, from 2 weeks to 8 weeks after conception, when all of the major organs form.

Question 6

fetal stage

Answer 6

the third prenatal stage, which begins with the formation of bone cells 8 weeks after conception and ends at birth.

Question 7

neural migration

Answer 7

the movement of neurons from one part of the fetal brain to their more permanent destination; occurs during months 3–5 of the fetal stage.

Question 8

prenatal programming

Answer 8

he process by which events in the womb alter the development of physical and psychological health.

Question 9

teratogens

Answer 9

substances that can disrupt normal prenatal development and cause lifelong deficits.

Question 10

fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Answer 10

a consequence of prenatal alcohol exposure that causes multiple problems, notably brain damage.

Question 11

temperament

Answer 11

the biologically based tendency to behave in particular ways from very early in life.

Question 12

personality

Answer 12

the unique and relatively enduring set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives that characterize an individual.

Question 13

pruning

Answer 13

the degradation of synapses and dying off of neurons that are not strengthened by experience.

Question 14

sensorimotor stage

Answer 14

iaget’s first stage of cognitive development (ages 0–2), when infants learn about the world by using their senses and by moving their bodies.

Question 15

object permanence

Answer 15

the ability to realize that objects still exist when they are not being sensed.

Question 16

preoperational stage

Answer 16

the second major stage of cognitive development (ages 2–5), which begins with the emergence of symbolic thought.

Question 17

animistic thinking

Answer 17

belief that inanimate objects are alive.

Question 18

egocentrism

Answer 18

viewing the world from one’s own perspective and not being capable of seeing things from another person’s perspective.

Question 19

conservation

Answer 19

recognition that when some properties (such as shape) of an object change, other properties (such as volume) remain constant.

Question 20

concrete operational stage

Answer 20

Piaget’s third stage of cognitive development, which spans ages 6–11, during which the child can perform mental operations—such as reversing—on real objects or events.

Question 21

formal operational stage

Answer 21

Piaget’s final stage of cognitive development, from age 11 or 12 on through adulthood, when formal logic is possible.

Question 22

zone of proximal development

Answer 22

the distance between what a child can learn alone and what that child can learn assisted by someone else, usually an adult.

Question 23

theory of mind

Answer 23

ideas and knowledge about how other people’s minds work.

Question 24

preconventional level

Answer 24

the first level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning, focusing on avoiding punishment or maximizing rewards.

Question 25

conventional level

Answer 25

the second level in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning, during which the person values caring, trust, and relationships as well as the social order and lawfulness.

Question 26

postconventional level

Answer 26

the third level in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning, in which the person recognizes universal moral rules that may trump unjust or immoral local rules.

Question 27

imprinting

Answer 27

the rapid and innate learning of the characteristics of a caregiver very soon after birth.

Question 28

attachment

Answer 28

the strong emotional connection that develops early in life between infants and their caregivers.

Question 29

separation anxiety

Answer 29

the distress reaction shown by babies when they are separated from their primary caregiver (typically shown at around 9 months of age).

Question 30

secure attachment

Answer 30

attachment style characterized by infants who will gradually explore new situations when the caregiver leaves and initiate contact when the caregiver returns after separation.

Question 31

social referencing

Answer 31

the ability to make use of social and emotional information from another person—especially a caregiver—in an uncertain situation.

Question 32

emotional competence

Answer 32

the ability to control emotions and know when it is appropriate to express certain emotions.

Question 33

adolescence

Answer 33

the transition period between childhood and adulthood.

Question 34

puberty

Answer 34

the period when sexual maturation begins; it marks the beginning of adolescence.

Question 35

menarche

Answer 35

the first menstrual period.

Question 36

spermarche

Answer 36

the first ejaculation.

Question 37

emerging adulthood

Answer 37

the transitional phase between adolescence and young adulthood; includes ages 18–25 years.

Question 38

young adulthood

Answer 38

development stage that usually happens by mid-20s when people complete the key developmental tasks of emerging adulthood.

Question 39

intimacy

Answer 39

as defined by Erikson, the ability to fuse one's identity with another's without the fear of losing it.

Question 40

individuation

Answer 40

the process of a person's personality becoming whole and full.

Question 41

generativity

Answer 41

a term Erik Erikson used to describe the process in adulthood of creating new ideas, products, or people.

Question 42

stagnation

Answer 42

situation where the adult becomes more self-focused than oriented toward others and does not contribute in a productive way to society or family.

Question 43

fluid intelligence

Answer 43

raw mental ability, pattern recognition, abstract reasoning that can be applied to a problem one has never confronted before.

Question 44

crystallized intelligence

Answer 44

the kind of knowledge that one gains from experience and learning, education, and practice.

Question 45

dementia

Answer 45

a loss of mental function, in which many cognitive processes are impaired, such as the ability to remember, reason, solve problems, make decisions, and use language.

Question 46

Alzheimer's disease

Answer 46

a degenerative disease marked by progressive cognitive decline and characterized by a collection of symptoms, including confusion, memory loss, mood swings, and eventual loss of physical function.

Question 47

cyberbullying

Answer 47

the willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text.