Chapter 3: Developing Through the Life Span

Question 1

Developmental psychology

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Cross-sectional study

Answer 2

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time.

Question 3

Longitudinal study

Answer 3

Research that follows and retests the same people over time.

Question 4

Chromosomes

Answer 4

Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.

Question 4

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Answer 4

A molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

Question 5

Genes

Answer 5

The biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA.

Question 6

Heredity

Answer 6

The genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.

Question 7

Genome

Answer 7

The complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes.

Question 8

Environment

Answer 8

Every external influence, from prenatal nutrition to social support in later life.

Question 9

Interaction

Answer 9

The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as the environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).

Question 10

Epigenetics

Answer 10

The study of the molecular ways by which environments can influence gene expression (without a DNA change).

Question 11

Zygote

Answer 11

The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.

Question 12

Embryo

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Fetus

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Teratogens

Answer 14

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

Question 14

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Answer 14

Physical and mental function deficits in children caused by their birth mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy. In severe cases, symptoms include small, out-of-proportion head and distinct facial features.

Question 15

Reflex

Answer 15

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

Question 16

Temperament

Answer 16

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

Question 17

Identical (monozygotic) twins

Answer 17

Individuals who developed from a single fertilized egg that split in two, creating two genetically identical siblings.

Question 18

Fraternal (dizygotic) twins

Answer 18

Individuals who developed from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than ordinary siblings, but shared a prenatal environment.

Question 19

Maturation

Answer 19

Biological growth processes leading to orderly changes in behavior, mostly independent of experience.

Question 20

Critical period

Answer 20

A period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences is needed for proper development.

Question 21

Cognition

Answer 21

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Question 22

Schema

Answer 22

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Question 23

Assimilation

Answer 23

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

Question 24

Accomodation

Answer 24

Adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information.

Question 25

Sensorimotor stage

Answer 25

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

Question 26

Object permanence

Answer 26

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

Question 27

Preoperational stage

Answer 27

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) in which a child learns to use language but cannot yet perform the mental operations of concrete logic.

Question 28

Egocentrism

Answer 28

In Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.

Question 29

Concrete operational stage

Answer 29

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) at which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

Question 30

Conservation

Answer 30

The principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in shape.

Question 31

Formal operational stage

Answer 31

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

Question 32

Theory of mind

Answer 32

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.

Question 33

Scaffold

Answer 33

In Vygotsky's theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.

Question 34

Stranger anxiety

Answer 34

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.

Question 35

Attachment

Answer 35

An emotional tie with others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation.

Question 36

Basic trust

Answer 36

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.

Question 37

Adolescnece

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Puberty

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Identity

Answer 39

Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and blending various roles.

Question 40

Social identity

Answer 40

The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.

Question 41

Intimacy

Answer 41

In Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in early adulthood.

Question 42

Emerging adulthood

Answer 42

A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.

Question 43

Menopause

Answer 43

The end of menstruation, in everyday use, it can also mean the biological transition a woman experiences from before until after the end of menstruation.

Question 44

Social clock

Answer 44

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