What are the three stages of prenatal development (with timing)?
- Germinal (conception–2 weeks)
- Embryonic (3–8 weeks)
- Fetal (9 weeks–birth)
Why is the embryonic period especially vulnerable?
Major organs and structures are forming, so teratogens can cause severe structural defects.
What are teratogens?
Environmental hazards that damage the developing embryo or fetus.
What are critical periods of susceptibility?
Specific windows in development when certain structures are most vulnerable to harm.
Why is there no “safe amount” of alcohol during pregnancy?
Alcohol damages the developing brain and can cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Do neurons die with age?
Yes, but neural complexity can still increase.
What is dementia?
Loss of mental functioning caused by physical brain changes.
What percentage of people over 80 have dementia?
About 20%.
What does it mean that Piaget was a constructivist?
Children actively construct knowledge through exploration.
What are the three mechanisms of cognitive development in Piaget’s theory?
- Assimilation
- Accommodation
- Equilibration
What is assimilation?
Interpreting new information using existing mental schemas.
What is accommodation?
Modifying schemas when new information doesn’t fit.
What is equilibration?
Balancing assimilation and accommodation to achieve stable understanding.
What major milestone develops in the sensorimotor stage?
Object permanence.
What is the A-not-B error?
Infants search where an object was previously found rather than where it was last hidden.
What does deferred imitation demonstrate?
Mental representation persists over time.
What is symbolic representation?
Using one thing to stand for another (e.g., pretend play).
What is egocentrism?
Difficulty seeing the world from others’ perspectives.
What is centration?
Focusing on one dimension of a situation.
What is conservation?
Understanding that changing appearance does not change quantity.
What cognitive ability develops in this stage?
Logical reasoning about concrete objects.
What limitation remains in this stage?
Difficulty reasoning about abstract or hypothetical problems.
What major shift occurs in formal operations?
Abstract and hypothetical reasoning becomes possible.
What type of reasoning emerges?
Systematic and scientific reasoning.
