Developing through the lifespan Chapter 4 Developing through the lifespan chapter 4

Zygote The fertilized egg; in enters a two-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo. chapter 4

Embryo The developing human organism from about two weeks after fertilization through the second month. chapter 4

Fetus The developing human organism from nine weeks after conception to birth chapter 4

Teratogens Agents, such as chemical and virus, they can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development cause harm. chapter 4

Prenatal development Zygote Embryo Fetus chapter 4

Fetal alcohol syndrome Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions. chapter 4

Rooting reflex A baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple. chapter 4

Habituation Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As intense gains familiarity with his exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner. chapter 4

Maturation Biological growth process that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. chapter 4

Schema A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information. chapter 4

Assimilation Interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one existing schemas. chapter 4

Accommodation Adapting one’s current understandings [schema] to incorporate new information. chapter 4

Cognition All the mental light to that is associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. chapter 4

Sensorimotor stage In Piaget’s theory, the stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities. Birth to about two years of age chapter 4

Object permanence The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. chapter 4

Preoperational stage In Piaget’s theory, the stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. From about two years of age to six or seven years of age. chapter 4

Conservation The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in forms of objects. Piaget believed this to be part of the concrete operational reasoning. chapter 4

Theory of mind Peoples ideas about their own and others’ mental states – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict. chapter 4

Autism A disorder that appears in childhood and is more quite efficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of other states of mind. chapter 4

Concrete operational stage In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events. chapter 4

Formal operational stage In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts. Normally beginning about age 12 chapter 4

Stranger anxiety The fear of strangers that infants calmly display, beginning by about eight months of age. chapter 4

Attachment An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation. chapter 4

Critical period An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development. chapter 4

Imprinting The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life. chapter 4

Basic trust 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. chapter 4

Self-concept A sense of one’s identity and personal worth. chapter 4

Adolescents The transition period from childhood to adulthood extending from puberty to independence. chapter 4

Primary sex characteristics The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that makes sexual reproduction possible. chapter 4

Secondary Sex Characteristics Nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair. chapter 4

Menarche First menstrual period chapter 4

Identity One’s sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles. chapter 4

Intimacy In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form loving relationships; a primary development task in late adolescence and early adulthood. chapter 4

Menopause The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers the biological change a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines. chapter 4

Alzheimer’s disease A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, the physical functioning. chapter 4

Cross-sectional study A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another. chapter 4

Longitudinal study Research in which the same people are restudy then retested over a long period. chapter 4

Crystallized intelligence One’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age. chapter 4

Fluid intelligence One’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood. chapter 4

Love Intimacy, attachment, commitment – lulled by whatever name – is central to healthy and happy adulthood. chapter 4