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Definition
| The broader influences on a child’s development, such as mass media, religious denomination, societal rules, or educational norms. |
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| Influences which are on a small scale, such as family eating habits, traditions, hierarchical structures, and routines. |
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| Behavior is determined by the unconscious, including inner conflicts and memories, over which the individual has little control |
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| Developmental stages are influenced by exposure to environmental stimuli |
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| Development occurs in fixed, universal stages where the capacity for knowledge increases |
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| Development of the individual occurs within the context of social, emotional, psychical, and personality factors |
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| Biological makeup influences development |
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| Behavior is determined by the unconscious, including inner conflicts and memories, over which the individual has little control (researcher) |
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| Behavior is determined by interactions with others, society, and cculture |
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| Children are a "blank slate" with personalities and behavior entirely formed by the environment |
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| Children are noble savages with an innate sense of morality |
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| Behavior is shaped through reinforcement of response to events |
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| Cognition is shaped by social interactions |
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| The field that involves the scientific study of the patterns of growth, change, and stability that occur from conception through adolescence |
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| Development involving the body’s physical makeup, including the brain, nervous system, muscles, and senses and the need for food, drink, and sleep |
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| Development involving the ways that growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence a person’s behavior |
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| Development involving the ways that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another change over the life span |
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| The way in which individuals’ interactions with others and their social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life |
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| A shared notion of reality, one that is widely accepted but is a function of society and culture at a given time. |
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| A period beginning in the late teenage years and continuing into the mid-twenties. |
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| A group of people born at around the same time in the same place |
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| History-graded Influences |
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Definition
| Biological and environmental influences associated with a particular historical moment. |
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Definition
| Biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they are raised. |
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| A statement meaning that children were born with an innate sense of right and wrong and morality |
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| Gradual development in which achievements at one level build on those of previous levels |
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| Development that occurs in distinct steps or stages, with each stage bringing about behavior that is assumed to be qualitatively different from behavior at earlier stages |
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| A specific time during development when a particular event has its greatest consequences |
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| The degree to which a developing behavior or physical structure is modifiable |
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| A specific time when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment |
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| Refers to traits, abilities, and capacities that are inherited from one’s parents. |
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| The process of the predetermined unfolding of genetic information |
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| Refers to the environmental influences that shape behavior. |
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| Explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest, providing a framework for understanding the relationships among an organized set of facts or principles |
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| Psychodynamic Perspective |
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Definition
| The approach to the study of development that states behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts of which a person has little awareness or control |
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| The theory proposed by Freud that suggests that unconscious forces act to determine personality and behavior |
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| According to Freud, a series of stages that children pass through in which pleasure, or gratification, is focused on a particular biological function and body part |
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| The approach to the study of development that encompasses changes in the understanding individuals have of their interactions with others, of others’ behavior, and of themselves as members of society |
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| The approach to the study of development that suggests that the keys to understanding development are observable behavior and outside stimuli in the environment |
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| A type of learning in which an organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response |
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| A form of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its association with positive or negative consequences |
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| A formal technique for promoting the frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing the incidence of unwanted ones |
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| Social-cognitive Learning Theory |
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Definition
| An approach to the study of development that emphasizes learning by observing the behavior of another person, called a model |
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Definition
| The approach to the study of development that focuses on the processes that allow people to know, understand, and think about the world |
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| organized mental patterns that represent behaviors and actions. |
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| Piaget's term for the way in which children respond and adjust to new information |
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| The process in which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development and way of thinking. |
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Definition
| Refers to changes in existing ways of thinking in response to encounters with new stimuli or events. |
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| Information-processing Approaches |
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Definition
| Approaches to the study of cognitive development that seek to identify the ways individuals take in, use, and store information |
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| Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches |
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Definition
| Approaches to the study of cognitive development that focus on how brain processes are related to cognitive activity |
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Definition
| The perspective that considers the relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality, social, and physical worlds |
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Definition
| The perspective suggesting that different levels of the environment simultaneously influence every biological organism |
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| The everyday, immediate environment in which children lead their daily lives |
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Definition
| Provides connections among the various aspects of the microsystem. |
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Definition
| Represents broader influences, encompassing societal institutions such as local government, the community, schools, places of worship, and the local media |
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Definition
| Represents the larger cultural influences on an individual |
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| Involves the way the passage of time, including historical events affects children’s development. |
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| The dominant Western philosophy that emphasizes personal identity, uniqueness, freedom, and the worth of the individual. |
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| The notion that the well-being of the group is more important than that of the individual |
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| An approach that emphasizes how cognitive development proceeds as a result of social interactions between members of a culture |
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| The theory that seeks to identify behavior that is the result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors |
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Definition
| The process of posing and answering questions using careful, controlled techniques that include systematic, orderly observation and the collection of data |
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| Broad explanations and predictions about phenomena of interest |
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| A prediction stated in a way that permits it to be tested |
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| The process of translating a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed. |
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| Research that seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between two factors exists |
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| Research designed to discover causal relationships between various factors |
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| Studies in which researchers observe some naturally occurring behavior without intervening or making changes in the situation |
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| A method borrowed from the field of anthropology and used to investigate cultural questions |
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| Researchers choose particular settings of interest and seek to carefully describe, in narrative fashion, what is occurring and why |
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Definition
| Extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or small group of individuals |
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Definition
| Research in which a group of people chosen to represent some larger population are asked questions about their attitudes, behavior, or thinking on a given topic |
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| Psychophysiological Methods |
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Definition
| A research approach that focuses on the relationship between physiological processes and behavior |
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Term
| Electroencephalogram (EEG) |
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Definition
| Records electrical activity within the brain recorded by electrodes placed on the outside of the skull. |
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| Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan |
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Definition
| A computer constructs an image of the brain by combining thousands of individual x-rays taken at slightly different angles. |
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| Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Scan |
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Definition
| Provides a detailed, three-dimensional, computer-generated image of brain activity by aiming a powerful magnetic field at the brain. |
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Definition
| A process in which an investigator, called an experimenter, devises two different experiences for subjects or participants |
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| A procedure applied by an experimental investigator based on two different experiences devised for subjects or participants |
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| The group in an experiment that receives the treatment |
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| The group in an experiment that receives either no treatment or an alternative treatment |
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| The variable in an experiment that is manipulated by researchers |
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| The variable in an experiment that is measured and is expected to change as a result of the experimental manipulation |
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| A group of participants chosen for an experiment |
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| A research investigation carried out in a naturally occurring setting |
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Definition
| A research investigation conducted in a controlled setting explicitly designed to hold events constant |
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Definition
| Research designed specifically to test some developmental explanation and expand scientific knowledge |
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| Research meant to provide practical solutions to immediate problems |
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| Research in which the behavior of one or more individuals is measured as the subjects age |
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Definition
| Research in which people of different ages are compared at the same point in time |
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Definition
| Studies in which researchers examine members of a number of different age groups at several points in time |
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Definition
| The sex cells from the mother and father that form a new cell at conception |
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Definition
| The new cell formed by the process of fertilization |
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Definition
| The basic units of genetic information |
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| DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) Molecules |
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Definition
| The substance that genes are composed of that determines the nature of every cell in the body and how it will function |
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Definition
| Rodshaped portions of DNA that are organized in 23 pairs |
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Definition
| Twins who are genetically identical |
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Definition
| Twins who are produced when two separate ova are fertilized by two separate sperm at roughly the same time |
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Definition
| The one trait that is expressed when two competing traits are present |
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Definition
| A trait within an organism that is present, but is not expressed |
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| The underlying combination of genetic material present (but not outwardly visible) in an organism |
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| An observable trait; the trait that actually is seen |
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Definition
| Inheriting from parents similar genes for a given trait |
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Definition
| Inheriting from parents different forms of a gene for a given trait |
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Definition
| An inherited disorder in which a child is unable to make use of phenylalanine, an essential amino acid present in proteins found in milk and other foods |
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Definition
| Inheritance in which a combination of multiple gene pairs is responsible for the production of a particular trait |
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Definition
| Genes that are considered recessive and located only on the X chromosome |
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Definition
| The study of the effects of heredity on behavior |
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Definition
| A disorder produced by the presence of an extra chromosome on the 21st pair; once referred to as mongolism |
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Definition
| A disorder produced by injury to a gene on the X chromosome, producing mild to moderate mental retardation |
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Definition
| A blood disorder that gets its name from the shape of the red blood cells in those who have it |
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Definition
| A disorder that produces blindness and muscle degeneration prior to death; there is no treatment |
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Definition
| A disorder resulting from the presence of an extra X chromosome that produces underdeveloped genitals, extreme height, and enlarged breasts |
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Definition
| The discipline that focuses on helping people deal with issues relating to inherited disorders |
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Definition
| A process in which high-frequency sound waves scan the mother’s womb to produce an image of the unborn baby, whose size and shape can then be assessed |
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| Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) |
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Definition
| A test used to find genetic defects that involves taking samples of hairlike material that surrounds the embryo |
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Definition
| The process of identifying genetic defects by examining a small sample of fetal cells drawn by a needle inserted into the amniotic fluid surrounding the unborn fetus |
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Definition
| Patterns of arousal and emotionality that represent consistent and enduring characteristics in an individual |
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| Multifactorial transmission |
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Definition
| The determination of traits by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors in which a genotype provides a range within which a phenotype may be expressed |
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Definition
| The process by which a sperm and an ovum—the male and female gametes, respectively—join to form a single new cell |
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Definition
| The first—and shortest—stage of the prenatal period, which takes place during the first two weeks following conception |
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Definition
| A conduit between the mother and fetus, providing nourishment and oxygen via the umbilical cord |
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Definition
| The period from two to eight weeks following fertilization during which significant growth occurs in the major organs and body systems |
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Definition
| The stage that begins at about eight weeks after conception and continues until birth |
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Definition
| A developing child, from eight weeks after conception until birth |
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Definition
| The inability to conceive after 12 to 18 months of trying to become pregnant |
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Definition
| The two symmetrical left and right halves of the brain |
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Definition
| A process of fertilization in which a man’s sperm is placed directly into a woman’s vagina by a physician |
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| In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) |
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Definition
| A procedure in which a woman’s ova are removed from her ovaries, and a man’s sperm are used to fertilize the ova in a laboratory |
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Definition
| Known as a spontaneous abortion—occurs when pregnancy ends before the developing child is able to survive outside the mother’s womb |
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Definition
| When a mother voluntarily chooses to terminate pregnancy. |
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Definition
| A factor that produces a birth defect |
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Term
| Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) |
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Definition
| Cognitive disorder caused by the pregnant mother consuming substantial quantities of alcohol during pregnancy, potentially resulting in mental retardation and delayed growth in the child |
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| Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) |
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Definition
| A condition in which children display some, although not all, of the problems of fetal alcohol syndrome due to the mother’s consumption of alcohol during pregnancy |
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