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| every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us. |
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| the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. |
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| threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes. |
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| DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) |
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Definition
| A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes. |
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| the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein. |
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| twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into two, creating two genetically identical organisms. |
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| twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment. |
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| a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity. |
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| the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity). |
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| the study of the roots ofr behavior and mental processes, using the principles of natural selection. |
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| the principle that, among the range of inherited traid variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. |
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| a random error in gene replication that leads to a change. |
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| a random error in gene replication that leads to a change. |
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| in psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female. |
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| the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. |
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| an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior. |
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| the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies. |
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| giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications. |
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| giving priority to group goals (often those of the extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly. |
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| physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone. |
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| the sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two X chromosomes; males have one. An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child. |
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| the sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child. |
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| the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty. |
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| a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave. |
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| a set of expected behaviors for males or for females. |
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| our sense of being male or female. |
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| the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role. |
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| the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished. |
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| A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. |
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| the fertilized eggl it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo. |
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| the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month. |
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| the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth. |
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| agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm. |
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| Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) |
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Definition
| physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions. |
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Definition
| biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. |
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| all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. |
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| a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information. |
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Definition
| Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas. |
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Definition
| Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information. |
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| In Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities. |
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| the awareness that things continue to exist even when not percieved. |
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Definition
| in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. |
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| 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 the forms of objects. |
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Definition
| in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view. |
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Definition
| people's ideas about their own and others' mental states-about their feeelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict. |
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Term
| Concrete Operational Stage |
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Definition
| in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 years to 11 years) during which children gain themental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events. |
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Definition
| in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts. |
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| the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 9 months of age. |
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| an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on spearation. |
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Definition
| an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimulii or experiences procedures proper development. |
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| the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life. |
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| 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. |
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| the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence. |
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Definition
| the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing. |
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| Primary Sex Characteristics |
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Definition
| the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible. |
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| Secondary Sex Characteristics |
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Definition
| nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair. |
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Definition
| the first menstrual period. |
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Definition
| our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles. |
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| the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "who am I?" that comes from our group memberships. |
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Definition
| in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, lving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood. |
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| for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependene and full independence and responsible adulthood. |
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Definition
| the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines. |
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Term
| Crystallized intelligence |
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Definition
| our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age. |
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Term
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Definition
| our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood. |
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Definition
| a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience. |
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Definition
| learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning). |
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Definition
| a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli adn anticipate events. |
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Definition
| the view that psychology 1) should be an objective science that 2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with 1)but not with 2). |
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Definition
| in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning. |
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Term
| Unconditioned Response (UR) |
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Definition
| in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth. |
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Term
| Uncondidtioned Stimulus (US) |
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Definition
| in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically-triggers a response. |
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Term
| Conditioned Response (CR) |
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Definition
| in classical conditioning, the learned response to a perviously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). |
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Term
| Conditioned Stimulus (CS) |
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Definition
| in classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response. |
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Term
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Definition
| in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response. |
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Term
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Definition
| behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus |
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Definition
| a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. |
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Definition
| behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences |
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Definition
| Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences becomre more likely. |
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Definition
| an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows |
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Definition
| an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. |
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Definition
| a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. |
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Definition
| reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs |
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| partial (intermittent) reinforcement |
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Definition
| reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction. |
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Definition
| in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. |
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Term
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Definition
| in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. |
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Term
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Definition
| in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. |
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Definition
| learning by observing others |
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Term
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Definition
| the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior |
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Definition
| frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. |
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Definition
| positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior. |
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