Chapter 5 -David Myers 9Th Edition

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

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

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

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

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

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

He found that a child's mind develops through a series of stages.

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Interpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas.

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

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

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states mind.

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

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

An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces further development.

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

The infants much preferred the cloth mother over the one that fed them in every situation.

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.

Our understanding and evaluation of who we are.

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

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

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.

non-reproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.

The first menstrual period.

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

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

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

For some people in modern cultures, a period form the late teens to early twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood.

The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

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