Psychology - Developement

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• critical period age range during which certain experiences must occur for development to proceed normally or along a certain path
• sensitive period an optimal age range for certain experiences, but if those experiences occur at another time, normal development is still possible
• cross-sectional design compares people of different ages at the same point in time
• longitudinal design repeatedly tests the same cohort as it grows older
• sequential design combines the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches
• zygote fertilized egg
• embryo develops from the end of week 2 through to week 8 after conception
• foetus develops from week 9 after conception until birth
• teratogens external agents that cause abnormal pre-natal development
• foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) a severe group of abnormalities that results from pre-natal exposure to alcohol
• reflexes automatic, inborn behaviours that occur in response to specific stimuli
• cephalocaudal trajectory the tendency for development to proceed In a head-to-foot direction
• proximodistal trajectory development begins along the innermost parts of the body and continues towards the outermost parts
• assimilation the process by which new experiences are incorporated into existing schemas
• accommodation the process by which new experiences cause existing schemas to change
• sensorimotor stage understand their world primarily through sensory experiences and physical (motor) interactions with objects
• object permanence an object continues to exist in a particular place even when it is no longer visible
• pre-operational stage the stage in which children represent the world symbolically through words and mental images but do not yet understand basic mental operations or rules
• conservation the principle that basic properties of objects, such as their volume, mass, or quantity, stay the same (are 'conserved') even though their outward appearance may change
• egocentrism difficulty in viewing the world from someone else's perspective
• concrete operational stage can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve tangible (i.e., 'concrete') objects and situations
• formal operational stage individuals are able to think logically and systematically about both concrete and abstract problems, form hypotheses, and test them in a thoughtful way
• zone of proximal development (ZPD) the difference between what a child can do independently and what the child can do with assistance from adults or more advanced peers
• theory of mind a person's beliefs about the 'mind' and the ability to understand mental states
• puberty a period of rapid maturation in which the person becomes capable of sexual reproduction
• adolescent egocentrism a self-absorbed and distorted view of one's uniqueness and importance
• senile dementia dementia that begins after age 65

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