Skip to main content
Back

Chapter 9

Control buttons has been changed to "navigation" mode.
1/20

Terms in this set (20)

  • What is the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs?

    Cross-sectional compares different age groups at one time but may reflect cohort effects. Longitudinal follows the same people over time to track individual change but takes longer and may lose participants.

  • What is a cohort effect in developmental research?

    A cohort effect occurs when differences between age groups are due to their unique experiences or historical contexts, not aging itself.

  • Name and define the three prenatal periods.

    Germinal (conception to ~2 weeks): cell division and implantation.
    Embryonic (~2–8 weeks): major structures form.
    Fetal (~8/9 weeks to birth): growth and maturation.

  • What is a teratogen and what factors influence its effects?

    A teratogen is an exposure that harms prenatal development. Effects depend on the type, timing during pregnancy, and dose of exposure.

  • List examples of common teratogens.

    Examples include alcohol, tobacco smoke, and Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

  • What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?

    Sensorimotor (0–2): learns through action, object permanence.
    Preoperational (2–7): symbols and language, limited logic.
    Concrete operational (7–11): logic about concrete situations.
    Formal operational (12+): abstract and hypothetical reasoning.

  • Define assimilation and accommodation in Piaget’s theory.

    Assimilation fits new information into existing frameworks.
    Accommodation changes the framework to incorporate new information.

  • Describe the four attachment patterns in childhood.

    Secure: comforted by caregiver.
    Avoidant: avoids or shows little response.
    Resistant: distressed, seeks and resists comfort.
    Disorganized: confused or contradictory behavior.

  • How does Vygotsky’s view of learning differ from Piaget’s?

    Vygotsky emphasizes social and cultural guidance and learning through interaction, while Piaget focuses on stages of individual cognitive development.

  • What is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?

    ZPD is what a learner can do with help but not yet alone.

  • What is scaffolding in Vygotsky’s theory?

    Scaffolding is temporary support given to a learner that is gradually withdrawn as they become more competent.

  • What physical and cognitive changes occur during adolescence?

    Adolescence includes puberty (reproductive maturity), development of abstract thought, identity formation, peer relationships, and growing independence.

  • Distinguish primary and secondary sex characteristics.

    Primary sex characteristics are reproductive organs.
    Secondary sex characteristics are other traits that develop at puberty, like body hair and voice changes.

  • What are Kohlberg’s three levels of moral reasoning?

    Preconventional: based on personal consequences.
    Conventional: based on rules and social approval.
    Postconventional: based on internal principles.

  • What is fluid intelligence versus crystallized intelligence?

    Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve new problems.
    Crystallized intelligence is accumulated knowledge and skills.

  • What is senescence in human development?

    Senescence is the biological aging process involving gradual physical decline.

  • How do thinking, language, emotion, biology, and experience interact in development?

    They interact dynamically, shaping cognitive and emotional growth through biological maturation and environmental experiences.

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal studies?

    Advantages: track individual change over time.
    Disadvantages: time-consuming and risk of participant attrition.

  • What is object permanence and in which Piaget stage does it develop?

    Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, developing in the sensorimotor stage (0–2 years).

  • Why is Kohlberg’s focus on moral reasoning important?

    It emphasizes understanding the reasoning behind moral judgments, not just the decisions themselves.