question

Scientists who study physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the life cycle are called ____ _____.

answer

developmental psychologists

question

One of the major issues in developmental psychology concerns the relative importance of genes and experience in determining behavior; this is called the ___/___ issue

answer

nature/nurture

question

A second developmental issue, ___/___ concerns whether developmental changes are gradual or abrupt

answer

continuity/stages

question

A third controversial issue concerns the consistency of personality and whether development is characterized more by ___ over time or by change

answer

stability

question

Conception begins when a woman's ___ releases a mature ___.

answer

ovary, egg

question

The few ___ from the man that reach the egg release digestive ___ that eat away the egg's protective covering. As soon as one sperm penetrates the egg, the egg's surface ___ all other sperm

answer

sperm, enzymes, blocks

question

The egg and sperm ___ fuse and become one.

answer

nuclei

question

Fertilized human eggs are called ___. During the first week, the cells in this cluster begin to specialize in structure and function, that is, they begin to ___. The outer part of the fertilized egg attaches to the ___ wall, forming the ___.

answer

zygotes, differentiate, uterine, placenta

question

From about 2 until 8 weeks of age the developing human, formed from the inner cells of the fertilized egg, is called a(n) ___. During the final stage of prenatal development, the developing human is called a(n) ____.

answer

embryo, fetus

question

Along with nutrients, a range of harmful substances known as ___ can pass through the placenta.

answer

teratogens

question

Moderate consumption of alcohol during pregnancy ____ (usually does not affect/can affect) the fetal brain. If a mother drinks heavily, her baby is at risk for the birth defects and mental retardation that accompany ___ ____ ____.

answer

can affect, fetal alcohol syndrome

question

When an infant's cheek is touched, it will vigorously search for a nipple, a response known as the ___ ____.

answer

rooting reflex

question

American psychologist ____ ____ believed that the newborn experiences a "blooming, buzzing confusion." This belief is ____ (correct/incorrect).

answer

William James, incorrect

question

To study infants' thinking, developmental researchers have focused on a simple form of learning called ___, which involves a ___ in responding with repeated stimulation. Using this procedure, researchers have found that infants can discriminate ___, ___, and ___ ; they also understand some basic concepts of ___ and ___.

answer

habituation, decrease, colors, shapes, sounds, numbers, physics

question

The developing brain ___ (over/under) produces neurons, with the number peaking at ___ (what age?). At birth the human nervous system ____ (is/is not) fully mature.

answer

over, 28 weeks, is not

question

Between 3 and 6 years of age, the brain is developing most rapidly in the ___ lobes, which enable ___ ___.

answer

frontal, rational planning

question

After puberty, a process of ___ shuts down some neural connections and strengthens others.

answer

pruning

question

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior are called ___.

answer

maturation

question

Infants pass the milestones of ____ development at different rates, but the basic ____ of stages is fixed. They sit before the ___ and walk before they ____.

answer

physical (motor), sequences, crawl, run

question

Genes play a ___ (major/minor) role in motor development.

answer

major

question

Until the necessary muscular and neural maturation is complete, including the rapid development of the brain's ____, experience has a ___ (large/small) effect on behavior.

answer

cerebellum, small

question

Our earliest memories generally do not occur before age ___.

answer

4

question

This phenomenon [that our earliest memories do not occur before a certain age] has been called ____ ____.

answer

infantile amnesia

question

Memories of the preschool years are very few because infants' ___ memories do not easily translate in their later ____.

answer

preverbal, language

question

The first researcher to show that the thought processes of adults and children are very different was ___ ____.

answer

Jean Piaget

question

To organize and interpret his or her experiences, the developing child constructs cognitive concepts called ____.

answer

schemas

question

the interpretation of new experiences in terms of existing ideas is called ____. The adaptation of existing ideas to fit new experiences is called _____.

answer

assimilation, accommodation

question

The term for all the mental activities associated with thinking, remembering, communicating, and knowing is ___.

answer

cognition

question

In Piaget's first stage of development, the ____ stage, children experience the world through their motor and sensory interactions with objects. This stage occurs between infancy and nearly age ___.

answer

sensorimotor, 2 years

question

The awareness that things continue to exist even when they are removed from view is called ____ ____. This awareness begins to develop at about ___ months of age.

answer

object permanence, 8

question

Developmental researchers have found that Piaget and his followers ____ (overestimated/underestimated) young children's competence. For instance, babies have an understanding of ___, as Karen Wynn demonstrated

answer

underestimated, numbers

question

According to Piaget, during the preschool years and up to age ____, children are in the ______ stage.

answer

6 or 7, preoperational

question

The principle that the quantity of a substance remains the same even when the shape of its container changes is called _____. Piaget believed that preschoolers _____ (have/have not) developed this concept.

answer

conservation, have not

question

Preschoolers have difficulty perceiving things from another person's point of view. This inability is called _____.

answer

egocentrism

question

The child's growing ability to take another's perspective is evidence that the child is acquiring a ____ ____ _____. Between 3.5 and 4, children come to realized that others may hold ____ _____. Between 5 and 8, they learn that self-produced thoughts can create ____.

answer

theory of mind, false beliefs, feelings

question

The disorder characterized by deficient ___ and ____ interaction and an impaired ____ ____ ____ is ______. This disorder is related to malfunctions of brain areas that enable _____ to others. The "high functioning" form of this disorder is called ____ _____.

answer

communication, social, theory of mind, autism, attending, Asperger Syndrome

question

A new theory proposes that autism represents an "extreme ____ brain." According to this theory, girls tend to be ____, who are better than boys at reading facial expressions and gestures. Boys tend to be ____, who understand things in terms of rules or laws.

answer

male, empathizers, systemizers

question

In contrast to Piaget's findings, researchers have more recently discovered that the ability to perform mental ____, to think ____, and to take another's ___ develops ____ (abruptly/gradually) during the preschool years.

answer

operations, symbolically, perspective, gradually

question

Russian psychologist ___ ___ noted that by age __ children stop thinking aloud and instead rely on ___ ____. When parents give children words, they provide, according to this theorist, a ____ upon which the child can build higher-level thinking.

answer

Lev Vygotsky, 7, inner speech, scaffold

question

Piaget believed that children acquire the mental abilities needed to comprehend mathematical transformations and conservation by about _____ years of age. At this time, they enter the _____ _____ stage.

answer

6 or 7, concrete operational

question

In Piaget's final stage, the ____ _____ stage, reasoning expands from the purely concrete to encompass _____ thinking. Piaget believed most children begin to enter this stage by age ___.

answer

formal operational, abstract, 12

question

Soon after ____ _____ emerges and children become mobile, a new fear, called ____ ____, emerges. This fear emerges at age _____.

answer

object permanence, stranger anxiety, 8 months

question

The development of a strong emotional bond between infant and a parent is called ___.

answer

attachment

question

Harlow's studies of monkeys have shown that mother-infant attachment does not depend on the mother providing nourishment as much as it does on her providing the comfort of ___ ___. Another key to attachment is ____.

answer

body contact, familiarity

question

Human attachment involves one person providing another with a ___ ___ when distressed and a ___ ____ from which to explore.

answer

safe haven, secure base

question

In some animals, attachment will occur only during a restricted time called a ___ ___. Konrad Lorenz discovered that young birds would follow almost any object if it were the first moving thing they observed. This phenomenon is called ____.

answer

critical period, imprinting

question

Human infants ____ (do/do not) have a precise critical period for becoming attached

answer

do not

question

Placed in a research setting called the ___ ___, children show one of two patterns of attachment: ____ attachment or ____ attachment.

answer

strange situation, secure, insecure

question

A father's love and acceptance for his children are _____ (comparable to/less important than) a mother's love in predicting their children's health and well-being.

answer

comparable to

question

Separation anxiety peaks in infants around ___ months, then _______ (gradually declines/remains constant for about a year). This is true of children _____ (in North America/throughout the world).

answer

13, gradually declines, throughout the world

question

According to Erikson, securely attached infants approach life with a sense of ___ ____.

answer

basic trust

question

Harlow found that when monkeys reared in social isolation are placed with other monkeys, they reacted with either fear or _____.

answer

aggression

question

Most abused children ____ (do/do not) later become abusive parents.

answer

do not

question

Although most children who grow up under adversity are ____ and become normal adults, early abuse and excessive exposure to ___ ____ may alter the development of the brain chemical ______.

answer

resilient, stress hormones, serotonin

question

When placed in a more positive and stable environment, most infants ___ (recover/do not recover) from disruptions in attachment.

answer

recover

question

Experts agree that child care per se ____ (does/does not) constitute a risk factor in children's development. High-quality child care consists of warm, supportive interactions with adults in an environment that is ___, ____, and _____. More important than time spent in day care in influencing a child's development are ____________________________.

answer

does not, safe, healthy, stimulating, the child's temperament, mother's sensitivity, and family economic and educational level

question

The primary social achievement of childhood is the development of a _____, which occurs in most children by age ____.

answer

self-concept, 12

question

A child's self-image generally becomes stable between the ages of __ and __, when children begin to describe themselves in terms of gender, group memberships, and psychological ____.

answer

8, 10, traits

question

Parents who impose rules and expect obedience are exhibiting a(n) _______ style of parenting.

answer

authoritarian

question

Parents who make few demands of their children and tend to submit to their children's desires are identified as _____ parents.

answer

permissive

question

Setting and enforcing standards after discussion with their children is the approach taken by ____ parents.

answer

authoritative

question

Studies have shown that there tends to be a correlation between high self-esteem on the part of the child and the ____ style of parenting. This may be because this parenting style gives children the greatest sense of ____ over their lives.

answer

authoritative, control

question

Adolescence is defined as the transition period between ____ and ____.

answer

childhood, adulthood

question

The "storm and stress" view of adolescence is credited to ___, one of the first American psychologists to describe adolescence.

answer

G. Stanley Hall

question

Adolescence begins with the time of developing sexual maturity known as ___. A two-year period of rapid physical development begins in girls at about the age of ___ and in boys at about the age of __. This growth spurt is marked by the development of the reproductive organs and external genitalia, or ___ ___ characteristics, as well as by the development of traits such as pubic hair and enlarged breasts in females and facial hair in males. These nonreproductive traits are known as ___ ___ characteristics.

answer

puberty, 11, 13, primary sex, secondary sex

question

The first menstrual period is called ____. In boys, the first ejaculation is called ____.

answer

menarche, spermarche

question

The ___ (timing/sequence) of pubertal changes is more predictable than their ___ (timing/sequence).

answer

sequence, timing

question

Boys who mature __ (early/late) tend to be more popular, self-assured, and independent; they also are at increased risk for _______. For girls, ___ (early/late) menstruation can be stressful, especially when their bodies are out of sync with their ___ ___. This reminds us that ___ and ___ interact.

answer

early, alcohol use and premature sexual activity, early, emotional maturity, heredity, environment

question

The adolescent brain undergoes a selective __ of unused connections. Also, teens' occasional impulsiveness and risky behaviors may be due, in part, to the fact that development of the brain's ___ ___ lags behind that of the ___ ___.

answer

pruning, frontal lobe, limbic system

question

Adolescents' developing ability to reason gives them a new level of ___ awareness and ___ judgment

answer

social, moral

question

During the early teen years, reasoning is often ___, as adolescents often feel their experiences are unique.

answer

self-focused

question

Piaget's final stage of cognitive development is the stage of ___ ___. The adolescent in this stage is capable of thinking logically about ___ as well as concrete propositions. This enables them to detect ___ in others' reasoning and to spot hypocrisy.

answer

formal operations, abstract, inconsistencies

question

The theorist who proposed that moral thought progresses through stages is ___. These stages are divided into three basic levels: ___, ____, and ___.

answer

Kohlberg, preconventional, conventional, postconventional

question

In the preconventional stages of morality, characteristic of children, the emphasis is on obeying rules in order to avoid ____ or gain ____.

answer

punishment, rewards

question

Conventional morality usually emerges by early ___. The emphasis is on gaining social ____ or upholding the social ___.

answer

adolescence, approval, laws

question

Individuals who base moral judgments on their own perceptions of basic ethical principles are said by Kohlberg to employ _____ morality.

answer

postconventional

question

The idea that moral feelings precede moral reasoning is expressed in the ___ ___ explanation of morality. Research studies using ___ ___ support the idea that moral judgment involves more than merely thinking; it is also gut-level feeling.

answer

social intuitionist, moral paradoxes

question

Morality involves doing the right thing, and what we do depends on ___ influences. Today's ___ ___ ___ focus on moral issues and doing the right thing.

answer

social, character education programs

question

Children who learn to delay ___ become more socially responsible, often engaging in responsible action through ___ learning. They also become more ____ successful and productive.

answer

gratification, service, academically

question

Moral ideas grow ___ (stronger/weaker) when acted on.

answer

stronger

question

To refine their sense of identity, adolescents in Western cultures experiment with different ___ in different situations. The result may be role ___, which is resolved by forming a self-definition, or ___.

answer

selves, confusion, identity

question

Cultures that place less value on ___ inform adolescents about who they are, rather than letting them decide on their own. Some adolescents may form a ___ identity in opposition to parents and society.

answer

individualism, negative

question

During the early to mid-teen years, self-esteem generally ___ (rises/falls/remains stable). During the late teens and twenties, self-esteem generally ___ (rises/falls/remains stable) and identity becomes more _____.

answer

falls, rises, personalized

question

Erikson saw the formation of identity as a prerequisite for the development of ___ in young adulthood.

answer

intimacy

question

Adolescence is typically a time of increasing influence from one's ____ and decreasing influence from one's ____.

answer

peers, parents

question

Most adolescents report that they ___ (do/do not) get along with their parents.

answer

do

question

When rejected adolescents withdraw, they are vulnerable to ___, low ____, and ____.

answer

loneliness, self-esteem, depression

question

As a result of increased ___ ___ and weakened ___-____ bonds, sexual maturity is beginning ___ (earlier/later) than in the past.

answer

body fat, parent, child, earlier

question

Because the time from 18 to the mid-twenties is increasingly a not-yet-settled phase of life, some psychologists refer to this period as a time of ___ ____.

answer

emerging adulthood

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