Glossary

age of viability	The point at which the fetus can survive if born prematurely



attachment	The positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual



authoritative parents	Parents who are firm, set clear limits, reason with their children, and explain things to them



authoritarian parents	Parents who are rigid and punitive and value unquestioning obedience from their childrenauthoritarian_parents (150.0K)



autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt stage	The period during which, according to Erikson, toddlers (ages 18 months to 3 years) develop independence and autonomy if exploration and freedom are encouraged, or shame and self-doubt if they are restricted and overprotectedautonomy_versus (345.0K)



chromosomes	Rod-shaped structures that contain the basic hereditary information



cognitive development	The process by which a child's understanding of the world changes as a function of age and experience



concrete operational stage	According to Piaget, the period from 7 to 12 years of age, which is characterized by logical thought and a loss of egocentrism



cross-sectional research	A research method in which people of different ages are compared at the same point in time



cross-sequential research	A research method that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal research by considering a number of different age groups and examining them over several points in time



developmental psychology	The branch of psychology that studies the patterns of growth and change occurring throughout life



egocentric thought	A way of thinking in which the child views the world entirely from his or her own perspectiveegocentric_thought (149.0K)



embryo	A developed zygote that has a rudimentary heart, brain, and other organs



fetus	A developing child, from 8 weeks after conception until birth



formal operational stage	According to Piaget, the period from age 12 to adulthood, which is characterized by abstract thought



genes	The parts of the chromosomes through which genetic information is transmittedgenes (101.0K)



habituation	The decrease in the response to a stimulus that occurs after repeated presentations of the same stimulushabituation (152.0K)



identical twins	Twins who are genetically identical



industry-versus-inferiority stage	According to Erikson, the last stage of childhood, during which children aged 6 to 12 years either develop positive social interactions with others or feel inadequate and become less sociable



information processing	The way people take in, use, and store information



initiative-versus-guilt stage	According to Erikson, the period during which children ages 3 to 6 years experience conflict between independence of action and the sometimes negative results of that action



longitudinal research	A research method that investigates behavior as participants age



metacognition	An awareness and understanding of one's own cognitive processes



nature-nurture issue	The issue of the degrees to which environment and heredity influence behavior and development



neonate	A newborn childneonate (49.0K)



object permanence	The awareness that objects-and people-continue to exist even if they are out of sight



permissive parents	Parents who give their children lax or inconsistent direction and, although warm, require little of them



preoperational stage	According to Piaget, the period from 2 to 7 years of age which is characterized by language development



principle of conservation	The knowledge that the quantity of a substance remains the same even though its shape or other aspects of its physical appearance might change



psychosocial development	Development of individuals' interactions and understanding of each other and of their knowledge and understanding of themselves as members of society



reflexes	Unlearned, involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain stimuli



sensorimotor stage	According to Piaget, the stage from birth to 2 years, during which a child has little competence in representing the environment using images, language, or other symbols



temperament	Basic, innate disposition



teratogens	Environmental agents such as drugs, chemicals, viruses, or other factors that produce birth defectsteratogens (162.0K)



trust-versus-mistrust stage	According to Erikson, the first stage of psychosocial development, occurring from birth to 18 months of age, during which time infants develop feelings of trust or lack of trust



uninvolved parents	Parents who show little interest in their children and are emotionally detached from them



zone of proximal development (ZPD)	According to Vygotsky, the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, comprehend or perform a task on her or his own.



zygote	The new cell formed by the union of an egg and sperm

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