Name: ________________________________________
Period: _______
AP Psychology: Unit Readings/Review Packet
Unit IX: Developmental Psychology (Text Modules 45-54)
Directions: As we proceed through the unit, you should review the following and complete all
questions as you go through the assigned readings.
Terms/Concepts/People to Know
(NOTE: By the end of the unit, you should be familiar with all of the following. Some we will discuss in class in
detail, others we may mention only in passing, while other, more basic concepts may not be addressed directly
in class at all; you are expected to know them from your reading).
Module 45
Developmental Psychology
Nature vs. Nurture
Stage Theory
Germinal Stage/Zygote
Placenta
Embryonic Stage/Embryo
Fetal Stage/Fetus
Teratogens
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Habituation
Module 46
Maturation
Module 47
Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget
Lev Vygotsky
Schema
Assimilation
Accommodation
Sensorimotor Stage
Object Permanence
Preoperational Stage
Conservation
Egocentrism
Animism
Centration
Reversibility
Hierarchical Classification
Theory of Mind
Concrete Operational Stage
Formal Operational Stage
Scaffolding
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Module 50
Module 48
Module 51
Stranger Anxiety
Attachment/Attachment
Styles
Secure Attachment &
Insecure Attachment
(Anxious &
Avoidant)
Temperament
Difficult, Slow-to-Warm
Harry Harlow
Harlow’s Monkey Studies
on Contact
Critical Period
Imprinting
Self-Concept
Parenting Styles
(Authoritarian,
Authoritative,
Permissive)
Adolescence
Lawrence Kohlberg
Moral Reasoning
/Development
Module 49
Gender Development
Gender Roles
Gender Identity
Gender Typing
Experience & Brain
Development
Module 52
Erik Erikson
Psychosocial Development
Module 53
Pubescence
Puberty
Menarche
Sexual Orientation
Family Studies & Twin
Studies
Module 54
Menopause
Cross-Sectional Studies
Longitudinal Studies
Alzheimer’s Disease
“Stages of Grief/Dying”
Module Questions
Module 45: Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, & the Newborn
1. What are the major types of “development” that developmental psychology focuses
on?
2. What is meant by “stages” in development? What are some general criticisms that
have been leveled against stage theories of development?
3. Briefly summarize the results of research on our relative “stability” vs. “change” as we
develop.
4. What are the three primary stages of prenatal development? What are some key
characteristics of each?
5. What is habituation, and what role does it play in research on the developing child?
Module 46: Infancy and Childhood – Physical Development
1. In developmental psychology, what does the term maturation refer to?
2. Briefly describe the findings of research on memory in infants.
Module 47: Infancy and Childhood: Cognitive Development
1. What is meant by cognitive development?
2. What is the difference between assimilation and accommodation, and how do they relate
to schemas?
3. What are the four stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development? Briefly describe
some of the key developments of each.
4. What is the theory of mind?
5. How did Vygotsky’s explanation of child cognitive development differ from that of
Piaget?
Module 48: Infancy and Childhood – Social Development
1. What is stranger anxiety? When does it typically begin?
2. What is a critical period in developmental psychology? What is imprinting?
3. What is attachment? Describe the attachment styles observed by Mary Ainsworth using
the “Strange Situation” paradigm.
4. What is temperament, and what are the different types of temperament described in
your text? Briefly summarize the research on how early attachment and temperament
styles affect later developments and relationships.
5. What are the characteristics of the three major parenting styles?
Module 49: Gender Development
1. What factors influence the development of gender roles?
2. Briefly describe the factors that influence our sense of gender identity.
Module 50: Parents, Peers, and Early Experiences
1. Briefly describe the findings regarding how early experiences affect the developing
brain.
2. Briefly describe the findings regarding how parents and peers shape child
development.
Module 51: Adolescence – Physical and Cognitive Development
1. What is adolescence? When does it “end”?
2. How does the timing of physical maturation among adolescents affect them? In
particular, how does “early” vs. “late” physical maturation affect boys and girls?
3. Briefly describe Kohlberg’s theory of how we develop our moral reasoning.
Module 52: Adolescence – Social Development and Emerging Adulthood
1. What did Erikson mean by the concept of identity and identity formation among
adolescents? How does the concept of identity differ from that of the social identity?
Module 53: Sexual Development
1. What is the difference between pubescence and puberty?
2. What are the main secondary sex characteristics for boys and girls during pubescence?
3. Some argue that sexual orientation is a choice. What does the research show about the
issue of whether sexual orientation is a choice and whether it can be changed?
4. What do studies of the brain suggest about sexual orientation?
5. Briefly summarize the research on the role of genetics on sexual orientation.
Module 54: Adulthood – Physical, Cognitive, and Social Development
1. Briefly summarize some of the major physical changes that occur during adulthood.
2. Briefly summarize some of the major changes that may occur in the aging brain.
3. Briefly summarize cognitive changes that occur as we age.