Developmental Review
Name: ___________________________
PART A: VOCABULARY MATCHING
fetus, teratogens, rooting reflex, schemas, assimilation, cognition, sensorimotor, object permanence,
preoperational, conservation, egocentrism, concrete operational, formal operational, stranger anxiety,
critical period, imprinting, basic trust, self-concept, adolescence, puberty, menarche, identity, intimacy,
menopause, Alzheimer’s disease, maturation, crystallized intelligence, fluid intelligence, social clock,
attachment, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), accommodation, zygote, embryo, developmental psychology
1. Developmental Psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with physical, cognitive, and social change
throughout the life span.
2. The zygote (a term derived from the Greek word for “joint”) is the fertilized egg, that is, the cluster of cells formed
during conception by the union of sperm and egg.
3. The embryo is the developing prenatal organism from about 2 weeks through 2 months after conception.
4. The fetus is the developing prenatal human from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
5. Teratogens (literally, poisons) are, any drugs, viruses, or other substances that cross the mother’s placenta and can
harm the developing embryo or fetus.
6. The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to the physical and cognitive abnormalities that heavy drinking by a pregnant
woman may cause in the developing child.
7. The rooting reflex is the newborn’s tendency, when his or her cheek is stroked, to orient toward the stimulus and begin
sucking.
8. In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, schemas are mental concepts that organize and interpret information.
9. In Piaget’s theory, assimilation refers to interpreting a new experience in terms of an existing schema.
10. In Piaget’s theory, accomodation refers to changing an existing schema to incorporate new information that cannot be
assimilated.
11. Cognition refers to the mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
12. In Piaget’s theory of cognitive stages, the sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to about age 2. During this stage, infants
gain knowledge of the world through their senses and their motor activities.
13. Object permanence, which develops during the sensorimotor stage, is the awareness that things do not cease to exist
when not perceived.
14. In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational stage lasts from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age. During this stage, language
development is rapid, but the child is unable to understand the mental operations of concrete logic.
15. Conservation is the principle that properties such as number, volume, and mass remain constant despite changes in
the forms of objects; it is acquired during the concrete operational stage.
16. In Piaget’s theory, egocentrism refers to the difficulty that preoperational children have in considering another’s
viewpoint. “Ego” means “self,” and “centrism” indicates “in the center”; the preoperational child is “self-centered.”
17. Our ideas about our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and perceptions and the behaviors these might predict
constitute our basic trust
18. During the concrete operational stage, lasting from about ages 6 or 7 to 11, children can think logically about
concrete events and objects.
19. In Piaget’s theory, the formal operational stage normally begins about age twelve. During this stage people begin to
think logically about abstract concepts. Memory aid: To help differentiate Piaget’s stages remember that “operations” are
mental transformations. Preoperational children, who lack the ability to perform transformations, are “before” this
developmental milestone. Concrete operational children can operate on real, or concrete, objects. Formal operational
children can perform logical transformations on abstract concepts.
20. Stranger anxiety is the fear of strangers that infants begin to display at about 8 months of age.
21.Attachment is an emotional tie with another person, shown in young children by their seeking closeness to a caregiver
and showing distress on separation.
22. A critical period is a limited time shortly after birth during which an organism must be exposed to certain experiences
or influences if it is to develop properly.
23. Imprinting is the process by which certain animals form attachments early in life, usually during a limited critical
period.
24. Self-concept is a person’s sense of identity and personal worth.
25. Adolescence refers to the life stage from puberty to independent adulthood, denoted physically by a growth spurt
and maturation of primary and secondary sex characteristics, cognitively by the onset of formal operational thought, and
socially by the formation of identity.
26. Puberty is the early adolescent period of’ sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproduction.
27. In Erikson’s theory, establishing an identity , or one’s sense of self, is the primary task of adolescence.
28. In Erikson’s theory, intimacy , or the ability to establish close, loving relationships, is the primary task of late
adolescence and early adulthood.
29. Menopause is the cessation of menstruation and typically occurs in the early fifties. It also refers to
the biological and psychological changes experienced during a woman’s years of declining ability to reproduce.
30. Alzheimers disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disorder caused by deterioration of neurons that produce
acetylcholine. It is characterized by a gradual loss of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.
31. Crystallized intelligence refers to those aspects of intellectual ability, such as vocabulary and general knowledge, that
reflect accumulated learning. This tends to increase with age.
32. Fluid intelligence refers to a person’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly. This tends to decline with age.
33. The social clock refers to the culturally preferred timing of social events, such as leaving home, marrying, having
children, and retiring.
PART B: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. Assume a person has the schema, “Abstract art is easy to make; any child could do it.” Then, they are confronted with a
scenario in which they are asked to create abstract art and find that their painting is not very good.
If they assimilate, they might think…
I’m really incompetent. I’m having a bad day.
If they accommodate, they might think…
Abstract art is more difficult than I thought.
2. Give an example of a statement that each of the following types of parents might say to their children:
Authoritative:
Let’s talk about it.
Authoritarian:
Because I said so.
Permissive:
Ok. Sure. Whatever you want.
3. Into which stage of Piaget’s developmental theory do each of the following fit:
a) A child saying “that’s my star in the sky!” Preoperational (he is egocentric but can talk)
b) A child getting anxious if someone other than their parent holds them. Sensorimotor (this is stranger anxiety)
c) The ability to do a liquid conservation test. Concrete operational OR Formal Operational
d) The ability to pretend. At least preoperational, but they can continue to do this (and reason even better) in concrete
and formal
e) The ability to add, subtract, and do multiplication tables. At least concrete operational
4. What type of development did each of the stage theorists that we discussed focus on?
a) Erikson: Social / Psychosocial
b) Kohlberg: Moral
c) Piaget: Cognitive
According to these three theorists, at what stages of development would a three year old be?
Initiative v. guilt; preconventional, preoperational
According to these three theorists, at what stage of development would a fourteen year old be?
Identity v. role confusion, conventional (maybe), and formal operational (probably)
5. What was the specific relevance of Harry Harlow’s experiments?
Social interaction is necessary for proper psychological development and soft, warm contact is more important than
nourishment in forming an attachment.
6. What did Mary Ainsworth conclude from her research on types of attachment?
- Secure attachment predicts social competence
- Deprivation of attachment is linked to negative outcomes
7. Give an example of a problem that you’d use your:
a) crystallized intelligence to solve
-child who has just learned to add numbers now owns a new piece of crystallized intelligence
b) fluid intelligence to solve
-recognizing patterns
Which type of intelligence fades with age?
fluid decreases, crystallized intelligence continues to increase
8. Describe some of the physical changes associated with aging and adulthood
- decrease in hearing, sight, smell, taste; more difficult to move around; menopause
9. If you’re looking for a mate to share the rest of your life with, what kind of characteristics should you seek?
- similar interests and moral values
- loyalty
- emotional & material shared support
- self-disclosure
10. What are some major problems associated with nursing homes?
- less privacy, treated like children, guilt associated with visiting
- crowded, no individuality, less communication with family
PART C: STAGE THEORIES
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Name of the Stage
Age of the Child
1. Sensorimotor
0-2
2. Preoperational
2-6/7
3. Concrete Operational
6/7- 12
4. Formal Operational
12+
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
Name of the Stage
1. Preconventional
2. Conventional
3. Postconventional
Characterized by:
desire to avoid punishment or gain reward
primary concern is to fit in and play the role of a good
citizen (rules and laws)
universal ethical principles that represent the rights or
obligations of all people
Kubler-Ross’ Stages of Death & Dying
Name of the Stage
Characterized by:
1. Denial
This can’t be happening
2. Anger
Why me? It’s not fair!
3. Bargaining
I’ll do anything for a few more days…
4. Depression
I’m so sad…why bother?
5. Acceptance
It’s going to be okay
Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial/Social Development
Name of the Stage
1. Infancy
2. Toddlerhood
3. Preschooler
4. Elementary school
5. Adolescence
6. Young adulthood
7. Middle adulthood
8. Late adulthood
Crisis
trust vs mistrust
autonomy vs shame & doubt
initiative vs guilt
competence vs inferiority
identity vs role confusion
intimacy vs isolation
generativity vs stagnation
integrity vs despair
PART D: PSYCHOLOGISTS
In one word or two, describe the contributions of the following psychologists to the field of Developmental Psychology
a) Jean Piaget: cognitive development
b) Mary Ainsworth: attachment
c) Harry Harlow: contact comfort (monkeys)
d) Konrad Lorenz: imprinting (ducks)
e) Diana Baumrind: parenting styles
f) Erik Erikson: social development
g) Lawrence Kohlberg: moral development
h) Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: death/dying
i) Laura Carstenson: declines for neutral not emotional stimuli
j) Warner Schaie: flexible attitude