Psych Module 9 Terms

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas

adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years old) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from 2-7 years old) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

people's ideas about their own and other's mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from 7-11 years old) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (begins around age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

an emotional tie with another person: shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

a sense of one's identity and personal worth