CLEP Human Growth and Development flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Zygote

The single cell formed when sperm and egg fuse at conception; it contains the full set of 46 chromosomes and begins dividing within hours as it travels toward the uterus.

Embryonic period

Weeks 3 through 8 after conception, when the major organ systems form. It is the period of greatest vulnerability to structural damage from teratogens such as alcohol or rubella.

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight. Infants typically develop it near the end of the sensorimotor stage, roughly 8 to 12 months of age.

Conservation

The recognition that quantity, mass, or volume stays the same despite changes in appearance. It is generally achieved in Piaget's concrete operational stage, around age 7.

Egocentrism

Piaget's term for a young child's difficulty taking another person's spatial or mental perspective, illustrated by the three-mountains task during the preoperational stage.

Theory of mind

The ability to attribute beliefs, desires, and intentions to others and to recognize that others can hold false beliefs; typically emerges around age 4.

Scaffolding

Vygotsky's concept of adjusting support to a learner's current level, then gradually withdrawing it as competence grows, working within the zone of proximal development.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with guidance from a more capable person.

Temperament

Inborn, relatively stable patterns of reactivity and self-regulation. Chess and Thomas described easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up types; goodness of fit with caregivers affects adjustment.

Strange situation

Ainsworth's structured laboratory procedure with separations and reunions used to classify infant attachment as secure, avoidant, resistant, or disorganized.

Authoritative parenting

A style combining high warmth with firm, explained limits. It is associated with the best outcomes in children: self-regulation, social competence, and academic achievement.

Identity crisis

Erikson's fifth psychosocial stage, central in adolescence, in which the person explores roles and values to form a coherent sense of self or remains confused.

Moral development

Kohlberg's progression from preconventional (punishment, self-interest) to conventional (approval, law and order) to postconventional (social contract, universal principles) reasoning about right and wrong.

Menarche

A girl's first menstrual period, typically occurring between ages 11 and 14 in the later part of the pubertal growth spurt; earlier onset is linked to body fat and stress.

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that tend to hold steady or increase into middle and late adulthood, in contrast with fluid intelligence.

Fluid intelligence

The capacity for rapid reasoning and novel problem solving, which peaks in early adulthood and gradually declines with age, especially on speeded tasks.

Cross-sectional design

A research design comparing different age groups at a single point in time. It is fast but cannot separate age effects from cohort differences.

Longitudinal design

A research design following the same individuals over years or decades. It tracks individual change but risks attrition, practice effects, and costly time demands.

Teratogen

Any environmental agent, such as alcohol, drugs, infection, or radiation, that can cause prenatal harm; effects depend on dose, timing, and genetic susceptibility.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

A range of physical and cognitive impairments caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, including facial anomalies and intellectual disability; it is entirely preventable by avoiding alcohol during pregnancy.

Synaptic pruning

The experience-dependent elimination of unused neural connections, which increases processing efficiency; it occurs most actively in early childhood and again in adolescence.

Assimilation

In Piaget's theory, interpreting new experience using existing mental schemas, such as calling a zebra a horse because it has four legs and stripes.

Accommodation

In Piaget's theory, modifying an existing schema or creating a new one to fit information that does not match current understanding.

Separation anxiety

Distress at being apart from a primary caregiver, typically appearing around 7 to 8 months and peaking in toddlerhood before gradually declining.

Gender constancy

The understanding that gender remains stable across time and situations; Kohlberg proposed it develops in stages, with full constancy reached around age 6 or 7.

Generativity

Erikson's midlife task of contributing to the next generation through parenting, mentoring, or productive work, as opposed to stagnation and self-absorption.

Empty nest

The period after children leave home; research generally finds marital satisfaction and well-being improve or hold steady rather than decline for most parents.

Disengagement theory

The classic view that successful aging involves mutual withdrawal between older adults and society; it is largely contradicted by evidence favoring continued activity.

Socioemotional selectivity theory

Carstensen's theory that as perceived time left in life shrinks, people prioritize emotionally meaningful goals and close relationships over information-seeking ones.

Kübler-Ross stages

Five reactions to dying or loss described as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance; they are descriptive patterns, not a fixed sequence everyone follows.

Resilience

The capacity to adapt well after adversity, supported by factors such as a warm caregiver, self-regulation skills, and community resources.

Erikson's intimacy stage

The young-adulthood psychosocial task of forming close, committed relationships; success yields love, while failure yields isolation and fear of commitment.