CLEP Human Growth and Development key terms

A period of life marked by characteristic physical, cognitive, and social changes, such as infancy or adolescence. Researchers use stages to organize observations and compare individuals of similar age.

The long-running debate over whether heredity or environment contributes more to development. Most contemporary researchers treat both as interacting forces rather than competitors.

A contrast between gradual, quantitative growth and abrupt, qualitative change in stages. The same behavior, such as language, can look continuous in vocabulary size yet discontinuous in grammar.

A biological or social event that occurs at a similar age for most people in a culture, such as puberty or school entry. Such influences make development predictable across a cohort.

An event shared by a generation because of when it lived, such as a war or a technological shift. These influences explain differences between cohorts that age-graded influences cannot.

A difference between age groups caused by the eras in which they grew up rather than by aging itself. It is a major threat to interpreting cross-sectional comparisons.

A research plan that follows the same participants over time, measuring change within individuals. It reveals age-related change clearly but is costly and vulnerable to attrition and practice effects.

A research plan that compares different age groups measured at one point in time. It is fast and inexpensive but confuses age differences with cohort differences.

A combined research plan that tracks several cohorts longitudinally, allowing age, cohort, and time of measurement to be separated. It is the strongest common design for studying developmental change.

A limited window during which a developing system must receive certain experience for typical development to occur. Classic examples include early visual experience and first-language acquisition.

A time when the organism is especially responsive to particular experiences, though effects can still occur outside it. Language and attachment are often described this way rather than as strictly critical.

The capacity of the brain and behavior to change in response to experience. Plasticity is greatest early in life but persists in adulthood, supporting recovery and new learning.

The study of how environmental factors alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Such changes can persist and help explain how experience shapes development.

A statistic estimating the proportion of variation in a trait within a population that is attributable to genetic differences. It describes populations, not individuals, and depends on the environments studied.

Any agent, such as alcohol, certain drugs, or radiation, that can harm the developing embryo or fetus. Effects depend on timing, dose, and the individual's genetic susceptibility.

The period from conception to birth, divided into germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages. Major organ systems form early, making the embryonic stage especially vulnerable to harm.

A range of lifelong physical and cognitive effects caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Common features include characteristic facial traits, small head size, and learning or attention problems.

Two directions of physical growth: head-to-tail and center-to-outward. Infants gain control of the head before the legs and of the trunk before the fingers.

A notable achievement in movement, such as sitting, crawling, or walking, that most children reach in a predictable order. Timing varies widely, and skipping a milestone warrants attention.

The elimination of unused neural connections during development, which makes brain circuits more efficient. It follows a period of rapid synapse formation and continues into adolescence.

The formation of fatty sheaths around nerve fibers, which speeds neural transmission. It proceeds gradually through childhood and adolescence, supporting faster and more coordinated behavior.

The front region of the brain that supports planning, impulse control, and decision making. It matures later than many other regions, which helps explain adolescent risk taking.

In Piaget's theory, interpreting new information using existing mental schemes. A child who calls a zebra a horse is fitting the animal into a known category.

In Piaget's theory, adjusting existing schemes to fit new information. After learning what a zebra is, the child revises the category of striped animals.

A mental framework or organized pattern of knowledge used to interpret experience. Schemas guide attention and memory and change through assimilation and accommodation.

The understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight. Piaget placed its emergence in infancy, and later research suggests it appears earlier than he claimed.

Piaget's first stage, roughly birth to age two, when infants learn through senses and actions. Thinking is tied to the present, and object permanence develops near the end.

Piaget's second stage, roughly ages two to seven, marked by symbolic play and language but limited logic. Children are egocentric and often fail conservation tasks.

The understanding that quantity stays the same despite changes in appearance, such as pouring liquid into a taller glass. Piaget found it typically emerges in the concrete operational stage.

Difficulty taking another person's perspective. In Piaget's account, it is typical of young children; in adolescence, a related form appears as belief in a personal audience.

Piaget's third stage, roughly ages seven to eleven, when children reason logically about tangible situations. They master conservation and classification but struggle with abstract hypotheticals.

Piaget's fourth stage, beginning around age eleven, when abstract and hypothetical reasoning becomes possible. Not all adults use formal reasoning consistently across situations.

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance. Instruction is most effective when aimed at this range.

Temporary support from a more capable person that lets a learner complete a task beyond their independent level. Support is gradually withdrawn as competence grows.

Self-directed talk that children use to guide their own actions, later becoming silent inner speech. Vygotsky saw it as a tool of self-regulation rather than mere noise.

An enduring emotional bond between an infant and caregiver that shapes expectations about relationships. Its quality is often assessed with the strange situation procedure.

A structured laboratory procedure in which brief separations and reunions reveal patterns of infant attachment. Secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized patterns are commonly distinguished.

Early-appearing, relatively stable differences in emotional reactivity and self-regulation. Researchers often describe easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up patterns.

The match between a child's temperament and the demands and style of their environment. A good match supports adjustment, while a poor one can amplify difficulties.

A style combining warmth and clear, explained expectations with growing autonomy. It is consistently linked to better social and academic outcomes than permissive or authoritarian styles.

Eight stages, from trust versus mistrust in infancy to integrity versus despair in late life, each posing a social-emotional task. Successful resolution supports healthy development into the next stage.

Erikson's adolescent task of forming a coherent sense of self, including values and future direction. Exploration followed by commitment is associated with better adjustment.

Elkind's term for self-conscious adolescent thinking that includes the imaginary audience and personal fable. It can heighten risk taking and sensitivity to peer evaluation.

The transition from childhood to adulthood, marked by puberty and by growing independence. Brain maturation continues, especially in regions supporting planning and self-control.

The ability to attribute mental states, such as beliefs and desires, to oneself and others. It supports understanding that people can hold false beliefs.

A test of whether a child understands that another person can act on an incorrect belief. Passing it typically occurs around age four and indicates theory of mind.

A sequence moving from preconventional obedience and self-interest, to conventional conformity, to postconventional principle-based reasoning. Critics note cultural bias and a weak link between reasoning and action.

Two broad abilities: accumulated knowledge and skill, and reasoning speed and flexibility with novel problems. Crystallized ability tends to hold up in aging while fluid ability declines earlier.

A model of successful aging in which people choose achievable goals, practice the needed skills, and compensate for losses. It explains how functioning can be maintained despite decline.

The emotional response to loss and the period of adjustment that follows. Responses vary widely, and the old notion of fixed sequential stages is not well supported.