| A | B |
|---|
| development | ): The more-or-less predictable changes in behavior associated with increasing age. |
| maturation | Systematic physical growth of the body, including the nervous system. A sense of readiness both physically and cognitively. |
| imprinting | A form of early learning that occurs in some animals during a critical period. |
| critical period | A biologically determined period in the life of some animals during which certain forms of learning can take place most easily. |
| early experiences | Experiences occurring very early in development, believed by some to have lasting effects. |
| stage | One of several time periods in development that is qualitatively distinct from the periods that come before and after. |
| neonatal period | The first two weeks of life following birth. |
| sensorimotor stage | In Piaget’s theory, the period of cognitive development from birth to 2 years old. |
| object permanence | ): The understanding that objects continue to exist when they are not in view. |
| attachments | ): The psychological bond between infant and caregivers. |
| separation anxiety | The distress experienced by infants when they are separated from their caregivers. |
| preoperational stage | In Piaget’s theory, the period of cognitive development from ages 2-7. |
| egocentric | The self-oriented quality in the thinking of preoperational children. |
| animism | The egocentric belief of preoperational children that inanimate objects are alive like children. |
| transductive reasoning | Errors in understanding cause-and-effect relationships that are commonly made by preoperational children. |
| concrete operational stage | In Piaget’s theory, the period of cognitive development from ages 7-11. |
| conservation | The concept understood by concrete operational children that quantity does not change just because shape or other superficial features have changed. |
| adolescence | The period from the onset of puberty until the beginning of adulthood. |
| puberty | ): The point in development at which the individual is first physically capable of sexual reproduction. |
| formal operational stage | In Piaget’s theory, the period of intellectual development usually reached by about age 11 and characterized by the ability to use abstract concepts. |
| adolescent egocentrism | ): The quality of thinking that leads some adolescents to believe that they are the focus of attention in social situations, to believe that their problems are unique, to be unusually hypocritical. |
