GLOSSARY

habituation Simple type of learning in which familiarity with a stimulus reduces, slows, or stops a response. Compare dishabituation. (132)

handedness Preference for using a particular hand. (186)

heredity Inborn influences on development, carried on the genes inherited from the parents. (6)

heritability Statistical estimate of contribution of heredity to individual differences in a trait within a given population. (52)

heterosexual Describing a person whose sexual orientation is toward the other sex. (374)

heterozygous Possessing two differing alleles for a trait. (44)

holophrase Single word that conveys a complete thought. (137)

hierarchy of needs Maslow's rank order of needs that motivate human behavior. (443)

homosexual Describing a person whose sexual orientation is toward the same sex. (374)

homozygous Possessing two identical alleles for a trait. (44)

horizontal décalage In Piaget's terminology, a child's inability to transfer learning about one type of conservation to other types, because of which the child masters different types of conservation tasks at different ages. (271)

hospice care Warm, personal patient- and family-centered care for a person with a terminal illness. (614)

hostile aggression Aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person. (249)

human development Scientific study of quantitative and qualitative ways in which people change and stay the same over time. (3)

humanistic perspective View of personality development that sees people as having the ability to foster their own positive, healthy development through the distinctively human capacities for choice, creativity, and self-realization. (442)

hypertension High blood pressure. (480)

hypotheses Possible explanations for phenomena, used to predict the outcome of research. (12)

hypothetical-deductive reasoning Ability to develop, consider, and test hypotheses; believed by Piaget to accompany the stage of formal operations. (349)

id In Freudian theory, the instinctual aspect of personality, present at birth, which operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification. (24)

ideal self The self one would like to be. Compare real self. (223)

identification In Freudian theory, the process by which a young child adopts characteristics, beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors of the parent of the same sex. (231)

identity accommodation In Whitbourne's terminology, adjusting the self-concept to fit new experience. Compare identity assimilation. (577)

identity achievement Identity status, described by Marcia, which is characterized by commitment to choices made following a crisis, a period spent in exploring alternatives. (370)

identity assimilation In Whitbourne's terminology, the effort to fit new experience into an existing self-concept. Compare identity accommodation. (577)

identity diffusion Identity status, described by Marcia, which is characterized by absence of commitment and lack of serious consideration of alternatives. (371)

identity status In Marcia's terminology, a person's state of ego development, dependent on the presence or absence of crisis and commitment. (370)

identity styles In Whitbourne's terminology, individuals' characteristic ways of confronting, interpreting, and responding to experience. (577)

identity versus identity (or role) confusion In Erikson's theory, the fifth crisis in psychosocial development, in which an adolescent seeks to develop a coherent sense of self, including the role she or he is to play in society. (369)

imaginary audience In Elkind's terminology, an observer who exists only in an adolescent's mind and is as concerned with the adolescent's thoughts and actions as the adolescent is. (351)

imaginative play Play involving imaginary people or situations; also called fantasy play, dramatic play, or pretend play. (227)

implicit memory Long-term memory, generally of motor skills, habits, and procedures, that does not require conscious recall; sometimes called procedural memory. Compare explicit memory. (207)

imprinting Instinctive form of learning in which, during a critical period in early development, a young animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees, usually the mother. (31)

in vitro fertilization Fertilization of an ovum outside the mother's body. (460)

independent variable In an experiment, the condition over which the experimenter has direct control. Compare dependent variable. (18)

individual psychotherapy Psychological treatment in which a therapist sees a troubled person one on one, to help the patient gain insight into his or her personality, relationships, feelings, and behavior. (320)

individuative-reflective faith The fourth of Fowler's stages of faith development, in which adults examine their faith critically and formulate their own beliefs, independent of external authority or group norms. (420)

industry versus inferiority In Erikson's theory, the fourth crisis in psychosocial development, occurring during middle childhood, in which children must learn the productive skills their culture requires or else face feelings of inferiority. (299)

infant mortality rate Proportion of babies born who die in the first year of life. (97)

infertility Inability to conceive after 12 to 18 months of trying. (459)

information-processing approach Approach to the study of cognitive development by observing and analyzing the mental processes involved in perceiving and handling information, which underlie intelligent behavior. (31, 119)

initiative versus guilt In Erikson's theory, the third crisis in psychosocial development, occurring between the ages of 3 and 6, in which children must balance the urge to pursue goals with the moral reservations that may prevent carrying them out. (225)

instrumental activities of daily living Everyday activities, competence in which is considered a measure of the ability to live independently; these activities include managing finances, shopping for necessities, using the telephone, obtaining transportation, preparing meals, taking medication, and housekeeping. (564)

instrumental aggression Aggressive behavior used as a means of achieving a goal. (249)

intelligent behavior Behavior that is goal-oriented (conscious and deliberate) and adaptive to circumstances and conditions of life. (118)

interiority In Neugarten's terminology, concern with inner life (introversion or introspection), which usually appears in middle age. (509)

internalization Process by which children accept societal standards of conduct as their own; fundamental to socialization. (169)

intimacy versus isolation In Erikson's theory, the sixth crisis in psychosocial development, in which young adults either make commitments to others or face a possible sense of isolation and consequent self-absorption. (437)

intuitive-projective faith First of Fowler's stages of faith development, in which young children (ages 18--24 months to 7 years) form powerful, often terrifying images of supernatural forces drawn from stories adults read to them. (420)

invisible imitation Imitation with parts of one's body that one cannot see, such as the mouth. (124)

IQ (intelligence quotient) tests Psychometric tests that seek to measure how much intelligence a person has by comparing her or his performance with standardized norms. (129)

irreversibility In Piaget's terminology, a limitation on preoperational thought, consisting of failure to understand that an operation can go in two or more directions. (199)

karyotype Chart in which photographs of a person's chromosomes, made through a microscope, are arranged according to size and structure to reveal any chromosomal abnormalities. (53)

Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) Nontraditional individual intelligence test for children ages 2{fr,1/2} to 12{fr,1/2}, which seeks to provide fair assessments of minority children and children with disabilities. (276)

kinship care Care of children living without parents in the home of grandparents or other relatives, with or without a change of legal custody. (533)

laboratory observation Research method in which the behavior of all participants is noted and recorded in the same situation, under controlled conditions. Compare naturalistic observation. (13)

language Communication system based on words and grammar. (134)

language acquisition device (LAD) In Chomsky's terminology, an inborn mechanism that enables children to infer linguistic rules from the language they hear. (140)

lanugo Fuzzy prenatal body hair, which drops off within a few days after birth. (85)

learning Long-lasting change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience. (26)

learning disabilities (LDs) Disorders that interfere with specific aspects of learning and school achievement. (290)

learning perspective View of human development which holds that changes in behavior result from experience, or adaptation to the environment; the two major branches are behaviorism and social-learning theory. (26)

life expectancy Age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live (given his or her current age and health status), on the basis of average longevity of a population. (545)

life review Reminiscence about one's life in order to see its significance. (638)

life-span development Concept of development as a lifelong process, which can be studied scientifically. (10)

life structure In Levinson's theory, the underlying pattern of a person's life at a given time, built on whatever aspects of life the person finds most important. (439)

lifelong learning Organized, sustained study by adults of all ages. (571)

linguistic speech Verbal expression designed to convey meaning. (137)

literacy Ability to read and write. (134)

living will Document specifying the type of care wanted by the maker in the event of terminal illness. (634)

longevity Length of an individual's life. (545)

longitudinal study Study design in which data are collected about the same people over a period of time, to assess developmental changes that occur with age. Compare cross-sectional study. (19)

low birthweight Weight of less than 5{fr,1/2} pounds at birth because of prematurity or being small for date. (91)

major depressive disorder Mental disorder lasting at least 2 weeks, in which a person shows extreme sadness, loss of pleasure or interest in life, and such other symptoms as weight changes, insomnia, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, loss of memory, inability to concentrate, and thoughts of death or suicide. (561)

marital capital Financial and emotional benefits built up during a long-standing marriage, which tend to hold a couple together. (519)

maternal blood test Prenatal diagnostic procedure to detect the presence of fetal abnormalities, used particularly when the fetus is at risk for defects in the central nervous system. (72)

maturation Unfolding of an often age-related sequence of physical changes and behavior patterns, including the readiness to master new abilities. (6)

mechanics of intelligence In Baltes's dual-process model, the abilities to process information and solve problems, irrespective of content; the area of cognition in which there is often an age-related decline. Compare pragmatics of intelligence. (566)

meconium Fetal waste matter, excreted during the first few days after birth. (85)

menarche Girl's first menstruation. (335)

menopause Cessation of menstruation and of ability to bear children, typically around age 50. (474)

mental flexibility versus mental rigidity One of four adjustments of middle age described by Peck, in which people either continue to seek answers to life's important questions or become closed-minded and set in their ways. (509)

mental retardation Significantly subnormal cognitive functioning. (288)

metacommunication Understanding of the processes involved in communication. (280)

metamemory Understanding of processes of memory. (274)

Metamemory in Adulthood (MIA) Questionnaire designed to measure various aspects of adults' metamemory, including beliefs about their own memory and selection and use of strategies for remembering. (569)

midlife crisis In some normative-crisis models, stressful life period precipitated by the review and reevaluation of one's past, typically occurring in the early to middle forties. (506)

mnemonic strategies Techniques to aid memory. (274)

monozygotic twins Twins resulting from the division of a single zygote after fertilization; also called identical twins. (41)

morality of autonomous moral principles Third level in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning, in which people follow internally held moral principles of right, fairness, and justice, and can decide among conflicting moral standards. (352)

morality of constraint First of Piaget's two stages of moral development, characterized by rigid, simplistic judgments. (272)

morality of conventional role conformity Second level in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning, in which the standards of authority figures are internalized. (352)

morality of cooperation Second of Piaget's two stages of moral development, characterized by flexible, subtle judgments and formulation of one's own moral code. (272)

moratorium Identity status, described by Marcia, in which a person is currently considering alternatives (in crisis) and seems headed for commitment. (370)

mother-infant bond Mother's feeling of close, caring connection with her newborn. (156)

mourning Behavior of the bereaved and the community after a death, including culturally accepted customs and rituals. (618)

multifactorial transmission Interaction of genetic and environmental factors to produce certain complex traits. (44)

mutual regulation Process by which infant and caregiver communicate emotional states to each other and respond appropriately. (165)

mythic-literal faith Second of Fowler's stages of faith development, in which children (ages 7 to 12 years) develop a logically coherent view of the universe based on literal acceptance of religious stories and symbols. (420)

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