GLOSSARY

sample Group of participants chosen to represent the entire population under study. (12)

sandwich generation Middle-aged adults squeezed by competing needs to raise or launch children and to care for elderly parents. (526)

scaffolding Temporary support given to a child who is mastering a task. (33)

schemes In Piaget's terminology, basic cognitive structures consisting of organized patterns of behavior used in different kinds of situations. (30, 121)

school phobia Unrealistic fear of going to school; may be a form of separation anxiety disorder. (320)

scientific method System of established principles and processes of scientific inquiry, including identification of a problem to be studied, formulation and testing of alternative hypotheses, collection and analysis of data, and public dissemination of findings so that other scientists can check, learn from, analyze, repeat, and build on the results. (12)

script General remembered outline of a familiar, repeated event, used to guide behavior. (207)

secondary aging Aging processes which result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and which are often preventable. Compare primary aging. (543)

secondary sex characteristics Physiological signs of sexual maturation (such as breast development and growth of body hair) that do not involve the sex organs. Compare primary sex characteristics. (333)

secular trend Trend that can be seen only by observing several generations, such as the trend toward earlier attainment of adult height and sexual maturity, which began a century ago. (332)

secure attachment Attachment pattern in which an infant can separate readily from the primary caregiver and actively seeks out the caregiver upon the caregiver's return. (160)

selective optimization with compensation In Baltes's dual-process model, strategy for maintaining or enhancing overall cognitive functioning by using stronger abilities to compensate for those which have weakened. (566)

self-actualization In Maslow's terminology, the highest in the hierarchy of human needs, the need to realize one's potential; can be achieved only after lower needs are met. (443)

self-awareness Realization that one's existence is separate from that of other people and things. (152)

self-care children Children who regularly care for themselves at home without adult supervision. (304)

self-concept Sense of self; descriptive and evaluative mental picture of one's abilities and traits. (168, 222)

self-definition Cluster of characteristics used to describe oneself. (223)

self-esteem The judgment a person makes about his or her self-worth. (225)

self-fulfilling prophecy Expectation or prediction of behavior that tends to come true because it leads people to act as if it were already true. (286)

self-help groups Groups of people who band together to meet a mutual need, usually for treatment, social support, or the solution of a problem. (615)

self-regulation Child's independent control of behavior to conform to understood social expectations. (169)

semantic memory Long-term memory of general factual knowledge, social customs, and language. (568)

senescence Period of the life span marked by changes in physical functioning associated with aging; begins at different ages for different people. (549)

sensorimotor stage In Piaget's theory, the first stage of cognitive development, during which infants (from birth to approximately 2 years) learn through their developing senses and motor activities. (121)

separation anxiety Distress shown by an infant when a familiar caregiver leaves. (167)

separation anxiety disorder Condition involving excessive, prolonged anxiety concerning separation from home or from people to whom a child is attached. (320)

seriation Ability to order items along a dimension. (271)

serious leisure Leisure activity requiring skill, attention, and commitment. (594)

sex chromosomes Pair of chromosomes that determines sex: XX in the normal female, XY in the normal male. (43)

sex differences Physical differences between males and females. (229)

sex-linked inheritance Pattern of inheritance in which certain characteristics carried on the X chromosome inherited from the mother are transmitted differently to her male and female offspring. (49)

sexual abuse Any kind of sexual contact between a child and an older person. (241)

sexual harassment Unwelcome sexual overtures, particularly from a superior at work, which create a hostile or abusive environment, causing psychological pressure. (498)

sexual orientation Focus of consistent sexual, romantic, and affectionate interest, either heterosexual or homosexual. (374)

sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) Diseases transmitted by sexual contact; also called venereal diseases. (345)

shaping In operant conditioning, a method of bringing about a new response by reinforcing responses that are progressively more like it. (28)

single representations In neo-Piagetian terminology, first stage in development of self-definition, in which children describe themselves in terms of individual, unconnected characteristics and in all-or-nothing terms. (223)

situational compliance In Kochanska's terminology, a toddler's obedience to a parent's orders only in the presence of prompting or other signs of ongoing parental control. (172)

slow-to-warm-up children Children whose temperament is generally mild but who are hesitant about accepting new experiences. (154)

small-for-date infants Infants whose birthweight, as a result of slow fetal growth, is less than that of 90 percent of babies of the same gestational age. (91)

social capital Family and community resources upon which a person can draw. (359)

social clock Set of cultural norms or expectations for the times of life when certain important events, such as marriage, parenthood, work, and retirement, should occur. (442)

social convoy theory Theory of aging, proposed by Kahn and Antonucci, which holds that reduction of social contacts in outer circles after retirement may be offset by new contacts within those circles, as well as by maintenance of an inner circle of relationships that provides dependable social support. (587)

social-learning theory Theory, proposed chiefly by Bandura, that behaviors are learned by observing and imitating models; also called social-cognitive theory. (28)

social play Play in which children, to varying degrees, interact with other children. (226)

social referencing Understanding an ambiguous situation by seeking out another person's perception of it. (166)

social speech Speech intended to be understood by a listener. (204)

socialization Process of developing the habits, skills, values, and motives shared by responsible, productive members of a particular society. (169)

socializing versus sexualizing in human relationships One of four adjustments of middle age described by Peck, in which other people are valued more as friends and companions than as sex objects. (508)

sociocultural theory Vygotsky's theory, which analyzes how specific cultural practices, particularly social interaction with adults, affect children's development. (32)

socioemotional selectivity theory Theory, proposed by Carstensen, that people select social contacts throughout life on the basis of the changing relative importance of social interaction as a source of information, as an aid in developing and maintaining a self-concept, and as a source of emotional well-being. (587)

spermarche Boy's first ejaculation. (335)

spillover hypothesis Hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between intellectuality of work and of leisure activities because of a carryover of learning from work to leisure. (500)

spontaneous abortion Natural expulsion from the uterus of a conceptus that cannot survive outside the womb; also called miscarriage. (63)

standardized norms Standards for evaluating performance of persons who take an intelligence test, obtained from scores of a large, representative sample who took the test while it was in preparation. (129)

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Individual intelligence test used with children to measure memory, spatial orientation, and practical judgment. (210)

state of arousal An infant's degree of alertness; his or her condition, at a given moment, in the periodic daily cycle of wakefulness, sleep, and activity. (100)

stereotype threat Minority-group members' fear of fulfilling racial stereotypes, which may, as a result of this fear, become self-fulfilling. (424)

Strange Situation Laboratory technique used to study attachment. (160)

stranger anxiety Wariness of strange people and places, shown by some infants during the second half of the first year. (167)

stress Organism's physiological and psychological reaction to demands made on it. (191)

substance abuse Repeated, harmful use of a substance, usually alcohol or other drugs. (342)

substance dependence Addiction (physical or psychological, or both) to a harmful substance. (342)

substantive complexity Degree to which a person's work requires thought and independent judgment. (500)

sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) Sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant. (98)

superego According to Freudian theory, the aspect of personality that represents socially approved values; it develops around the age of 5 or 6 as a result of identification with the parent of the same sex. (24)

surrogate motherhood Method of conception in which a woman who is not married to a man agrees to bear his baby and then give the child to the father and his mate. (461)

survival curves Curves, plotted on a graph, showing percentages of a population that survive at each age level. (547)

symbolic function In Piaget's terminology, ability to use mental representations (words, numbers, or images) to which a child has attached meaning; this ability, characteristic of preoperational thought, is shown in deferred imitation, symbolic play, and language. (195)

syntax Rules for forming sentences in a particular language. (138)

synthetic-conventional faith Third of Fowler's stages of faith development, in which adolescents or young adults form abstract belief systems, commit themselves to ideals, and seek a personal relationship with God but look to peers or community standards (as expressed in organized religions) for moral authority; many adults never move beyond this stage. (420)

tacit knowledge In Sternberg's terminology, information that is not formally taught or openly expressed but is necessary to get ahead; includes self-management and management of tasks and of others. (414)

temperament Person's characteristic disposition, or style of approaching and reacting to situations. (41)

teratogenic Capable of causing birth defects. (64)

terminal drop Sudden decrease in cognitive functioning shortly before death. (617)

thanatology Study of death and dying. (613)

theory Coherent set of related concepts that seeks to organize and explain data and to generate hypotheses to be tested by research. (20)

theory of mind Awareness and understanding of mental states and processes. (201)

timing-of-events model Theoretical model, advocated by Neugarten and others, which describes adult psychosocial development as a response to the expected or unexpected occurrence and timing of important life events. (441)

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking Tests designed to measure divergent thinking. (292)

transcendence of the body versus preoccupation with the body One of three adjustments to late adulthood described by Peck, in which people focus on mental and social activities not impeded by physical decline. (580)

transcendence of the ego versus preoccupation with the ego One of three adjustments to late adulthood described by Peck, in which people move beyond concern with self and accept death by focusing on contributions of lasting social value. (580)

transduction In Piaget's terminology, a preoperational child's tendency to mentally link particular experiences, whether or not there is logically a causal relationship. (199)

transitional objects Objects used repeatedly by a child as bedtime companions. (188)

transitive inference Understanding of the relationship between two objects by knowing the relationship of each to a third object. (272)

triangular theory of love Sternberg's theory that patterns of love hinge on the balance among three elements: intimacy, passion, and commitment. (446)

ultrasound Prenatal medical procedure using high-frequency sound waves to detect the outline of a fetus, judge gestational age, detect multiple pregnancies, detect abnormalities or death of the fetus, and determine whether the pregnancy is progressing normally. (73)

umbilical cord sampling Prenatal medical procedure in which samples of a fetus's blood are taken from the umbilical cord to assess body functioning. (73)

underemployment Condition in which a person's work is unrelated to, or does not fully utilize, his or her training, abilities, and skills. (425)

universalizing faith Sixth and last of Fowler's stages of faith development, in which a few adults in late life achieve a transcendent vision and commitment to human welfare so broad, unifying, transformative, and inspiring that they become moral and spiritual leaders or even martyrs. (420)

validity Capacity of a test to measure what it is intended to measure. (129)

valuing wisdom versus valuing physical powers One of four adjustments of middle age described by Peck, in which the ability to make choices informed by experience becomes more important than declining physical abilities. (508)

variable-rate theories Theories explaining biological aging as a result of processes that vary from person to person and are influenced by both internal and external factors; sometimes called error theories. Compare genetic-programming theories. (550)

vernix caseosa Oily substance on a neonate's skin that protects against infection. (85)

visible imitation Imitation with parts of one's body that one can see, such as the hands and the feet. (124)

visual cliff Apparatus designed to give an illusion of depth and used to assess depth perception in infants. (106)

visual novelty preference Infant's preference for new rather than familiar sights. (133)

visual preference An infant's tendency to look longer at certain stimuli than at others. (105)

visual recognition memory Ability to remember and recognize a visual stimulus. (133)

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Intelligence test for adults, which yields verbal and performance scores as well as a combined score. (485)

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) Individual intelligence test for schoolchildren, which yields verbal and performance scores as well as a combined score. (276)

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-R) Individual intelligence test for children ages 3 to 7, which yields verbal and performance scores as well as a combined score. (210)

working memory Short-term storage of information being actively processed. (274, 568)

zone of proximal development (ZPD) Vygotsky's term for the level at which children can almost perform a task on their own and, with appropriate teaching, can perform it. (32)

zygote One-celled organism resulting from fertilization. (40)