Glossary
Albert Bandura
A prominent psychologist known for his social learning theory, which emphasizes the importance of observational learning, imitation, and modeling.
Example:
Albert Bandura's Bobo doll experiment famously demonstrated how children learn aggressive behaviors by watching adults.
Anal stage
Freud's second psychosexual stage (1-3 years), where pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination, and the primary conflict involves toilet training.
Example:
A toddler asserting control over their bodily functions during toilet training is experiencing the challenges of the anal stage.
Attachment
A deep, enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space, providing a sense of security and comfort.
Example:
A baby crying when their parent leaves the room and being comforted upon their return demonstrates a strong emotional attachment.
Authoritarian parenting
A parenting style characterized by high demands and low responsiveness, where parents enforce strict rules, expect unquestioning obedience, and offer little warmth or explanation.
Example:
A parent who tells their child, 'Because I said so!' without further discussion when the child asks why they can't go out, is using authoritarian parenting.
Authoritative parenting
A parenting style characterized by high demands and high responsiveness, where parents set clear rules and expectations but also explain reasoning, encourage open communication, and provide warmth and support.
Example:
A parent who sets a curfew but explains the safety reasons behind it and listens to their teenager's concerns is practicing authoritative parenting.
Autonomy
According to Erik Erikson, the sense of independence and self-control that develops during toddlerhood as children learn to do things for themselves.
Example:
A two-year-old insisting on dressing themselves, even if it takes longer, is demonstrating their developing sense of autonomy.
Basic trust
According to Erik Erikson, the sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy, formed during infancy if needs are dependably met by responsive caregivers.
Example:
An infant whose cries are consistently met with comfort and feeding develops basic trust, believing their caregivers are reliable.
Bobo doll experiment
A classic study by Albert Bandura that demonstrated observational learning, showing that children are more likely to imitate aggressive behavior if they observe an adult acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll.
Example:
After watching an adult punch and kick the Bobo doll, children in the experiment were observed to mimic those exact aggressive actions.
Contact comfort
The physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from physical contact with a caregiver, which is crucial for healthy development and attachment.
Example:
When a child falls and scrapes their knee, the soothing hug from a parent provides contact comfort that helps them calm down.
Critical period
A specific, limited time frame during development when an organism is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli or experiences, and when particular abilities or behaviors are most easily acquired.
Example:
For language acquisition, there appears to be a critical period in early childhood, after which learning a native-like accent becomes much more difficult.
Diana Baumrind
A developmental psychologist known for her research on parenting styles and their impact on child development.
Example:
Diana Baumrind's work identified distinct patterns of parental behavior that correlate with different child outcomes.
Erik Erikson
A developmental psychologist who proposed a psychosocial theory of development, emphasizing the importance of social interactions and the resolution of psychosocial crises throughout the lifespan.
Example:
Erik Erikson's theory suggests that developing a sense of trust in infancy is fundamental for later healthy development.
Erogenous zone
According to Freud, a specific area of the body that is especially sensitive to stimulation and is the focus of pleasure during a particular psychosexual stage.
Example:
During the oral stage, the mouth is considered the primary erogenous zone because infants derive pleasure from sucking and biting.
Fixations
According to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved, potentially influencing adult personality traits.
Example:
Someone who constantly bites their nails or smokes heavily might, according to Freud, have an oral fixation from unresolved conflicts in the oral stage.
Genital stage
Freud's final psychosexual stage (puberty onward), where sexual urges reawaken and are directed toward mature, adult sexual relationships.
Example:
A teenager developing romantic interests and forming intimate relationships is characteristic of the genital stage.
Harry Harlow
A psychologist known for his controversial experiments with rhesus monkeys, which demonstrated the critical importance of contact comfort in the formation of attachment.
Example:
Harry Harlow's work showed that baby monkeys preferred a soft, cloth 'mother' over a wire one that provided food, highlighting the need for physical comfort.
Imprinting
A rigid, rapid, and irreversible learning process that occurs during a critical period in the early life of some animals, leading to a strong attachment to the first moving object they encounter.
Example:
A newly hatched duckling immediately following the first large moving object it sees, even if it's a human, is an example of imprinting.
Indulgent parenting
A subtype of permissive parenting where parents are highly involved and warm but set very few limits or demands, often giving in to their children's every whim.
Example:
A parent who buys their child every toy they ask for and never makes them do chores, despite being very loving, is engaging in indulgent parenting.
Insecure attachment
An attachment style characterized by a lack of consistent comfort or responsiveness from the caregiver, leading to patterns like avoidance of the caregiver, excessive clinging, or resistance to comfort upon reunion.
Example:
A child with insecure attachment might either ignore their parent upon their return or be inconsolably distressed and resistant to comfort, even when the parent tries to soothe them.
Konrad Lorenz
An ethologist famous for his studies on imprinting in geese, demonstrating that certain animals form strong, rapid attachments during a critical period early in life.
Example:
Konrad Lorenz famously had goslings follow him around as if he were their mother after they imprinted on him shortly after hatching.
Latent stage
Freud's fourth psychosexual stage (6 years to puberty), a period of dormant sexual feelings where children focus on social and intellectual development, redirecting energy into school and friendships.
Example:
During the latent stage, a child might be more interested in joining a sports team or learning a new skill than in romantic relationships.
Mary Ainsworth
A developmental psychologist who devised the 'strange situation' experiment to observe and categorize different attachment styles in infants.
Example:
Mary Ainsworth's research provided a systematic way to study how infants react to separation and reunion with their caregivers.
Mere exposure
The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases our liking for them, even without conscious awareness.
Example:
You might initially dislike a new song, but after hearing it repeatedly on the radio, you find yourself humming along and starting to enjoy it due to mere exposure.
Modeling
The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior, often from a respected or influential individual.
Example:
A younger sibling learning to tie their shoes by watching their older sibling perform the task is an example of modeling.
Neglectful parenting
A subtype of permissive parenting where parents are both low in demands and low in responsiveness, showing little involvement or interest in their child's life.
Example:
A child whose parents rarely know where they are or what they are doing, and provide minimal emotional support, is experiencing neglectful parenting.
Observation
In social learning theory, the act of watching and paying attention to others' behaviors and their consequences, which can lead to learning without direct experience.
Example:
A child learning to share toys after observation of their parents sharing food with friends demonstrates the power of social learning.
Oral stage
Freud's first psychosexual stage (birth to 1 year), where pleasure is centered on the mouth through activities like sucking, biting, and chewing.
Example:
A baby putting everything in their mouth, from toys to their own fingers, is characteristic of the oral stage.
Permissive parenting
A parenting style characterized by low demands and high responsiveness, where parents make few demands, set few limits, and are highly indulgent or lenient with their children.
Example:
A parent who rarely enforces rules and lets their child eat candy for dinner if they want to is demonstrating permissive parenting.
Phallic stage
Freud's third psychosexual stage (3-6 years), where pleasure focuses on the genitals, and children become aware of gender differences, leading to the Oedipus or Electra complex.
Example:
A young boy developing a strong attachment to his mother and viewing his father as a rival is a concept from the phallic stage.
Secure attachment
An attachment style characterized by an infant's confidence in their caregiver's availability and responsiveness, leading them to explore freely when the caregiver is present, show distress when they leave, and seek comfort upon their return.
Example:
A child with secure attachment might happily play with toys in a new room, occasionally checking in with their parent, and easily be soothed if they get upset.
Secure base
A concept describing the role of a primary caregiver as a reliable and safe haven from which an infant can explore the world and to which they can return for comfort.
Example:
A toddler confidently exploring a new playground, occasionally looking back at their parent for reassurance, is using their parent as a secure base.
Sigmund Freud
An Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who proposed a psychosexual theory of development, suggesting that personality is shaped by unconscious desires and conflicts during childhood stages.
Example:
Sigmund Freud's theories introduced concepts like the Oedipus complex and the importance of early childhood experiences.
Strange situation
A standardized laboratory procedure developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess the quality of attachment between an infant and their primary caregiver by observing their reactions to separations and reunions.
Example:
In the strange situation, a baby might cry when their mother leaves the room but quickly calm down upon her return, indicating a secure attachment.
Temperament
A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity, which appears early in life and is believed to have a biological basis.
Example:
Some babies are naturally 'easy' and adaptable, while others are 'difficult' and more reactive; this innate difference is their temperament.