In the selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model of successful aging, the process of setting personal goals for a given period of your life.

Bowlby’s theory of the ways in which bonds of attachment between parent and child have a lifelong impact on the child.

A strong emotional bond between two people, especially a child and a caretaker, such as a parent.

An attachment style in which an infant experiences conflicting emotions: a desire for closeness with the mother combined with worry and anger toward the parent.

The field of study that explores human psychological development from the start of life through old age.

The mental ability to suppress one’s emotions and impulsive behaviors that are undesired or inappropriate.

In the selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model of successful aging, the process of devising plans to achieve goals you set.

A tendency to experience little fear and to act in a spontaneous and sociable manner.

In Piaget’s theory of child development, a period of months or years during which one form of given thinking is predominant.

In Piaget’s theory of child development, the stage (ages 7 to 11) in which children can perform reversible logical operations (e.g., basic arithmetic) limited to “concrete” objects that actually exist.

According to Marcia, the identity status of people who know their role in life and prospective future occupation, but feel these were imposed on them by others.

Autism spectrum disorder, a range of symptoms whose central features include impaired communication and social interaction with other people.

The period between childhood and adulthood; roughly the teenage years.

In Piagetian psychology, the recognition that an object maintains some of its essential physical properties even when it is physically transformed.

Growth in reasoning about personal rights, responsibilities, and social obligations regarding the welfare of others.

A person’s overall sense of self-worth.

In the selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model of successful aging, the identification of alternative strategies to achieve goals, if at first you don’t succeed.

According to Kohlberg, a period of development during which a person’s moral reasoning is consistently organized around a single way of thinking.

For a given psychological process, a span of time early in life during which a psychological process must occur if it is ever to develop.

In Piagetian theory, a cognitive process in which one understands an object or event by incorporating it into a preexisting schema.

People’s overall understanding of themselves, their role in society, their strengths and weaknesses, their history, and their future potential.

In Piaget’s theory of child development, the stage (ages 2 to 7) in which children can use mental symbols, such as words and numbers, to think, yet still cannot perform logical operations.

According to Marcia, the identity status achieved by people who have deeply contemplated life options and are committed to a career path based on their values.

A biologically based psychological quality possessed by all children to a greater or lesser degree, such as emotionality, activity, or sociability.

The varying feelings people may have about themselves when thinking about different aspects of their lives.

In Piaget’s theory of child development, the stage (birth to 2 years) in which a child interacts with the world through his or her sensory and motor systems.

Developmental influence in which parents’ interactions with one sibling affect treatment of a second sibling.

The time when a child reaches sexual maturity and is biologically capable of reproduction.

A narrative understanding of the major events and themes of one’s life.

Biologically based emotional and behavioral tendencies on which individuals differ.

The ability to act in a manner consistent with long-term goals and values, even when one feels an impulse to act differently.

A tendency to experience high levels of distress and fear, especially in unfamiliar situations or in the presence of unfamiliar people.

Growth in ability to function effectively in the social world, especially by controlling emotions, maintaining relationships, and establishing a personal identity.

The attachment style in which a child has a positive relationship with his or her mother, with a sense of security that enables the child to explore the world, confident of the mother’s comfort.

In Marcia’s theory, four different approaches to coping with the challenge of establishing a personal identity.

A phenomenon in some species in which newborns fix attention upon, and follow, the first moving object they encounter.

The attachment style in which a child reacts to a parent in a relatively indifferent manner; the child does not count on the parent as a source of security and comfort.

People’s personal identification with the ethnic group to which they belong.

The field of study that explores the ways people change, and remain the same, across the course of life.

In Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development, the region between a child’s current level of independent cognitive development and the level he or she can achieve only through interaction with others.

A mental structure that makes organized, meaningful action possible.

A person’s overall sense of self-worth.

A phenomenon in which older adults pay more attention to positive information when recalling and contemplating personal experiences.

In Piagetian theory, a cognitive process in which a schema is modified as response to feedback from the environment.

Growth in intellectual capabilities, particularly during the early years of life.

Developmental influence involving one-on-one interactions between siblings.

The capacity to retain or recover psychological functioning after negative experiences.

A way of explaining developmental events (e.g., behavioral changes at puberty) in which the impact of biology on behavior is said to depend on social experiences.

According to Marcia, the identity status of people who feel directionless, with no firm sense of where they’re headed in life.

A model of successful aging that identifies three psychological processes that promote positive personal development: selection, optimization, and compensation.

Characteristic ways in which children and parents interact and relate to one another emotionally.

According to Marcia, the identity status of people who contemplate many life options but are unable to commit to any one set of goals.

An intuitive understanding that other people have feelings and thoughts.

Actions that directly benefit others, such as comforting those in distress.

A behavioral measure of attachment style in which researchers record a child’s responses to a sequence of events in which the mother and child interact, are separated, and reunite.

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they can no longer be seen or otherwise perceived.

In Piagetian theory, a reversible action that modifies an object or set of objects, either physically or conceptually.

Beliefs about the characteristics of oneself and the ways in which one differs from other people.

The period of life in the late teens and early 20s (roughly 18 to 25) experienced by people who have the rights and psychological independence of adulthood but do not yet have the obligations and responsibilities of family life.

A lifespan developmental theory of motivational processes that explains how perceptions of the amount of time remaining in life affect motivation.

In Piaget’s theory of child development, the stage (age 11 to adulthood) in which children can execute mental operations on both actual objects and hypothetical ones, using abstract rules.