pro-social behavior such as helping and sharing in which the individual does not benefit directly from his or her behavior.
20. Alzheimer's disease: disease associated with aging characterized by gradual declines in memory, learning, attention, and judgment; confusion as to time and where one is; difficulties in communicating and finding the words one wants to use; declines in personal hygiene and self-care skills; inappropriate social behavior; and changes in personality.
21. amniocentesis: prenatal diagnostic technique that involves withdrawing a sample of amniotic fluid through the abdomen using a syringe.
22. amnion: inner sac in which the developing child rests.
23. amyloid: protein that is produced in abnormally high levels in Alzheimer's disease and that may be responsible for the neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques.
24. animism: crediting inanimate objects with life and life-like properties such as feelings.
25. anniversary reaction: changes in behavior related to feelings of sadness on the actual anniversary of a death.
26. anorexia nervosa: persistent refusal to eat, accompanied by an irrational fear of being overweight.
27. anoxia: lack of oxygen during delivery, typically because the umbilical cord becomes pinched or tangled during delivery.
28. anxiety disorders: problems such as feelings of severe anxiety for no apparent reason, phobias to specific things or places, and obsessive-compulsive disorders in which thoughts or actions are repeatedly performed.
29. appraise: to evaluate a situation to determine whether it exceeds a person's resources and is, therefore, stressful.
30. assimilation: according to Piaget, taking in information that is compatible with what one already knows.
31. assortative mating: theory of mating that states that people find partners based on their similarity to each other.
32. attachment: enduring social-emotional relationship between infants and ...