chapter 2 (causes of childhood disorders) Flashcards
adaptive behaviour
thoughts, feelings, and actions that allow children to develop social, emotional, and behavioural competence over time and meet the changing demands of the environment.
alleles
alternative forms of a gene that are inherited or arise by mutation.
attachment
the affective bond between caregiver ad child that serves to protect and reassure the child in times of danger or uncertainty.
basal ganglia
brain region located under the cortex; they help to control movement, filter incoming information, relay information to other regions, and regulate attention and emotions.
behavioural epigenetics
a scientific field of study that examines the ways environmental experiences can affect genetic expression and be passed from one generation to the next.
behavioural genetics
an area of study that examines the relationship between genes and behaviour; chiefly interested in determining the heritability of traits or disorders.
brain stem
an evolutionarily old region of the brain responsible for many basic life-sustaining functions; consists of the medulla, pons, and midbrain.
cerebellum
a brain region located posteriorly (in the back); chiefly responsible for balance and coordination.
cerebral cortex
the outermost layer of the brain, consisting of the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.
chromosomes
threadlike strands of genes organized in 23 pairs in typically developing humans.
classical conditioning
type of learning in which two stimuli are paired together in time, and a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit an automatic, unconditioned response.
cognitive development
changes in a person’s capacity for perception, thought, language. and problem-solving.
concordance
used by behavioural geneticists to describe the probability that two people will both have a certain characteristic or disorder given that one has the characteristic.
developmental pathways
possible courses or trajectories of children’s behavioural, cognitive, or social-emotional development over time, ranging from adaptation to maladaptation.
developmental psychopathology
a multidisciplinary approach to studying adaptive and maladaptive development across the lifespan. according to this perspective, development is shaped by the complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors over time.
developmental tasks
behavioural, cognitive, or social-emotional challenges that children face at each age or developmental level.
diathesis-stress model
a broad theory that posits that a child will exhibit a disorder when she has both:
1. an underlying genetic risk for the disorder
2. an environmental experiences or life event that triggers its onset
ecological systems theory
a theory of child development that consists of concentric nested systems, each progressively more distal from the child: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem.
emotional development
the emergence and refinement of a person’s experience, expression, understanding, and regulation of feelings.
emotion regulation
the processes that people use to recognize, label, and control our feelings and our expression of these feelings.
equifinality
describes the phenomenon in which children with different developmental histories show a similar developmental outcome.
gene
thousands of nucleotides that form part of a chromosome; they are transferred from parent to offspring and influence the characteristics of those offspring.
gene-environment correlation model
the idea that our environments are partially influenced by our genotypes; there are three types of correlations:
1. passive
2. evocative
3. active
genotype
the genetic code that we inherit from our parents.
goodness-of-fit
the compatibility of a child’s temperament with the features of their environment, especially parenting behaviour.
heterotypic continuity
the phenomenon in which symptoms change over time, but their underlying pattern remains the same (ex; a boy’s ADHD symptoms change from childhood to adulthood, but he still has underlying problems with inhibition).
histones
proteins found in cells; they act as spools around which DNA winds; they regulate the expression of genes turning them “on” or “off.”
homotypic continuity
the phenomenon in which disorder persist over time relatively unchanged (ex: a boy with intellectual disability continues to have this disorder as an adult).
internal working model
in attachment theory, a mental representation of a caregiver that helps an individual cope with psychosocial stress.
learning theory
a broad explanation for the causes of behaviour that relies on classical conditioning, operant conditioning and modeling.
limbic system
located deep within the brain, responsible for emotional processing and memory; consists of the amygdala, hippocampus, and several other structures.
maladaptive behaviours
thoughts, feelings, and actions that interfere with children’s social, emotional, and behavioural competence or do not meet the changing demands of the environment.
molecular genetics
an area of scientific study that examines the relationship between genes and the presence or absence of characteristics and disorders.
multifinality
describes the phenomenon in which children with similar early experiences show different social, emotional, and behavioural outcomes.
neural plasticity
term used to describe the brain’s capacity to change its structure or functioning in response to environmental experience.
neurons
nerve cells; consist of dendrites, a cell body (soma), an axon, and terminal endings; relay information within themselves using electrical signals.
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that allow neurons to communicate with each other; examples are dopamine and serotonin.
nonshared environmental factors
experiences that differ between siblings (ex: different age, gender, friends, sports, or hobbies).
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which an action is associated with an environmental consequence, either reinforcement or punishment.
parenting types
a four-part classification of parenting behaviour based on its degree of responsiveness and demandingness:
1. authoritative
2. authoritarian
3. indulgent
4. uninvolved
phenotype
the observable expression of our genetic endowment.
probabilistic epigenesis
a principle of developmental psychology; refers to the manner in which genetic, biological, and social-cultural factors interact over time to influence (but not absolutely determine) development
protective factors
influences that buffer the negative effects of risks on children’s development and promote adaptive functioning.
punishment
inopérant conditioning, an environmental consequence that decreases the likelihood of future behaviour
reinforcement
in operant conditioning, an environmental consequence that increases the likelihood of future behaviour.
resilience
the tendency of some children to develop social, emotional, and behavioural competence despite the presence of multiple risk factors.
risk factors
influences on development that interfere with the acquisition of competencies or compromise children’s ability to adapt to their environments.
shared environment factors
environmental experiences common to siblings (ex: same parents, house, school).
social cognition
refers to a person’s capacity to think about social situations and to perceive, interpret, and solve interpersonal problems.
social learning theory
the idea that people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modeling
strange situation
a laboratory-based test of infant-caregiver attachment; can be used to determine attachment security.
synaptogensis
an increase in the number of neurons and connections between neurons; arises from maturation and experience.
temperament
an inborn tendency to organize and react to behaviour in response to environmental stimuli.
