Chapter 2 Key Terms Flashcards
acculturation
children from a cultural minority groups face challenges adapting to their receiving culture
etiology
the study of the causes of disorders. With respect to childhood disorders, etiology considers how biological, psychological and environmental processes interact.
Developmental psychopathology
An approach to describing and studying disorders of childhood and adolescence in a manner that emphasizes the importance of developmental processes and tasks. This approach uses abnormal development to inform normal development and vice versa.
interdependent
applies to the assumption that abnormal child behaviour is determined by both the child and his or her environment and that these two factors are interconnected
Transaction
The process by which the subject and environment interact in a dynamic fashion to contribute to the expression of a disorder, and one cannot be separated from the other.
Continuity
A theoretical position for explaining development that proposes that normal and abnormal developmental changes are gradual and quantitative. Continuity theorists argue that development is an additive process that is ongoing rather than in distinct stages
Discontinuity
A theoretical position for explaining development that proposes that normal and abnormal developmental changes are abrupt and qualitative. Discontinuity theorists such as Piaget and Erickson, Argue that children pass through developmental stages which are qualitatively different from one another
Developmental Cascades
The process by which a child’s previous experiences and interactions may spread across other systems and alter his or her course of development
Epigenetics
the study of how behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way an individual’s genes work.
Adaptational Failure
Failure to master or progress in accomplishing specific developmental milestones
Organization of Development
The assumption that early patterns of adaptation evolve over time and transform into higher-order functions in a structured manner. For instance, infant eye contact and speech sounds evolve and transform into speech and language
Sensitive Periods
Windows of time during which environmental influences on development (both good and bad) are heightened, thus providing enhanced opportunities to learn.
Neural Plasticity
The malleable nature of the brain, evidenced throughout the course of development (use-dependent). Although infants are born with basic brain processes, experience leads to anatomical differentiation. That is, certain synapses of the brain are strengthened and stabilized. while others regress and disappear
Behavioural Genetics
A branch of genetics that investigates possible connections between a genetic predisposition and an observed behaviour
epigenetics
the underlying biological changes to genetic structure resulting from environmental factors such as toxins, diet, stress, and many others
Molecular Genetics
The methods of genetics that directly assess the association between variations in DNA sequences and Variations in particular trait(s). These methods offer more direct support for genetic influences on child psychopathology.
Frontal Lobes
Area of the brain located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere responsible for the functions underlying much of our thinking and reasoning abilities, including memory
epinephrine
a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that is released into the bloodstream in response to stress in order to energize and prepare the body for a possible threat. (produced by the adrenal glands)
cortisol
a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands
HPA Axis ( hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal)
A regulatory system of the brain made up of the hypothalamus control center and the pituitary and adrenal glands; it influences a person’s response to stress and his or her ability to regulate emotions.
Brain Circuits
Paths made up of clustered neurons that connect one part of the brain to another
Emotion Reactivity
A dimension of emotional processes associated with individual differences in the threshold and intensity of emotional experience
Emotion regulation
the process by which emotional arousal is redirected, controlled, or modified to facilitate adaptive functioning
Temperament
The child’s innate reactivity and self-regulation with respect to the domains of emotions, activity level, and attention; the child’s organized style of behaviour that appears early in development, such a fussiness or fearfulness, that shapes the child’s approach to his or her environment, and vice versa.
