Chapter 2 Models of Child Development Flashcards
Dimensional models of psychopathology
Models that emphasize the ways in which typical feelings, thoughts, and behaviors gradually become more serious problems, which then may intensify and become clinically diagnosable disorders.
Categorical models of psychopathology
Models that emphasize discrete and qualitative differences in individual patterns of emotion, cognition, and behavior.
Physiological models
Models of psychopathology that emphasize biological processes, such as genes and neurological systems, as being at the core of human experience; physiological models explain the development of psychopathology, its course, and its treatment in terms of biological factors.
Connectome
The diagram of the brain’s neural connections.
Neural plasticity
The ability of the brain to flexibly respond to physiological and environmental challenges and insults.
Genotype
The genetic make-up of a cell, an organism, or an individual.
Phenotype
The observable characteristics of an individual.
Behavior genetics
The study of the joint effects of genes and environments.
Molecular genetics
Studies of the effects of specific genes at the DNA level.
Genome-wide association studies
Test hundreds of thousands of genetic variants across many genomes to find those statistically associated with a specific trait or disease.
Behavior genetics
The study of the joint effects of genes and environments.
Heritability
The proportion of phenotypic differences among individuals that can be attributed to genetic differences in a particular population.
Gene-by-environment effects
Correlations between genes and environments that involve differential exposure to environments or experiences. There are three types of gene-by-environment effects: passive correlations, active correlations, and evocative correlations.
Epigenetics
The effect of experience and environment on the regulation of gene expression. The resultant changes in gene expression can be transmitted across generations.
Risk alleles
Genetic variants that impair general processes (e.g., cognitive or emotion functions) across many disorders.
Polygenic models
An etiological model of disorders based on the cumulative and additive effect of multiple genes.
Diathesis–stress model
A model that emphasizes the combination of underlying predispositions (risk factors related to, for example, structural abnormalities or early occurring trauma) and additional factors (such as further physiological or environmental events) that lead to the development of psychopathology.
Psychodynamic models
Psychological models that emphasize unconscious cognitive, affective, and motivational processes; mental representations of self, others, and relationships; the subjectivity of experience; and a developmental perspective on individual adjustment and maladjustment.
Behavioral models
Psychological models that emphasize the individual’s observable behavior within a specific environment.
Classical conditioning
A form of associative learning in which certain stimuli become paired with other stimuli resulting in the reliable elicitation of a response.
Operant conditioning
A form of learning in which consequences (negative or positive) lead to changes (decreases or increases) in behavior.
Observational learning
A form of learning that occurs by watching, remembering, and/or imitating others.
Reinforcement
The idea that positive and negative consequences lead to changes in behavior; a critical component of all learning processes.
Cognitive models
A psychological model that focuses on the components and processes of the mind and mental development.
Neoconstructivist approach
An emphasis on evolutionary contexts, experience–expectant learning, and both qualitative and quantitative change across development.
Humanistic models
Psychological models that emphasize personally meaningful experiences, innate motivations for healthy growth, and the child’s purposeful creation of a self.
Positive psychology
A field of psychology focusing on positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions that seeks to promote individual, family, social, and community well-being.
Family models
A model that emphasizes that the best way to understand the personality and psychopathology of a particular child is to understand the dynamics of a particular family.
Shared environment
The aspects of family life and function that are shared by all children in the family.
Nonshared environment
The aspects of family life and function that are specific and distinct for each child.
Sociocultural models
Models that emphasize the importance of the social context, including gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, in the development, course, and treatment of psychopathology.
Ecological models
A model that emphasizes the immediate environments, or “behavior settings,” in which children grow and make sense of their lives, including their homes, classrooms, neighborhoods, and communities.
