Chapter 4: Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Question 1

Cephalocaudal trend

Answer 1

“head to tail”, head develops more rapidly than lower part of body during prenatal period

Question 2

Proximodistal trend

Answer 2

Growth proceeds from center of body outward

Question 3

Neuron

Answer 3

Brain cell, store and transmit info

Question 4

Synapses

Answer 4

Gaps between neurons, neurotransmitters pass through to transmit message

Question 5

Neurotransmitters

Answer 5

chemicals that cross the synapse to send messages

Question 6

Programmed cell death

Answer 6

As synapses form, surrounding unused neurons die

Question 7

Synaptic pruning

Answer 7

Neurons seldom stimulated lose their synapses and return unneeded neurons to an uncommitted state so they can support further development

Question 8

Glial cells

Answer 8

1/2 brains volume, responsible for myelination

Question 9

Myelin

Answer 9

Fatty sheath that coats neural fibers to transmit messages faster

Question 10

Cerebral cortex

Answer 10

Surrounds the rest of the brain, 85% of brain’s weight, greatest number of neurons and synapses

Question 11

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 11

lies in front of areas controlling movement, responsible for thought (consciousness, inhibition of impulses, integration of info, use of memory, reasoning, planning and problem solving)

Question 12

Laterialization

Answer 12

Specialization of two hemispheres (Left: logical, positive emotions, language development, Right: Spacial, creative, negative emotions)

Question 13

Experience-expectant brain growth

Answer 13

Depends on ordinary experiences

Question 14

Experience-dependent brain growth

Answer 14

Consists of additional refinement of existing brain structures as a result of specific learning (ex: playing the violin)

Question 15

Marasmus:

Answer 15

Wasted condition of the body caused by low diet and no essential nutrients

Question 16

Kwashiorkor

Answer 16

Unbalanced diet (not enough protein) 1-3 years, bloated stomach and limbs, hair loss, skin rash, irritable behavior

Question 17

Classical conditioning

Answer 17

A neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that leads to a reflexive response, the nervous system makes connection between the two stimuli and the neutral stimulus now produces the response itself (1. UCS–> UCR 2. Neutral stimulus presented 3. CS–> CR)

Question 18

Operant conditioning

Answer 18

Infants act on the environment and stimuli that follow their behavior change the probability that behavior will occur again

Question 19

Reinforcer

Answer 19

stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response

Question 20

Punishment

Answer 20

decreases occurrence of response

Question 21

Habituation

Answer 21

Gradual reduction in strength of response due to repetitive stimulation

Question 22

Recovery

Answer 22

a new stimulus that causes responsiveness to return to a high level

Question 23

Imitation

Answer 23

copying behavior

Question 24

Mirror neurons

Answer 24

specialized cells in motor areas of cerebral cortex in primates that fire identically when a primate hears/sees an action and when it carries out the action of its own

Question 25

Dynamic systems theory of motor development

Answer 25

Mastery of motor skills involves acquiring increasingly complex systems of action, separate abilities blend together to produce more effective ways of exploring and controlling the environment

Question 26

Statistical learning capacity

Answer 26

Babies analyze the speech stream for patterns and acquire a stock of speech structures for which they will later` learn meanings

Question 27

Perceptual narrowing effect

Answer 27

Perceptual sensitivity becomes increasingly attuned with age to info most often encountered

Question 28

Intermodal perception

Answer 28

Make sense of running streams of light, sound, tactile, odor and taste information perceiving them as integrated wholes

Question 29

Differentiation theory

Answer 29

Infants actively search for invariant features of the environment in a constantly changing perceptual world

Question 30

Invariant features

Answer 30

Environmental factors that stay the same

Question 31

Motor development norms

Answer 31

Crawling- 7 mo, stand alone- 11 mo, walking- 11 mo 3 wk