Developmental Flashcards
Most traits are Trigenic, monogenic, or polygenic?
Homozygous vs heterozygous
Polygenic
Homozygous - 2 dominant genes
Heterozygous - 1 dominant and 1 recessive gene
Farsightedness requires x amount of what kind of gene
Nearsightedness requires x amount of what kind of gene
one dominant
Two recessive
Heritability estimate
Variation of phenotype w/in a group resulting from differences in genotype
Heredity accounts for ____ % of variability for many characteristics
50%
List and briefly explain Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Model
1) Microsystem - immediate environment
2) Mesosystem - how diff elements w/in immediate environment interact
3) Exosystem - Elements in broader environment (teachers, parents’ jobs)
4) Macrosystem - Overarching environmental influences (culture, religion)
5) Chronosystem - Events over lifespan
Rutter’s risk indicators
1 or none of these increase risk by ___% whereas 4 or more of these increases risk by ____ %
Marital discord, parental criminality, socioeconomic status, large family, maternal psych dx, placement outside of home
2% and 21%
Werner et al longitudinal study of infants with/without prenatal and perinatal stress. What did it imply about high-risk children?
More physical/cognitive issues for infants with stress but differences declined over time. This implies resilience in high-risk children
Explain reaction range in the context of ability to compensate for birth defects
Those with a defect of mild cognitive impairment have a broader reaction range than those with severe, so mild impairment leaves room for a better response to a good environment
What is Genotype-Environment Correlation and what are the 3 main types?
How are they relatively important over the lifespan?
genetics affects the environment one is exposed to which reinforces genetics
1) Passive – parents give environment that encourage development of traits
2) Evocative – child’s traits evoke reactions that reinforce child’s genetics
3) Active – aka niche picking – child actively seeks out genetically reinforcing experiences
Relative importance changes over time
- -passive/evocative = infancy/early childhood and
- -active type = as independence increases
Explain ethology and how it differs from evolutionary theory
Ethology is animal behavior in natural habitats and while it focuses on adaptive instincts, evolutionary theory focus on mental/emotional adaptations
Evolutionary theory says that many psychological mechanisms are _______, which means they help us to deal with specific types of problems encountered in the environment and others were _____, designed to help us at certain points in our lives.
Domain-specific, adaptive
What/when are the 3 stages of prenatal development? And, which stage is most vulnerable to damage by teratogens?
1) Germinal - the fertilized ovum is called a zygote
2) Embryonic - 3rd week to 8th week (teratogens worst here)
3) Fetal - 9th week until birth
Birth defects can be caused by three factors:
1) Chromosomal disorders
2) Exposure to teratogens
3) Poor maternal health
Chromosomal Disorders
All human cells contain ___ chromosomes arranged in ___ pairs. Of these pairs, _____ are referred to as ______and the ____ one is the ___ chromosome.
46 chromosomes, 23 pairs
22, autosomes, 23rd, sex
When a disorder is carried on an autosome it is referred to as an _______, and when it’s on the 23rd one it’s referred to as a ______
autosomal disorder, sex-linked
Disorders due to dominant/recessive genes
Dominant gene disorders are due to the inheritance of a _________ from one or both parents?
Recessive gene disorders are due to the inheritance of a pair of _________ from one parent or one from each parent?
single dominant gene from one parent
recessive genes (one from each parent)
Examples of dominant and recessive gene disorders:
Dominant - Huntington’s
Recessive - Phenylketonuria (PKU), cystic fibrosis, sickle cell, Tay-Sachs disease
Disorders due to a Chromosomal Abnormality can be due to 2 factors:
1) Variation in # of chromosomes (aneuploidy)
2) Alteration in the structure of chromosomes
Disorders due to variation in # of chromosomes:
Down syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, Turner syndrome
Down syndrome represents an extra ___ chromosome
Klinefelter and Turner syndromes are caused by an abnormality in the # of ____ chromosomes. Briefly explain them.
21st
Sex
Klinefelter - only males - 2 or more X chromosomes and 1 Y chromosome - small penis and testes, dvlpmt of breasts, sterile
Turner - only females - single x chromosome - short in stature, webbed neck, drooping eyelids
Alterations in chromosome structure include:
Deletions, translocations, and inversions
Deletion - a part of a chromosome is missing
Translocation - transfer of a chromosome segment to another chromosome
Inversion - Chromosome breaks in 2 places and the segment formed inverts (turns upside down) and reattaches to the chromosome
When is exposure to teratogens the most dangerous?
During the embryonic stage (weeks 3-8)
Some teratogens and their effects:
Alcohol: could lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which in order of severity (greatest to least) includes:
a. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
b. Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND)
c. Alcohol-related birth Defects (ARBD)
Cocaine: spontaneous abortion/stillbirth, seizures, reduced head circumference, exagerated startle response
Nicotine: placental abnormalities, respiratory isues, SIDS, social/cognitive issues
Lead: Intellectual disability
*All low birth weight
Maternal conditions and birth defects include:
1) Rubella - blindness, deafness, heart/intellectual issues
2) Cytomegalovirus - intellectual issues, hearing/visual issues
3) HIV/AIDS - 20-30% change of transmitting HIV - with drug therapy, 50% of kids survive beyond age 10
4) Malnutrition - low weight, stillbirth, poor immune
5) Stress - miscarraige, painful labor, irregular feeding, sleeping, and bowel habits, low birth weight
A premature/preterm baby is born at ____ weeks and are more prominent among ____ mothers than ____ and _____ mothers.
less than 37 weeks, African American than White and Hispanic
When a newborn’s weight is below the ____th percentile, it is considered _______
The consequences may be more severe than a ______ baby. There is an increased risk for:
10th, small-for-gestational age (SGA)
Premature/preterm - respiratory disease, hypoglycemia, asphyxia during birth
Some complications during birth include:
Anoxia - oxygen shortage - can be caused by sedatives given to the mom or a twisted umbilical chord - delayed motor/cognitive dvlmpt, cerebral palsy
Expsure to herpes simplex 2 - high risk for death, brain damage, or blindness - C section usually warranted
Increase of __________ which is the interconnection between neuron and ____ cells, which are responsible for the __________ of nerve fibers, promotes brain growth. Unused synapses are eliminated through a process called _______.
How much percentage of its adult weight is the brain at birth vs when the child reaches 2 years of age? At what age does it reach its full weight?
Synaptogenesis, glial, myelination, pruning
At birth - 25%
2 yrs old - 80%
16 yrs old - full weight
The primary motor and sensory areas, and the cerebral cortex of the brain are developed during the early or later stages of life?
motor and sensory - early
cerebral cortex - undeveloped early on
prefrontal cortex - not fully developed until early-mid 20s
In what order does cortical development occur?
Cephalocaudal - head to tail
Proximodistal - Center to extremities
By what age does the brain gradually start to shrink, which results from _____ of neurons? Acceleration of cell death occurs after age ____? This can be slowed down by the creation of new neurons, called _____.
30, atrophy, 60, neurogenesis
List and describe the major newborn reflexes
Babinski - feet
Rooting - head turn
Moro - startle
Stepping - coordination w
Name two strategies researchers use to study the perception and cognition of newborns
habituation and dehabituation
What are some techniques used to study perception in newborns relative to increasing age?
High amplitude sucking (infants)
Reaching (3 months+)
Head-turning (5.5 - 12 months)
Heart and respiration (wide age range)
How well is vision developed at birth? They see at ___ ft what adults see at ___ ft. Their vision is normal at about ____ months.
Infants prefer ______ patterns and mother’s faces by ____ months.
Least well developed. 20 ft what adults see at 200-400 ft and normal at about 6 months.
High contrast patterns, 2 months
The ability to orient toward the direction of a sound is___. Infants prefer the sound of their mother’s voice by ___ months.
Auditory localization, 3 months
Infants have a preference for _____ tastes.
Sweet
What did Taddio find in his studies of infants and pain?
No anesthesia during circumcision = high distress in later vaccinations
painful medical procedures during infancy = increased reactivity to pain later in infancy
Early training and basic motor skills
Early basic motor training can accelerate learning rate but it doesn’t generalize BUT early rtaining of complex motor skills does improve proficiency
Gender differences and motor development
Girls more physically mature than same-aged boys in middle childhood BUT in early adolescence boys excel in motor ability - often attributed to fatty tissue (adipose)
Physical maturation and adolescence
Growth spurt for girls - 11/12 - full stature by 15
Growth spurt for boys - 13/14 - full stature by 17
Both last 3-4 years
Therea are early and late maturation effects on boys and girls. However, in general, the negative consequences are most severe when….?
By adulthood, early, late maturers have developed and differences are ______?
Adolescents perceive themselves to be different from their peers
Indistinguishable
Piaget ascribes development to ____ and _____. Cognitive development stems from a drive toward ____.
Biological maturation and the environment
Cognitive equilibrium
Describe Piaget’s Sensorimotor stage of development
1) Sensorimotor (birth-2 yrs) - causality and deferred imitation
a. Substage 1 - Reflexes
b. Substage 2 - Primar circular reactions (own body - thumbsucking)
c. Substage 3 - Secondary circular reactions (pleasure from others people/objects - shakes a rattle)
d. Substage 4 - Coordinated secondary circular reactions - Object permanence
e. Substage 5 - Tertiary circular reactions (consequences of actions - dropping toy from heights)
f. Substage 6 - Mental representation - symbolic thought - anticipating consequences due to past events
Describe Piaget’s Preoperational stage of development
Think: P I E C A M
2) Preoperational (2-7) - symbolic function - extention of representational thought - use of language, mental images
a. Precausal (transductive) reasoning - incomplete understanding of cause and effect (magical thinking/animism)
b. Irreversibility - don’t recognize that objects can’t be reversed
c. Egocentrism - can’t separate own POV
d. Centration - Can’t understand that changing a dimension of an object does not change its other dimensions (same amount of water in different sized cups)
e. Animism - human traits to inanimate objects
f. Magical thinking - belief that thinking about it will cause it to occur
Describe Piaget’s Concrete Operational stage of development
3) Concrete Operational (7-12) - Mental operations, logical rules
a. Conservation - understanding that physical traits of object stay the same
b Horizontal decalage - gradual acquision of conservation abilities and different stage abilities
Describe Piaget’s Formal Operational stage of development
4) Formal Operational (12+) - ability to think abstractly - hypo-deductive reasoning
a. Renewed egocentrism - can’t separate abstract thoughts from others’
How did Elkind extend Piaget’s work ?
Identified specified parts of adolescent egocentrism
a. Personal Fable - belief one is unique and not subject to laws that govern others
b. Imaginary audience - one is always the center of attention
What are Thomas and Chess’ 3 temperament categories and what did they say regarding parenting?
1) Easy
2) DIfficult
3) Slow to warm up
Parenting is about goodness of fit between parents’ behaviors and child temperaments
Freud’s psychosexual stages and ages
1) Oral - Birth - 1 year
2) Anal - 1-3 years
3) Phallic - 3-6 years - successful outcome = development of the superego, pride, and guilt
4) Latency - 6-12 years - social skills > sexual gratification
5) Genital - 12+ years
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of development says that learning is _______ mediated and that cognitive development is first ________ and then ________.
cognitively
interpersonal
intrapersonal
Scaffolding is attributed to whom? Briefly describe it.
Vygotsky. Instruction is most effective with modeling, providing cues, and encouraging child to think of alternatives.
Piaget would refer to a child speaking to himself as being _______,while Vygotsky would describe it as _____ speech, which becomes ______ speech as children grow older.
Egocentric
self-directed (private) speech
inner (silent) speech
