Developmental Flashcards
altricial species
in which the young are incapable of moving around on their own and are dependent on their parent(s) for food and safety for some period of time after hatching/birth
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
a collection of lung disorders such as emphysema and bronchitis and airflow obstruction. People with COPD have difficulty breathing.
chronological age (CA)
a person’s actual age, as opposed to their mental age.
cognition
mental activity, such as attention, memory, problem-solving, thinking and intelligence.
compensatory education
offers supplementary programs or services designed to help children at risk of cognitive impairment and low educational achievement succeed.
deprivation-specific patterns
four types of deficit associated with those children who were over 6 months at the time of adoption: (1) quasi-autistic symptoms, characterised by “intense circumscribed interests and abnormal preoccupations”; (2) disinhibited social engagement, characterised by a marked disregard for social boundaries, together with an undue familiarity with strangers and a willingness to walk off with strangers and/or to walk away from the caregiver, and to ask inappropriate questions of strangers; (3) inattention/overactivity, which shares many features with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); (4) cognitive impairment.
developmental catch-up
improvement in aspects of development following the introduction of positive environments.
dizygotic (fraternal) twins
individuals who are conceived at the same time but result from two eggs being fertilised by different sperm. Thus, they are like regular siblings and share half of their genes.
empiricism
the view that humans are not born with built-in ‘core knowledge’ or mental content and that all knowledge results from learning and experience.
environmental drift
changes in developmental functions that result from and are in the direction of changing environments.
environmentalism
the hypothesis that people become who they are as a consequence of the learning and experiences they have had throughout life.
environmentality
the extent to which variations in a population are caused by environmental factors. Often expressed as e2.
familial resemblance
the resemblance between relatives whose genetic relationship to each other is known.
Flynn effect
an increase in the average intelligence quotient (IQ) test scores over generations.
g
the term used to denote general intelligence. N.b.: it is always written as g and never G.
genetic determinism
the hypothesis that people become who they are as a consequence of their genetic inheritance.
Gene X environmental interaction
the ways in which children’s genetic inheritance affects the environment they experience, and vice versa (also known as environment-gene correlation).
genome
an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes.
genotype
an individual’s inherited genetic make-up.
heritability
a statistical measure that describes how much of the variation of a trait in a population is due to genetic differences (rather than environmental differences) in that population.
innate
a mechanism or ability that exists naturally or by heredity rather than being learned through experience.
intelligence quotient (IQ)
a measure of a person’s level of intelligence compared to a population of individuals of approximately the same age. A score of around 100 indicates average intelligence, scores above and below 100 indicate, respectively, above and below average intelligence.
maturation
aspects of development that are largely under genetic control, and hence largely uninfluenced by environmental factors. Not to be confused with maturing, which means development into the mature or adult state, however caused.
mental age (MA)
the level of mental skills that is average for a particular age group. If a child has a developmental delay, then their mental age will be lower than their chronological age, and vice versa for bright children.
missing heritability
the failure to find any of the genes associated with cognitive abilities.
attribution theory
a conglomerate of theories put forward by social psychologists aiming to encapsulate the allegedly systematic way in which individuals try to explain their own and others’ behaviour.
categorical self
those aspects of self, e.g. gender and nationality, which define a person.
collectivist societies
those that emphasise the sameness and belongingness of individuals.
Eight Stages of Man
eight distinct stages in life which, according to Erikson, are each characterised by a social challenge or conflict.
Electra complex
In Freud’s psychoanalytic theory this is where young girls develop feelings toward their father and fear retribution at the hands of their mother. Girls resolve this by empathising with their mother, adopting the ideals she offers, and so the girl’s superego develops.
existential self
a sense of personal existence, uniqueness and autonomy which develops through the child’s interactions with the social and physical world
gender stability (constancy)
an awareness that one’s gender is fixed and cannot be changed: once a girl/boy always a girl/boy.
gender dysphoria
a condition in which someone is intensely uncomfortable with their biological gender and strongly identifies with, and wants to be, the opposite gender.
hermaphrodite
an organism or individual with both male and female sexual organs.
hot cognition
the inextricable link between emotion (probably strong emotion) and cognition. Feelings influence thoughts and thoughts influence feelings
identification
a psychological process in which an individual identifies closely with another person, and may attempt to transform themselves to be like the other (usually admire or idolised) person.
individualist societies
those in which there is an emphasis on the individualistic and uniqueness of individuals.
inferiority complex
a feeling of self-worthlessness, and that one is inferior to others in some way(s).
internal working model (IWM)
develops through day-to-day interactions with the primary caregiver(s) early in life. It comprises the child’s picture of self, others and relationships (self in relation to others) and has both an affective (emotional) component and a cognitive component (mental representation).
material me
according to William James, one of three constituents of self as a subject of experience (existential self). There is self-awareness of the body, clothes, close family, home and material possessions.
Oedipus Complex
an important stage of development in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. This expression derives from the Greek myth in which Oedipus became infatuated with his mother. In the Freudian account, the young boy develops sexual feelings towards his mother but realises that his father is a major competitor for her (sexual) affections. He then fears castration at the hands of his father (the castration complex), and in order to resolve this complex, he adopts the ideals of his father and the superego (the conscience) develops.
phallic stage
a stage in Freud’s psychoanalytical theory in which the young boy’s interest centres on his penis and he develops feelings of sexual attraction towards his mother.
primary circular reactions
the second stage in Piaget’s period of sensorimotor development, from approximately 1 to 4 months. Repetitive actions based around the infant’s body to exercise and coordinate reflexes that develop in the earlier period.
perceptual defence
a defence mechanism in which the individual doesn’t see, or hear, etc., stimuli or events that are personally threatening.
personal modelling
occurs when the child feels emotionally attached to a person and wants to be like them.
positional modelling
occurs when the child perceives a similarity between themselves and the role model who may not be personally known to the child.
projection
a psychological defence mechanism which derives from psychoanalysis in which the individuals see their own traits in others.
relative coding
coding based on relative attribute, e.g. I am taller than him, I have fairer hair than her. Contrast with absolute coding, e.g. I am 5’5” tall, I have blonde hair.
rouge test
a small amount of rouge (or some other colour) is placed on the infant’s nose before they are placed in front of a mirror. If the infant touches their own nose, as opposed to the reflection in the mirror, they are said to have acquired a self-concept.
secondary circular reactions
the third stage in Piaget’s period sensorimotor development, from approximately 4-10 months. Infants repeat actions that have had an interesting effect on their environments, and manipulation and an understanding of the environment begins.
self-efficacy
a person’s evaluation of their ability to achieve a goal or an outcome in particular tasks.
self-esteem
a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth.
self-esteem inventory
a checklist of self-esteem items examining how children see themselves in relation to peers, parents, school and personal interests.
self-perception profile
designed by Harter (1983), aims to measure five specific domains of self-esteem: perceived athletic competence, behavioural conduct, physical appearance, scholastic competence, social acceptance and also overall self-worth
social learning theory (SLT)
describes psychological factors that lead to behaviour change and emphasises humans’ ability to exercise control over the nature and quality of their lives and to be ‘self-reflective about one’s capabilities, quality of functioning, and the meaning and purpose of one’s life pursuits’.
still-face procedure
this procedure is used to examine how changes to infants’ social surroundings affect their behaviour. Mothers are asked not to respond to their infants as they normally would, but to remain silent and expressionless. Infants respond to this situation with signs of distress, they gaze warily at their mother, give brief smiles followed by sobs, look away for long periods of time, and eventually become very withdrawn and distressed.
strange situation
measure, devised by Ainsworth, of the level of attachment a child has with their parent. It is typically conducted when the infant is between 1 and 2 years of age and assesses infants’ responses to separation from, and subsequent reunion with, their mother and their reactions to an unfamiliar woman (the so-called stranger).
tachistoscope
a device for presenting visual stimuli for very brief and precisely controlled times.
tadpole stage
an early stage in children’s drawings of the human figure in which there is no differentiation between the head and the body, and body parts such as the arms and legs are typically drawn as though they grow directly from the head, etc.
transsexual
an individual who identifies with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex.
twenty-statements test (TST)
a tool to facilitate self-awareness. An individual asks the question ‘Who am I?’ 20 times and then reflects upon their responses in order to draw up a prioritised list of self-attributes.
