Developmental Flashcards
What are the developmental motor milestones?
keeping head erect - 6 weeks rolling over, 2-3 months sitting along, 6-7 months crawling, 7-8 months standing with support, 7-8 months standing alone, 11 months first step and walking alone, 11-13 months walking up steps, 16 months
Rates of motor development are similar between boys and girls.
Toilet training is not recommended to begin before what age?
24 months
When do children enter a new stage of biological development that involves learning motor sequencing behaviors more smoothly/accurately?
motor development progresses rapidly in preschool- especially gross motor skills like jumping/running.
motor sequencing behaviors become more smooth and fluent around 6-7 years old- when athletic prowess starts to become more apparent too.
At birth, the brain is _____ % of its adult size.
25% to 33%
By age two the brain is about what % of its adult size?
75%
By age 5 the brain is _____% of its adult size
90%
T/F: At birth, the infant’s brain contains the majority of neurons it will ever have.
True
How does brain development occur in the infant/young child?
- neurons grow in size, develop more axons and dendrites, and increase their connections.
- synaptic connections are thought to be strengthened in response to experience
If the dominant hemisphere is damaged how is language function impacted? Does it depend on age?
If before age 7 or 8, plasticity - children can recover language function if dominant hemisphere is damaged
if after age 7 or 8- progress is limited
this is b/c by 7/8 y.o. considerable sensory integration has occurred, and brain has lateralized functioning at that point. b/c of this, there is a more firmly established pattern of handedness and, footedness.
By age 7 or 8 there is also increasingly mature performance on tests of visual-motor and neuroperceptual skills.
Children who are brought up unilingually have difficulty learning to speak an unaccented second language by which age?
10 y.o.
Does brain development continue beyond childhood? If so, how?
Yes to some extent.
Example: Mylenation- continues into a person’s twenties, enhancing processing speed, attention span, and frontal lobe functioning
Describe puberty in boys and girls
Both- growth hormones and gonadal hormones initiate and sustain a growth spurt that causes dramatic increases in height, weight, and the skeletal system.
Girls- occurs between 10-12 years of age, includes menarche (first menstrual period)
Boys- occurs between 12 and 14 years of age, includes spermarche (first ejaculation)
Both- development of secondary sexual characteristics develop.
Early physical maturation has different effects for boys and girls in the US. Describe.
Boys who physically mature early
- overall, more positive psychological adjustment
- better scholastic performance, better self-image, greater popularity.
- one study suggests greater risk for exhibiting behavior problems.
Girls who physically mature early:
- higher academic achievement and independence
- lower self-esteem, poorer body image, more conflicts with parents
- when these early maturing girls lower their academic achievement, they actually become more popular and have a more positive self-image.
Some researchers have found that by 12th grade, differences between early and late maturers have disappeared for both boys and girls.
Describe menopause
- end of the menstrual cycle
- usually occurs between 45 and 55
decreases in estrogen production result in physical changes - current research does not support the MYTH that menopause is a time of psychological instability, loss of sexual interest, mood swings and depression
What does the term “male climacteric” describe?
- the more gradual changes that occur in men due to decreases testosterone
- e.g., weight loss, loss of muscle strength, graying of hair, diminished sexual responsiveness.
What is primary aging?
- The upper limit on the human life span (between 110-120 years) is thought to be due to primary aging- the inevitable changes in physical and mental processes.
Different explanations include: - programmed theories- aging = genetically controlled
- wear-and-tear theory- daily stressors wear out the body’s cell
What is secondary aging?
- secondary aging results from disease, disuse, and neglect of the body
- may account for much of the deterioration typically associated with growing old in our society
T/F: THe sex drive diminishes with age
False.
Sex drive does NOT diminish with age.
- likelihood of sexual activity in the later years is closely related to frequency of sexual activity during younger years.
- men who have been sexually active can generally engage in some sort of sexual activity well into their 70/80s
- women are physiologically able to be sexually active as long as they live.
What is the main barrier to sexual activity for women in older age?
lack of an available partner
Health Belief Model
- how perceptions of vulnerability and beliefs about illness influence health behavior.
- multicausal
- health behavior results from joint influence of:
PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTOR - Perceived susceptibility to disease/perceives seriousness of the disease
- perceived benefits of preventative action vs perceived barriers to preventative action
What is the social buffer hypothesis?
- individuals who perceive themselves as having an adequate social network are at reduced risk of emotional distress.
- size of network is not the important factor- the person’s perception that they have an adequate social network is.
What is the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale, and when was it developed?
1967
- developed to measure life stress and to be used as a tool for examining the stress-illness relationshp.
- consists of 43 items ranging in point value from most stressful at 100 (death of a spouse), 73 (divorce), 50 (marriage), retirement (45), death of a close friend (37), foreclosure on a home (30).
What are the main stages of language development?
Crying
Cooing (between 6 weeks and 3 months)
Babbling (6-10 months)
Word Comprehension (by about 9-10 months- understand words like “no” or their own name)
Echolalia (at about 9-10 months)
Holophrasic speech (typically 12-18 months)- use a single word or syllable to express a complete thought
Telegraphic Speech (between 18-24 months) - put two words together to express an idea
At what age do children lose the ability to differentiate sounds that are not part of the language they hear spoken?
Infants lose this abliity around 9 to 10 months of age, corresponding to when they are developing echolalia
Holophrasic speech
(typically 12-18 months)- use a single word or syllable to express a complete thought
includes phoneme (e.g. da), morpheme (e.g. daddy)
Telegraphic Speech
(between 18-24 months) - put two words together to express an idea
Describe the Nativist view of language development
Noam Chomsky
- hypothesized that children are born with an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD)- a prewiring for language, so they require only minimal exposure to adult language in order to develop speech.
- LAD enables children’s brains to analyze the language that they hear around them and to make sense of its rules of grammar and syntax.
Support: children generally learn their native language in the same sequence, without receiving any formal instructions. Newborns seem to have the capacity to differentiate between similar sounds.
Describe the Nurturist View of Language Development.
- language is acquired by means of interactions with the environment, in process of imitation and reinforcement.
- children initially make random sounds, and only those that are reinforced by adults are eventually repeated.
- children are also reinforced for imitating the sounds they hear
- learn grammar through exposure to examples of correct syntax
Describe the Interactionist View of Language Development.
- inborn mechanism for acquiring language that is influenced by biological and cognitive maturation, as well as interactions with the environment