Developmental Psychology Flashcards
first four weeks of life, a time of transition from intrauterine dependency to independent existence
neonatal period
places on the head where the bones have not yet grown together and are covered by a tough membrane
fontanels or soft spots
may occur during delivery as a result of repeated compression of the placenta and umbilical cord with each contraction
Anoxia or hypoxia
this form of birth trauma can leave permanent brain damage, causing mental retardation, behavior problems, or even death
Anoxia or hypoxia
a stringy, greenish-black waste matter formed in the fetal intestinal tract
meconium
standard measurement of a newborn’s condition; it assesses appearances, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration
Apgar Scale
- neurological and behavioral test to measure neonate’s responses to the environment
- takes about 30mins and scores are based on a baby’s best performance
Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)
the systematic study of processes of change and stability throughout the life span
Human Development
4 Goals of Human Development
- Description
- Explanation
- Prediction
- Intervention
an infant’s physiological and behavioral status at a given moment in the periodic daily cycle of wakefulness
State of Arousal
- equivalent of rapid eye movement sleep which in adults is associated with dreaming
- appears rhythmically in cycles of about 1 hour and accounts for up to 50 percent of a newborn’s total sleep time
Active sleep
infants born before completing 37th week of gestation
Preterm
infants whose birth weight is less than that of 90 percent of babies of the same gestational age, as a result of slow fetal growth
Small-for-date infants
method of skin-to-skin contact which a newborn is laid face down between the mother’s breasts for an hour or so at a time after birth
Kangaroo care
referring to a fetus not yet born as of 2 weeks after the due date or 42 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period
Postmaturity
death of a fetus at or after the 20th week of gestation
Stillbirth
infants learn to use the upper parts of the body before the lower parts
Cephalocaudal principle
principle that development proceeds form within to without, that is, that parts of the body near the center develop before the extremities
Proximodistal principle
children first develop the ability to use their upper arms and upper legs, then their forearms and forelegs, then hands and feet, and finally, fingers and toes
Proximodistal principle
grows fastest during the first year of life
cerebellum
largest part of the brain, is divided into right and left halves or hemispheres, each with specialized functions
cerebrum
tendency of each of the brain’s hemispheres to have specialized functions
lateralization
mainly concerned with language and logical thinking
left hemisphere
visual and spatial functions such as map reading and drawing
right hemisphere
- a tough band of tissue joining the two hemispheres
- allows them to share information and coordinate commands
corpus callosum
grows dramatically during childhood, reaching adult size by about age 10
corpus callosum
process by which neurons coordinate the activities of muscle groups
Integration
process by which cells acquire specialized structures and functions
Differentiation
enables signals to travel faster and more smoothly, permitting the achievement of mature functioning
Myelination
begins about halfway through gestation in some parts of the brain and continues into adulthood in others
Myelination
an automatic, innate response to stimulation
Reflex Behaviors
are controlled by the lower brain centers that govern other involuntary processes such as breathing and heart rate
Reflex Behaviors
sucking, rooting for the nipple
Primitive reflexes
response to being startled or beginning to fall
moro reflex
reactions to changes in position or balance
postural reflexes
walking and swimming reflexes, resemble voluntary movements that do not appear until months after the reflexes have disappeared
Locomotor reflexes
the first sense to develop, and for the first several months it is the most mature sensory system
Touch
is functional before birth
Hearing
least developed sense at birth
Sight
increasingly complex combinations of motor skills, which permit a wider or more precise range of movement and more control of the environment
Systems of Action
physical skills that involve the large muscles eg., rolling and catching a ball
Gross motor skills
physical skills that involve the small muscles and eye-hand coordination eg., grasping a rattle and copying a circle
Fine motor skills
the use of the eyes to guide the movement of the hands (or other parts of the body)
visual guidance
ability to perceive objects and surfaces three-dimensionally
depth perception
ability to acquire information about properties of objects (eg., size, weight) by handling them
haptic perception
infants learn about themselves and their world through their developing sensory and motor activity
Piagetian Approach: The Sensorimotor Stage
the ability to mentally represent objects and actions in memory, largely through symbols such as words, numbers, and mental pictures — fress toddlers from immediate experience
Representational ability
the idea that objects have their own independent existence, characteristics, and locations in space
Object concept
is a later cognitive development fundamental to an orderly view of physical reality
object concept
- Piaget’s term for the understanding that a person or object still exists when out of sight
- develops gradually during the sensorimotor stage
Object Permanence
a communication system based on words and grammar
Language Development
forerunner of linguistic speech; utterance of sounds that are not words. Includes crying, cooing, babbling, and accidental deliberate imitation of sounds without understanding their meaning
Prelinguistic Speech
by 12 months; waving bye-bye, nodding head to mean yes and shaking head to signify no
Conventional social gestures
by 13 months; hold an empty cup to her mouth to show that she wanted a drink or hold up her arms to show that she wanted to be picked up
Representational gestures
such as blowing to mean hot or sniffing to mean flower, often emerge around the same times as babies say their first words, and they function much like words
Symbolic gestures
verbal expression that conveys meaning
linguistic speech
children with larger vocabularies and quicker reaction times can recognize spoken words from just the first part of the word
Passive vocabulary
between 16 and 24 months, a “naming explosion” may occur, though this phenomenon is not universal
Expressive vocabulary
the most primitive parts of the brain and the earliest to develop which controls a newborn’s cries
brain stems and pons
subjective reactions to experience that are associated with psychological and behavioral changes
Emotions
a rhythmic cry, which is not always associated with hunger
basic hunger cry
a variation of the rhythmic cry, in which excess air is forced through the vocal cords
angry cry
a sudden onset of loud crying without preliminary moaning, sometimes followed by holding the breath
pain cry
two or three drawn-out cries, with no prolonged breath holding
frustration cry
is an orderly process in which complex emotions unfold from simpler ones
emotional development
such as embarrassment, empathy, and envy, arise only after children have developed self-awareness
self-conscious emotions
conscious knowledge of the self as a distinct, identifiable being
self-awareness
emotions such as pride, shame and guilt that depend on both self-awareness and knowledge of socially accepted standards of behavior
self-evaluative emotions
characteristic disposition, or style of approaching and reacting to situations
temperament
- described as the how of behavior: not what people do, but how they go about doing it
- relatively consistent and enduring
temperament
reciprocal, enduring tie between two people, especially between infant and caregiver
attachment
laboratory-based technique designed to assess attachment patterns between an infant and an adult
Strange Situation
pattern in which an infant cries or protests when the primary caregiver leaves and actively seeks out the caregiver on his or her return
secure attachment
pattern in which an infant rarely cries when separated from the primary caregiver and avoids contact on his or her return
avoidant attachment
pattern in which an infant becomes anxious before the primary caregiver leaves, is extremely upset during his or her absence, and both seeks and resists contact on his or her return
Ambivalent (resistant) attachment
pattern in which an infant, after separation from the primary caregiver, shows contradictory repetitious or misdirected behaviors on his or her return
Disorganized-disoriented attachment
one person forms an understanding of how to act in an ambiguous, confusing, or unfamiliar situation by seeking and interpreting another person’s perception of it
social referencing
descriptive and evaluative mental picture of one’s abilities and traits
self-concept - sense of self
the realization that they can control external events
personal agency
the sense of being a physical whole with boundaries separate from the rest of the world
self-coherence
is the process by which children develop habits, skills, values, and motives that make them responsible, productive members of the society
socialization
is the foundation of socialization, and it links all domains of development - physical, cognitive, emotional and social
self-regulation
enables children to develop willpower and cope with frustration
attentional regulation
internal standards of behavior, which usually controls one’s conduct and produce emotional discomfort when violated
conscience
wholehearted obedience of a parent’s orders without reminders or lapses
committed compliance
obedience of a parent’s orders only in the presence of signs of ongoing parental control
situational compliance
- goes beyond committed compliance
- eager willingness to cooperate harmoniously with a parent in daily interactions, including routines, chores, hygiene and play
receptive cooperation
identical twins formed when one zygote splits into two separate masses of cells, each of which develops into a separate embryo
monozygotic twins
often called “fraternal twins”, occurring when two eggs each get fertilized by two different sperm, resulting in two zygotes in the uterus at the same time
Dizygotic twins
inborn traits or characteristics inherited from the biological parents
heredity
basis of heridity
DNA
are coils of DNA that consists of smaller segments called genes
chromosomes
functional units of heredity
genes
complete sequence of genes in the human body
genome
22 pairs of chromosomes that are not related to sexual expressions
autosomes
23rd pair, one from the mother and one from the father, that determines the baby’s gender
sex chromosomes
triggers cell differentiation and formation of the testes
SRY gene
without this, female reproductive organs will develop instead
SRY gene
produced by male embryos which prompts the development of male sex organs
testosterone
the development of female reproductive system is controlled by a signaling molecule called
Wnt-4
two or more alternative forms of a gene that occupy the same position on paired chromosomes and affect the same trait
Alleles
possessing two identical alleles
homozygous
possessing differing alleles for a trait
heterozygous
when an offspring receives contradictory alleles for a trait, only the dominant will be expressed
dominant inheritance
when the offspring receives identical recessive alleles resulting in expression of nondominant or recessive trait
recessive inheritance
interaction of several genes
polygenic inheritance
permanent alterations in genetic material
mutation
genetic makeup of a person, containing both expressed and unexpressed characteristics
genotypes
- observable characteristic of a person
- product of the genotype and environmental influences
phenotypes
combination of genetic and environmental factors to produce certain complex traits
multifactorial transmission
mechanisms that turns genes on or off and determines functions of the body cells
epigenesis
also called trisomy-21 because it is usually caused by an extra 21st chromosomes
down syndrome
approx. 38-week period of development between conception and birth
gestation
usually dated from the first day of an expectant mother’s menstrual cycle
gestational age
first two weeks after fertilization during which the zygote moves down to the uterus and begins to implant in the lining embryo name for the developing organism from two weeks to eight weeks after fertilization
germinal period
the period from two to eight weeks after fertilization during which the major organs and structures of the organism develop
embryonic period
is the expulsion from the uterus of an embryo or fetus that is unable to survive usually happens during this time
spontaneous abortion or miscarriage
times during which certain environmental influences can have an impact on the development of the infant
critical periods
any factor that can cause a birth defect
teratogen
the time from about eight weeks after conception until the birth of the child
fetal period
name for the developing organism from eight weeks after fertilization to the birth of the baby
fetus
happens when a child appears to awaken abruptly early in the night from a deep sleep in a state of agitation
sleep or night terror
repeated, involuntary urination at night by children old enough to be expected to have bladder control
enuresis
preference for using a particular hand; usually evident by about age 3
handedness
- children this age are not yet ready to engage in logical mental operations
- characterized by a great expansion in the use of symbolic thought, or representational ability, which first emerged during the sensorimotor stage
preoperational cognitive development
ability to use mental representations (words, numbers, images) to which a child has attached meaning
symbolic function
based on mental representation of a previously obvious event; robust after 18 months
deferred imitation
play involving imaginary people and situations
present play
piaget’s term for for a preoperational child’s tendency to mentally link particular phenomena, whether or not there is logically a causal relationship
transduction
the tendency to attribute life to objects that are not alive
animisim
awareness and understanding of own mental processes and those of others
theory of mind
during _____, children improve in attention and in the speed and efficiency with which they process information; and they begin to form long-lasting memories
early childhood
information is prepared for long-term storage and later retrieval
encoding
retention of information in memory for future use
storage
information is accessed or recalled from memory storage
retrieval
ability to identify previously encountered stimulus
recognition
ability to produce material from memory
recall
three storehouses of the brain
- sensory memory
- working memory/short-term memory
- long-term memory