First Three Years Flashcards
Central Nervous System
brain and spinal cord
Lateralization
tendency of each of the brain’s hemispheres to have specialized functions
Neurons
nerve cells
Integration
process by which neurons coordinate the activities of muscle groups
Differentiation
process by which cells acquire specialized structure and function
Cell Death
in brain development, normal elimination of excess cells to achieve more efficient functioning
Myelination
process of coating neurons with myelin, a fatty substance that enables faster communication between cells
Reflex Behavior
automatic, involuntary, innate response to stimulation
Systems of Action
increasingly complex combinations of motor skills that permit a wider or more precise range of movement and more control of the environment
Denver Developmental Screening Test
screening test given to children age 1 month to 6 years to determine whether they are developing normally
Gross Motor Skills
physical skills that involve the large muscles
Fine Motor Skills
physical skills that involve the small muscles and eye-hand coordination
Visual Gudiance
use of the eyes to guide movements of the hands or other parts of the body
Depth Perception
ability to perceive objects and surfaces in three dimensions
Haptic Perception
ability to acquire information about properties of objects, such as size, weight, and texture, by handling them
Visual Cliff
apparatus designed to give an allusion of depth and used to assess depth perception of infants
Ecological Theory of Perception
theory developed by Elanor and James Gibson that describes developing motor and perceptual as interdependent parts of a functional system that guides behavior in varying context
Dynamic Systems Theory
Thelen’s theory that holds that motor development is a dynamic process of active coordination of multiple systems within the infant in relation to the environment
Infant Mortality Rate
proportion of babies born alive who die within the 1st year
SIDS
sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant
Nonorganic Failure to Thrive
in infancy, a lack of appropriate growth for no known medical cause, accompanied by poor developmental and emotional functioning
Shaken Baby Syndrome
form of maltreatment in which shaking an infant or toddler can cause brain damage, paralysis, or death
Behaviorist Approach
approach to the study of cognitive development that is concerned with the basic mechanics of learning
Psychometric Approach
approach to the study of cognitive development that seeks to measure the quantity of intelligence a person possesses