Human Development (Ch 9) Flashcards
What is developmental psychology?
examines how humans change over the course of their lives and considers which changes are shared across people and which are different, aims to understand how people grow and adapt within their cultures to become part of society
Conception is when..
a sperm unites with an egg to create a zygote
Two important aspects of brain development
- specific areas within the brain mature and become functional
- regions of the brain learn to communicate with one another through synaptic connections
What is myelination?
It is the brain’s way of insulating its wires, nerve fibers are wrapped with a fatty sheath which increases speed of transmitted signals
What is synaptic pruning?
The brain’s ability to preserve connections by eliminating neurons that aren’t needed
What is plasticity?
The brain’s ability to reorganize itself in response to its environmental experiences
How does nutrition affect brain development?
without adequate nutrition, the brain will be less sophisticated and less able to process complex information, solve problems, or develop advanced language skills
True or false: Experiences such as stress, neglect, and exposure to violence can influence the development of human brains
True, stressful life experiences can lead to a wide range of mental and physical health disorders later in life
What are teratogens and what do they do?
Teratogens are agents that harm the embryo or fetus and can lead to premature birth, birth defects, medical problems, (alcohol can lead to alcohol spectrum disorders)
Dynamic systems theory
views development as a self-organizing process in which new forms of behavior emerge from the process of an organism repeatedly engaging and interacting with its environment and cultural contexts
What information tells us that infants are born prepared to learn?
they are born with a preference to people over things, categorizing people, and their brain has specific neural circuits for identifying biological motion and inanimate object motion and identify faces and facial movement
Visual acuity
ability to distinguish differences among shapes, patterns, and colors
(increase in visual acuity is due to the development of the visual cortex and development of the cones in the retina)
What is Memory
the ability to retain explicit memories
What is attachment?
strong, intimate, emotional connection between people that persists over time and across circumstances- building blocks of a successful social life
- very important to survival in many other species
- first stages in which a person learns how to communicate with others, and establish stable relationships
What months do infants start to understand the difference between their attachment figures and strangers
8-12