Human Development Exam 2 Flashcards
Reflex
automatic response to certain kinds of stimulation
Rooting Reflex
reflex that causes the neonate to turn its head and open its mouth when it is touched on the cheek or the side of the mouth; this helps the neonate find the breast.
Moro Reflex
reflex in response to a sensation of falling backward or to a loud sound, in which the neonate arches its back, flings out its arms, and then brings its arms quickly together in an embrace.
Sound Localization
perceptual ability for telling where a sound is coming from.
Mammery glands
in females, the glands that produce milk t nourish babies.
Let-down reflex
in females, a reflex that causes milk to be released to the tip of the nipples, in response to the sound of her infants cry, seeing its open mouth, or even thinking about breast feeding.
wet nursing
cultural practice, common in human history, of hiring a lactating woman other than the mother to feed the infant.
Colostrum
Thick, yellowish, milky liquid produced by mammalian mothers during the first days following birth, extremely rich in protein and antibodies that strengthen the baby’s immune system.
meta-analysis
statistical technique that combines the results from many studies into one summary statistic to evaluate the overall outcome of research in an area.
confounded
problem in statistical analysis when variables are entwined in people’s lives in a way that is not easy to disentangle.
Cephalocaudal Principle
principle of biological development taht growth tends to begin at the top, with the head, and then proceeds downward to the rest of the body.
Proximodistal principle
principle of biological development that growth proceeds from the middle of the body outward.
teething
period of discomfort and pain experienced by infants as their new teeth break through their gums.
Neurotransmitter
Chemical that enables neurons to communicate across synapses.
axon
part of a neuron that transmits electric impulses and releases neurotransmitters.
dendrite
part of the neuron that recieves neurotransmitters
myelination
process of the growth of the myelin sheath around the axon of a neuron.
synaptic pruning
process in brain development in which dendritic connections that are used become stronger and faster and those that are unused whither away.
cerebral cortex
outer portion of the brain, containing four regions with distinct function.
lateralization
specialization of funcitons in the two hemispheres of the brain
plasticity
degree to which development can be influenced by environmental circumstances.
Gross motor development
development of motor abilities including balance and posture as well as whole-body movements such as crawling.
Fine motor development
development of motor abilities involving finely tuned movements of the hands such as grasping and manipulating objects.
Maturation
concept that an innate, biologically based program is the driving force behind development.
Schemes
cognitive structures for processing, organizing, and interpreting information.
object permanence
awareness that objects continue to exist even when we are not in direct sensory or motor contact with them.
Habituation
gradual decrease in attention to a stimulus after repeated presentaions
dishabituation
following habituation, the revival of attentionwhen a new stimulus is presented.
Zone of Proximal Development
difference between skills or tasks that children can accomplish alone and those they are capable of performing if guided by an adult or a more competent peer.
Scaffolding
degree of assistance provided to the learner in the zone of proximal development, gradually decreasing as the learner’s skills develop.
imprinting
instant and enduring bond to the first moving object seen after birth
bonding
concept that in humans the first few minutes and hours after birth are critical to mother-infant relationships.
trust vs mistrust
in Erikson’s psychosocial theory, the fist stage of development, during infancy, in which the central crisis is the need to establish a stable attachment to a lovign and nurturing caregiver.
attachment theory
Bowlby’s theory of emotional and social development, focusing on the crucial importance of the infants relationship with the primary caregiver.
secure attachment
healthiest classification of parent-child attachment, in which the child uses the parent as a secure base from which to explore, protests when parent leaves, and is happy when parent returns.
amae
japanese word for very close, physical, indulgent relationship between mother and child.
corpus callosum
band of neural fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain.
emotional self-regulation
ability to exercise control over one’s emotions
gender constancy
understanding that maleness and femaleness are biological and cannot change
gender roles
cultural expectations for appearance and behavior specific to males or females
gender schema
gender-based cognitive structure for organizing and processing information, comprising expectations for males and females appearance and behavior
displacement effect
in media research, term for how media use occupies time that may have been spent on other activities
