Life Span Human Development Definitions Chapters 1-16 Flashcards
Nature-Nurture Issue
The degree to which genetic or hereditary influences (nature) and experiential or environmental influences (nurture) determine the kind of person you are
Human development
The multidisciplinary study of how people change and how they remain the same over time.
Continuity-Discontinuity Issue
Whether a particular developmental phenomenon represents a smooth progression throughout the life span (continuity) or a series of abrupt shifts (discontinuity)
Universal Versus Context-Specific Development Issue
Whether there is just one path of development or several paths
Biopsychosocial Framework
A useful way to organize the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces on human development
Neuroscience
The study of brain and nervous system, especially in terms of brain behavior relationships
Theory
An organized set of ideas that is designed to explain development
Psychodynamic Theories
Theories proposing that development is largely determined by how well people resolve conflicts they face at different ages
Psychosocial Theory
Erikson’s proposal that personality development is determined by the interaction of an internal maturational plan and external societal demands
Epigenetic Principle
In Erikson’s theory, the idea that each psychosocial strength has its own special period of particular importance
Operant Conditioning
Learning paradigm in which the consequences of a behavior determine whether a behavior is repeated in the future
Reinforcement
A consequence that increase the future likelihood if the behavior that it follows
Punishment
A consequence that decreases the future likelihood of the behavior that it follows
Imitation or Observational Learning
Learning that occurs by simply watching how others behave
Self-Efficacy
People’s beliefs about their own abilities and talents
Information-Processing Theory
Theory proposing that human cognition consists of mental hardware and mental software
Ecological Theory
Theory based on idea that human development is inseparable from the environmental context in which a person develops
Microsystem
The people and objects in an individual’s immediate environment
Mesosystem
Provides connections across Microsystems
Exosystem
Social settings that a person may not experience firsthand but still influence development
Macrosystem
The cultures and subcultures in which the Microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem are embedded
Competence
A person’s abilities
Environmental Press
Demands put on people by the environment
Life-Span Perspective
View that human development is multiply determined and cannot be understood within the scope of a single framework
Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) model
Model in which three processes (selection, optimization, and compensation) form a system of behavioral action that generates and regulates development and aging
Life-course perspective
Description of how various generations experience the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces of development in their respective historical contexts
Systematic Observation
Watching people and carefully recording what they do or say
Naturalistic Observation
Technique in which people are observed as they behave spontaneously in some real-life situation
Structured observations
Technique in which a researcher creates a setting that is likely to elicit the behavior of interest
Self-reports
People’s answers to questions about the topic of interest
Reliability
Extent to which a measure provides a consistent index of a characteristic
Validity
Extent to which a measure actually assesses what researchers think it does
Populations
Broad groups of people that are of interest to researchers
Sample
A subset of population
Correlational Study
Investigation looking at relations between variables as they exist naturally in the world
Correlation Coefficient
An expression of the strength and direction of a relation between two variables
Experiment
A systematic way of manipulating the key factor(s) that investigator thinks causes a particular behavior
Independent Variable
The factor being manipulated
Dependent Variable
The behavior being observed
Qualitative Reasearch
Method that involves gaining in-depth understanding of human behavior and what governs it
Longitudinal Study
Longitudinal study research design in which the same individuals are observed or tested repeatedly at different points in their lives
Cross-sectional study
Study in which developmental differences are identified by testing people of different ages
Cohort effects
Problem with cross-sectional designs in which differences between age groups (cohorts) may result as easily from environmental events as from developmental processes
Sequential design
developmental research design based on cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
Meta-analysis
a tool that enables researchers to synthesize the results of many studies to estimate relations between variables
Chromosomes
threadlike structures in the nuclei of cells that contain genetic material
Autosomes
first 22 pairs of chromosomes
Sex Chromosomes
23rd pair of chromosomes; these determine the sex of the child
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
molecule composed of four nucleotide bases that is the biochemical basis of heredity
Gene
group of nucleotide bases that provides a specific set of biochemical instructions
Genotype
person’s hereditary makeup
Phenotype
physical, behavioral, and psychological features that result from the interactions between one’s gene’s and the environment
Alleles
variations of genes
Homozygous
when the alleles in a pair of chromosomes are the same
Heterozygous
when the alleles in a pair of chromosomes differ from each other
Dominant
form of an allele whose chemical instructions are followed
Recessive
allele whose instructions are ignored in the presence of a dominant allele
Incomplete dominace
situation in which one allele does not dominate another completely
Sickle-Cell trait
disorder in which individuals show signs of mild anemia only when they are seriously deprived of oxygen; occurs in individuals who have one dominant allele for normal blood cells and one recessive sickle-cell allele
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
inherited disorder in which the infant lacks a liver enzyme
Huntington’s Disease
progressive and fatal type of dementia caused by dominant alleles
Behavioral Genetics
the branch of genetics that studies the inheritance of behavioral and psychological traits
Polygenic Inheritance
when phenotypes are the result of the combined activity of many separate genes
Heritability Coefficient
a measure (derived from a correlation coefficient) of the extent to which a trait or characteristic is inherited
Niche-Picking
process of deliberately seeking environments that are compatible with one’s genetic makeup
Nonshared Environmental Influences
forces within a family that make siblings different from one another
Prenatal Development
the many changes that turns a fertilized egg into a newborn human
In Vitro Fertilization
process by which sperm and an egg are mixed in a petri dish to create a zygote, which is then placed in a woman’s uterus
Eugenics
effort to improve the human species by letting only people whose characteristics are valued by society mate and pass along their genes
Zygote
fertilized egg
Implantation
step in which the zygote burrows into the uterine wall and establishes connections with the woman’s blood vessel
Germ Disc
small cluster of cells near the center of the zygote that will eventually develop into a baby
Placenta
structure through which nutrients and waste are exchanged between the mother and the developing child
Embryo
term given to zygote once it is completely embedded in the uterine wall
Ectoderm
outer layer of the embryo, which will become the hair, the outer layer of skin, and the nervous system
Mesoderm
middle layer of the embryo, which becomes the muscle, bones, and circulatory system
Endoderm
inner layer of the embryo, which becomes the lungs and digestive system
Period of the fetus
longest period of prenatal development, extending from the 9th until the 38th week after conception
Cerebral Cortex
wrinkled surface of the brain that regulates many functions that are distinctly human
Vernix
substance that protects the fetus’s skin during development
Age of Viablility
age at which a fetus can survive because most of its bodily system function adequately; typically at 7 months after conception
Spina Bifida
disorder in which the embryo’s neural tube does not close properly
Stress
physical and psychological responses to threatening or challenging conditions
Teratogen
an agent that causes abnormal parental development
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorder (FASD)
disorder affecting babies whose mothers consumed large amounts of alcohol while they were pregnant
Ultrasound
prenatal diagnostic technique that uses sound waves to generate an image of the fetus
Amniocentesis
prenatal diagnostic technique that uses a syringe to withdraw a sample of amniotic fluid through the mother’s abdomen
Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS)
prenatal diagnostic technique that involves taking a sample of tissue from the chorion
Fetal Medicine
field of medicine concerned with treating prenatal problems before birth
Crowning
appearance of the top of the baby’s head during labor
Hypoxia
a birth complication in which umbilical blood flow is disrupted and the infant does not receive adequate oxygen
Cesarean section (C-section)
Surgical removal of infant from the uterus through an incision made in the mother’s abdomen
Preterm (premature)
Babies born before the 36th week after conception
Low birth weight
Newborns who weigh less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds)
Very low birth weight
Newborns who weigh less than 1,500 grams (3 pounds)
Extremely low birth weight
Newborns who weigh less than 1,000 grams (2 pounds)
Infant mortality
The number of infants out of 1,000 births who die before their first birthday
Reflexes
Unlearned responses triggered by specific stimulation
Alert inactivity
State in which a baby is calm with eyes open and attentive; the baby seems to be deliberately inspecting the environment
Waking activity
State in which a baby’s eyes are open but seem unfocused while the arms or legs move in burst of uncoordinated motion
Crying
State in which a baby cries vigorously, usually accompanied by agitated but uncoordinated movement
Sleeping
State in which a baby alternates from being still and breathing regularly to moving gently and breathing irregularly; the eyes are closed throughout
Basic cry
Cry that starts softly and gradually becomes more intense; often heard when babies are hungry or tired
Mad cry
More intense version of basic cry
Pain cry
Cry that begins with a sudden long burst, followed by a long pause and gasping
Irregular or rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep
Irregular sleep in which an infant’s eyes dart rapidly beneath the eyelids while the body is quite active
Regular (nonREM) sleep
Sleep in which heart rate, breathing, and brain activity are steady
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
When a healthy baby dies suddenly for no apparent reason
Temperament
Consistent style or pattern of behavior
Combination of environmental forces, reaction to the content
Malnourished
Being small for one’s age because of inadequate nutrition
Neuron
Basic cellular unit of the brain and nervous system that specializes in receiving and transmitting information
Cell body
Center of the neuron that keeps the neuron alive
Dendrite
End of the neuron that receives information; it looks like a tree with many branches
Axon
Tubelike structure that emerges from the cell body and transmits information to other neurons
Terminal buttons
Small knots at the end of the axon that release neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals released by terminal buttons that allow neurons to communicate with each other
Cerebral cortex
Wrinkled surface of the brain that regulates many functions that are distinctly human
Hemispheres
Right and left halves of the cortex
Corpus callosum
Thick bundle of neurons that connect the two hemispheres
Frontal cortex
Brain region that regulates personality and goal-directed behavior
Neural plate
Flat group of cells present in prenatal development that becomes the brain and spinal cord
Myelin
Fatty sheath that wraps around neurons and enables them to transmit information more rapidly
Synaptic pruning
Gradual reduction in the number of synapses, beginning in infancy and continuing until early adolescence
Electroencephalography
the study of brain waves recorded from electrodes that are placed on the sclap
Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI)
method of studying brain activity by using magnetic fields to track blood flow in the brain
Experience-Expectant growth
process by which the wiring of the brain is organized by experiences that are common to most humans
Experience-Dependent growth
process by which an individual’s unique experiences over a lifetime affect brain structures and organization
Motor skills
coordinated movements of muscles and limbs
Locomote
ability to move around in the world
Fine motor skills
motor skills associated with grasping, holding, and manipulating objects
Toddling
early, unsteady form of walking done by infants
Toddlers
young children who have just learned to walk
Dynamic system theory
theory that views motor development as involving many distinct skills that are organized and reorganized over time to meet specific needs
Differentiation
distinguishing and mastering individual motions
Integration
linking individual motions into a coherent, coordinated whole
Perception
processes by which the brain receives, selects, modifies, and organizes incoming nerve impulses that are result of physical stimulation
Visual acuity
smallest pattern that one can distinguish reliably
Cones
specialized neurons in the back of the eye that sense color
Visual Cliff
glass-covered platform that appears to have a “shallow”, and a “deep” side; used to study infants’ depth perception
Kinetic cues
cues to depth perception in which motion is used to estimate depth
Visual expansion
kinetic cue to depth perception that is based on the fact that an object fills an ever-greater proportion of the retina as it moves closer
Motion Parallax
kinetic cue to depth perception based on the fact that nearby moving objects move across our visual field faster than do distant objects
Retinal disparity
way of inferring depth based on differences in the retinal images in the left and right eyes
Pictorial cues
cues to depth perception that are used to convey depth in drawings and paintings
Linear Perspective
a cue to depth perception based on the fact that parallel lines come together at a single point in the distance
Texture Gradient
Perceptual cue to depth based on the fact that the texture of objects changes from coarse and distinct for nearby objects to finer and less distinct for distinct objects
Intersensory redundancy
infants’ sensory systems are attuned to information presented simultaneously to different sensory modes
Theory of mind
ideas about connections between thoughts, beliefs,intentions, and behavior that create an intuitive understanding of the link between mind and behaviour
Scheme
according to Piaget, a mental structure that organizes information and regulates behavior.
Assimilation
According to Piaget, taking in information that is compatible with what one already knows
Accommodation
According to Piaget, changing existing knowledge based on new knowledge
Equilibration
According to Piaget, a process by which children reorganize their schemes to return to a state of equilibrium when disequilibrium occurs
Sensorimotor period
First of Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development, which lasts from birth to approximately 2 years
Object permanence
Understanding, acquired in infancy, that objects exist independently of oneself
Egocentrism
Difficulty in seeing in the world from another’s point of view; typical of children in the preoperational period
Animism
Crediting inanimate objects with life and lifelike properties such as feelings
Centration
According to Piaget, narrowly focused type of thought characteristic of preoperational children
Core knowledge hypothesis
Infants are born with rudimentary knowledge of the world, which is elaborated based on experiences
Teleological explanation
Children’s belief that living things and parts of living things exist for a purpose
Essentialism
Children’s belief that all living things have an essence that can’t be seen but gives a living thing it’s identity
Mental hardware
Mental and neural structures that are built in and that allow the mind to operate
Mental software
Mental “programs” that are the basis for performing particular tasks
Attention
Processes that determine which information will be processed further by an individual
Orienting response
An individual views a strong or unfamiliar stimulus, and changes in heart rate and brain-wave activity occur
Habituation
Becoming unresponsive to stimulus that is presented repeatedly
Classical conditioning
A form of learning that involves paring a neutral stimulus and a response originally produced by another stimulus
Operant conditioning
View of learning, proposed by B.F. Skinner, that emphasize reward and punishment
Autobiographical memory
Memories of the significant events and experiences of one’s own life
One-to-one principle
Counting principle that states that there must be one and only one number name for each object counted
Stable-order principle
Counting principle that states that number names must always be counted in the same order
Cardinality principle
Counting principle that the last number name denotes the number of objects being counted
Intersubjectivity
Mutual, shared understanding among participants in an activity
Guided participation
Children’s involvement in structured activities with others who are more skilled, typically producing cognitive growth
Zone of proximal development
Difference between what children can do with assistance an what they can do alone
Scaffolding
A style in which teachers gauge the amount of assistance they offer to match the learner’s needs
Private speech
A child’s comments that are not intended for others but designed instead to help regulate the child’s own behavior
Phonemes
Unique sounds used to create words; the basic building blocks of language
Infant-directed speech
Speech that adults use with infants that is slow and has exaggerated changes in pitch and volume; it is thought to aid language acquisition
Cooing
Early vowel-like sounds that babies produce
Babbling
Speechlike sounds that consist of vowel-consonant combinations; common at about 6 months
Fast mapping
A child’s connections between words and referents that are made so quickly that he or she cannot consider all possible meanings of the word
Underextension
When children define words more narrowly than adults do
Overextension
When children define words more broadly than adults do
Phonological memory
Ability to remember speech sounds briefly; an important skill in acquiring vocabulary
Referential style
Language-learning style of children whose vocabularies are dominated by names of objects, persons, or actions
Expressive style
Language-learning style of children whose vocabularies include many social phrases that are used like one word.
Telegraphic speech
Speech used by young children that contains only the words necessary to convey a message
Grammatical morphemes
Words or endings of words that make a sentence grammatical
Overregularization
Grammatical usage that results from applying rules to words that are exceptions to the rule
Hope
According to Erikson, an openness to new experience tempered by wariness that occurs when trust and mistrust are in balance
Will
According to Erikson, a young child’s understanding that he or she can act on the world intentionally; this occurs when autonomy, shame, and doubt are in balance
Purpose
According to Erikson, balance between Individual initiative and willingness to cooperate with others
Evolutionary psychology
Theoretical view that many human behaviors represents successful adaptations to the environment
Attachment
Enduring socioemotional relationship between infants and their caregivers
Secure attachment
Relationship in which infants have come to trust and depend on their mothers
Avoidant attachment
Relationship in which infants turn away from their mothers when they are reunited following a brief separation
Resistant attachment
Relationship in which, after a brief separation, infants want to be held but are difficult to console
Disorganized (disoriented) attachment
Relationship in which infants don’t seem to understand what’s happening when they are separated and later reunited with their mothers
Internal working model
Infant’s understanding of how responsive and dependable the mother is; thought to influence close relationships throughout the child’s life
Basic emotions
Emotions experienced by humankind and that consist of three elements: a subjective feeling, a physiological change, and overt behavior
Social smiles
Smile that infants produce when they see a human face
Stranger wariness
First distinct signs of fear that emerge around 6 months of age when infants become wary in the presence of unfamiliar adults
Social referencing
Behavior in which infants in unfamiliar or ambiguous environments look at an adult for cues to help them interpret the situation
Parallel play
When children play alone but are aware of and interested in what another child is doing
Simple social play
Play that begins at about 15 to 18 months; toddlers engage in similar activities as well as talk and smile at each other
Cooperative play
Play that is organized around a theme, with each child taking on a different role; begins at about 2 years of age
Enabling actions
Individuals’ actions and remarks that tend to support other and sustain the interaction
Constricting actions
Interaction in which one partner tries to emerge as the victor by threatening or contradicting the other
Prosocial behavior
Any behavior that benefits another person
Altruism
Prosocial behavior such as helping sharing in which the individual does not benefit directly from his or her behavior
Empathy
Experiencing another person’s feelings
Social role
Set of cultural guidelines about how one should behave, especially with other people
Gender stereotypes
Beliefs and images about males and females that are not necessarily true
Relational aggression
Aggression used to hurt others by understanding their social relationships
Gender identity
Sense of oneself as male or female
Gender labeling
Young children’s understanding that they are either boys or girls and naming themselves accordingly
Gender stability
Understanding in preschool children that boys become men and girls become women
Gender constancy
Understanding that maleness and femaleness do not change over situations or personal wishes
Gender-schema theory
Theory that states children want to learn more about an activity only after first deciding whether it is masculine or feminine
Mental operations
Cognitive actions that can be performed on objects or ideas
Deductive reasoning
Drawing conclusions from facts; characteristic of formal-operational thought
Working memory
Type of memory in which a small number if items can be stored briefly
Long-term memory
Permanent storehouse for memories that has unlimited capacity
Organization
As applied to children’s memory, a strategy in which information to be remembered is structured so that related information is placed together
Elaboration
Memory strategy in which information is embellished to make it more memorable
Metamemory
Person’s informal understanding of memory; includes the ability to diagnose memory problems accurately and to monitor the effectiveness of memory strategies
Metacognitive knowledge
A person’s knowledge and awareness of cognitive processes
Cognitive self-regulation
Skill at identifying goals, selecting effective strategies, and accurate monitoring; a characteristic of successful students
Psychometricians
Psychologists who specialize in measuring psychological traits such as intelligence and personality
Emotional intelligence
Ability to use one’s own and others’ emotions effectively for solving problems and living happily
Analytic ability
In Sternberg’s theory of intelligence, the ability to analyze problems and generate different solutions
Creative ability
In Sternberg’s theory of intelligence, the ability to deal adaptively with novel situations and problems
Practical ability
In Sternberg’s theory of intelligence, the ability to know which problem solutions are likely to work
Mental age (ma)
In intelligence testing, a measure of children’s performance corresponding to the chronological age of those whose performance equals the child’s
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
Mathematical representation of how a person scores on an intelligence test in relation I how other people of the same age score
Culture-fair intelligence tests
Intelligence tests devised using items common to many cultures
Stereotype threat
An evoked fear of being judged in accordance with a negative stereotype about a group to which you belong
Convergent thinking
Using information to arrive at one standard and correct answer
Divergent thinking
Thinking in novel and unusual directions
Intellectual disability
Substantially below average intelligence and problems adapting to an environment that emerge before the age of 18
Learning disability
When a child with normal intelligence has difficulty mastering at least one academic subject
Word recognition
The process of identifying a unique pattern of letters
Comprehension
The process of extracting meaning from a sequence of words
Phonological awareness
The ability to hear the distinctive sounds of letters
Knowledge-telling strategy
Writing down information as it is retrieved from memory, a common practice for young writers
Knowledge-transforming strategy
Deciding what information to include and how best to organize it to convey a point
Inductive reasoning
Reasoning from detailed facts to general principle
