Lifespan Development Flashcards
What is reaction range, and an example?
A range of reaction for certain traits dependent on environmental factors. ‘Canalization’ refers to characteristics in which genotype restricts phenotype to a small number of possible outcomes.
Passive genotype-environment correlation
Children inherit traits from their parents that predispose them to particular traits and then their environment reinforces them (e.g., athleticism)
Evocative genotype-environment correlation
Child’s genetic makeup evokes reactions from parents which then reinforces it
Active genotype-environment correlation
Also referred to as ‘niche-picking’
Children seek out experiences that are consistent with genetic predispositions
This becomes more important as children become more independent
Epigenesis
Gene-environment interactions relative to developmental stage
Critical periods versus sensitive periods
Critical periods - specific, predetermined periods of time during biological maturation when an organism is sensitive to specific stimuli that can impact development
Sensitive periods - longer in duration than critical periods, more relevant to human development, not tied to chronological/maturational age
Bjorkhund and Pellegrini
Prolonged juvenile period evolved because humans require an extended period of time to develop a large brain. Childhood behaviors prepare children for adulthood.
Ontogenic adaptations
Childhood behaviors that are adaptive at specific points in development
Stages of prenatal development
Germinal stage - first 2 weeks when the fertilized ovum becomes a zygote
Embryonic stage - third week to the eighth eek
Fetal stage - onset of the nineth week until birth
Chromosomes
Human cells contain 46 chromosomes arranged into 23 pairs.
22 are autosomes
The 23rd is a sex chromosome.
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
A recessive gene disorder
People with PKU do not produce an enzyme used to metabolize phenylalanine which is an amino acid found in foods.
Requires people to start a low phenyl… diet early in life to stave of ID
Dominant gene disorders
Inheritance of a single dominant gene from one parent
Ex. Huntington’s disease
Recessive gene disorders
Inheritance of recessive genes, one from each parent
Ex. sickle cell, Tay sachs, cystic fibrosis
Chromosomal disorders
Variation in the number of chromosomes (aneuploidy) - Downs, Klinefelters, Turner and an alteration in their structure
Down syndrome
Extra chromosome 21
Characterized by ID, distinctive physical features, increased risk for AD, leukemia, and heart defects
Risk for DS increases as parental age increases
Klinefelter syndrome
Occurs in males due to the presence of 2 X chromosomes and 1 Y chromosome
Characterized by small penis and testes, breasts at puberty, limited interest in sex, sterility, learning disabilities
Turner syndrome
Occurs in females
Presence of a single X chromosome
Short, drooping eyelids, webbed neck, slow or absent secondary sex characteristics, cognitive deficits
Chromosomal deletion
Part of a chromosome is missing
Prader-Willi syndrom - ID, obesity, OC behaviors
Chromosomal translocation
Transfer of a chromosome segment to another chromosome
Can occur in Down syndrom
Chromosomal inversion
When a chromosome breaks in 2 places and forms inverts and then re-attaches
Can be inherited, do not typically impact phenotype
Fetal Alcohol syndrome
FAS is the most severe form - occurs when mother drinks heavily nearly every day or binge drinks in the second half of the first trimester
Associated with facial abnormalities, heart/kidney/liver defects, behavioral problems, vision and hearing problems
Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND)
Cognitive deficits and behavioral problems without prominent facial anomalies
Alcohol-related birth defects
Involves physical defects without other prominent symptoms
Brain regions affected by FASD
corpus callosum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, basal ganglia, frontal lobes
Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
DSM-5-TR disorder associated with mental health effects of alcohol exposure in utero
Cocaine use in pregnancy
Increases risk for spontaneous abortion and stillbirth
High risk for SIDS, seizures, LBW and reduced head circumference
Tremors, worsened startle response, high-pitched cry, sleep and feeding difficulties, dev delays and irritability
Cognitive and behavioral problems may persist into the early school years
Nicotine exposure during pregnancy
Placental abnormalities
Higher risk for LBW, SIDS, respiratory diseases, emotional and social disturbances and cognitive deficits
Lead exposure during pregnancy
LBW and ID
Rubella during pregnancy
First trimester rubella is associated with heart defects, blindness, deafness, and ID
Cytomegalovirus during pregnancy
Results from herpes virus
Passed via placenta
10% have sx at birth including - LBW, petechial rash, microencephaly, enlarged liver and spleen, retinal inflammation, and calcium deposits
20-30% die perinatally
May also result in ID and hearing and visual impairments
Small-for-gestational age (SGA)
Less than the 10th percentile
At higher rate for asphyxia during birth, respiratory disease, hypoglycemia, physical problems, LD and ADHD
Synaptogenesis
Interconnections between neurons
Neurogenesis
Creation of new neurons
Newborn reflexes
Babinski: Toe fanning
Rooting: Turn head when cheeks are touched
Moro: Flings arms and legs outward upon startle
Stepping: Coordinated walking movement when held upright and touching a flat surface
Auditory localization
The ability to orient toward the direction of sound
Evident shortly after birth, disappears between 2 and 4 months, reappears and improves throughout the first year
Effects of early training
Training can accelerate the ability to do specific motor skills but this does not generalize
Early training in complex skills like playing a musical instrument does improve skills later in life
Early maturation in adolescents
Effects are most severe hen adolescents perceive themselves as differing from their peers
Effects of early/late maturation dissipate by adulthood
Presbyopia
Inability to focus on close objects
Vision change associated with aging
Piaget’s constructivism
The motivation for cognitive development comes from a drive toward cognitive equilibrium born from a discrepancy between reality and a person’s understanding of the world. This is resolved through adaptation
Adaptation (re: Piaget)
Assimilation - the incorporation of new knowledge into existing cognitive schemas
Accommodation - modification of existing schemas to incorporate new knowledge
Sensorimotor stage of cognitive development
Birth to 2 years
We use our senses and the actions that can be performed on objects to learn about them
Learning is born from ‘circular reactions’ - repeating events that initially occurred by chance (six substages)
*Object permanence, deferred imitation, make-believe/symbolic play
Object permanence
Develops during the sensorimotor stage during Coordinated Secondary Circular Reactions
Deferred imitation
Occurs during the sensorimotor stage
Imitating another person’s behavior hours or days after the behavior occurred
Perioperational stage of cognitive development
Ages 2-7 years
Emergence of symbolic function - learning through the use of language, mental images, and other symbols
Limited by precausal reasoning, ecocentrism, animism,
Precausal/transductive reasoning
Incomplete understanding of cause and effect
e.g., magical thinking, animism
Concrete operational stage of cognitive development
Ages 7-11/12 years
Children become capable of mental operations
Can classify objects, seriate, conserve
Horizontal declage - gradual acquisition of conservation abilities and other abilities within a stage of development
Formal operational stage of cognitive development
11-12+ Years
Abstract thinking, hypothetico-deductive reasoning
Adolescent egocentrism
Elkind
Personal fable - belief that one is unique and not subject to natural laws that govern others
Imaginary audience - belief that one is always the center of attention
Piaget’s theory (cross-cultural factors)
Cognitive development occurs in predictable stages without skips
Ages may vary by culture
Children may be more competent than Piagetian tasks suggest
