Wk. 2 - Infancy and Early Childhood - Ch. 3 - Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy Flashcards
cephalocaudal pattern
sequence in which the earliest growth always occurs at the top — the head — with physical growth in size, weight, and feature differentiation gradually working from top to bottom.
proximodistal pattern
sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body and moves toward the extremities.
lateralization
specialization of function in one hemisphere of the cerebral cortex or the other.
neurons
Nerve cells that handle information processing specialized cells that transmit nerve impulses.
myelinization
process of encasing axons with fat cells, begins prenatally and continues throughout childhood, even into adolescence.
neuroconstructionist view
Developmental perspective in which biological processes and environmental conditions influence the brain’s development; the brain has plasticity and is context dependent; and cognitive development is closely linked with brain development.
REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement)
Rapid eye movement sleep is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds; characterized by random rapid movement of the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly.
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
A condition that occurs when an infant stops breathing.
gross motor skills
Motor skills that involve a large-muscle activity such as walking.
fine motor skills
Motor skills that involve more finely tuned movements, such as finger dexterity.
sensation
The product of the interaction between information and the sensory receptors — the eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, and skin.
perception
The interperception of what is sensed.
ecological view
The view that perception functions to bring organisms in contact with the environment and to increase adaptation.
visual preference method
A method developed by Fantz, to determine whether infants can distinguish one stimulus from another by measuring the length of time they attend to different stimuli.
habituation
Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations of the stimulus.
dishabituation
Recovery of a habituated response after a change in stimulation.
eye-tracking
The process of measuring either point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head.
visual acuity
Sharpness of vision, measured by the ability to discern letters or numbers at a given distance according to a fixed standard.
pitch
The frequency of a sound.
depth perception
The ability to perceive the relative distance of objects in one’s visual field.
stimulus
An object or event that elicits a sensory of behavioral response in an organism. (In perceptual psychology, a stimulus is an energy change (e.g., light or sound).
intermodal perception
The ability to relate and integrate information from two or more sensory modalities, such as vision and learning.
perceptual development
Refers to the development of the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Sensation refers to the act of taking in information through our five senses, while perception refers to the interpretations that our brains make from this sensory information.
schemes
In Piaget’s theory, actions or mental representations that organize knowledge.
assimilation
Piagetian concept of using existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences.
accommodation
Piagetian concept of adjusting schemes to fit new information and experiences.
organization
Piaget’s concept of grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher order, more smoothly functioning cognitive system.
equilibration
A mechanism that Piaget proposed to explain how children shift from one stage of thought to the next.
disequilibrium
A situation where internal and/or external forces prevent market equilibrium from being reached or cause the market to fall out of balance. This can be a short-term byproduct of a change in variable factors or a result of long-term structural imbalances.
sensorimotor stage
The first of Piaget’s stages, which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age; during this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with motoric actions.
attention
The focusing of mental resources on select information.
imitation
The action of using someone or something as a model.
deferred imtation
Imitation that occurs after a delay of hours and days.
memory
A central feature of cognitive development pertaining to all situations in which an individual retains information over time.
implicit memory
Memory without conscious recollection; involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed.
explicit memory
Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.
concepts
Cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas.
language
A form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols. Language consists of the words by a community and the rules for varying and combining them.
infinite generativity
The ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules.
phonemes
The basic sound of a language.
Broca’s Area
An area in the left frontal lobe of the brain that is involved in producing words.
Wernicke’s Area
A region of the brain’s left hemisphere that is involved in producing words.
language acquisition device (LAD)
Chomsky’s term that describes a biological endowment enabling the child to detect features and rules of language, including phonology, syntax, and semantics.
child-directed speech
Also called parentese, language or various speech patterns used by parents, or caregivers when communicating with young children, particularly infants, usually involving simplified vocabulary, melodic pitch, repetitive questioning, and a slow or deliberate tempo.
