Lifespan Development: Conception through Early Childhood

Comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, research methods, and developmental milestones from Chapter 1 through Chapter 5 of the lifespan development notes.

Lifespan development

The scientific study of how people grow and change—physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally—from conception to death.

Developmental science

The interdisciplinary field (psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology, etc.) that studies patterns of growth, change, and stability across the lifespan using scientific methods.

Plasticity

The capacity for change in response to experience, demonstrating that the brain and behavior are not fixed.

Developmental niche

The specific environmental and cultural context a child develops within, including (1) physical and social settings, (2) child-rearing customs, and (3) caregiver psychology/beliefs.

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental factors can switch genes "on" or "off" or change how they are expressed, without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

Continuous development

Development that is gradual and cumulative, like adding more of a skill over time (e.g., steady vocabulary growth).

Discontinuous development

Development that happens in distinct stages with qualitatively different abilities at each stage (e.g., Piaget's cognitive stages).

Microsystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, the immediate environment with direct contact (e.g., family, school, peers).

Mesosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, the interactions between microsystems (e.g., parent-teacher communication).

Exosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, settings that the child isn't directly part of but that still affect them (e.g., parent's workplace policies).

Macrosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, broader cultural values, laws, customs, and social structures.

Chronosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, the dimension of time and how events or transitions affect development over the life course.

Birth cohort

A group of people born around the same time who experience similar historical/cultural events at similar ages.

Race

A socially constructed category based on perceived physical characteristics with no solid biological basis.

Ethnicity

Shared cultural traits (language, traditions, ancestry, religion) that a group identifies with.

Community Cultural Wealth model

A framework by Yosso proposing that marginalized communities hold valuable forms of capital often overlooked by dominant culture, including aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistant capital.

Cultural competence

Having knowledge and skills to work effectively across different cultures.

Cultural humility

An ongoing process of self-reflection and openness to learning about others' cultures, rather than assuming mastery.

Ethnotheory

A cultural group's shared beliefs about child development and parenting practices.

Intersectionality

The idea that people hold multiple overlapping social identities that combine to shape unique experiences of privilege or discrimination.

Validity

Whether a measure actually measures what it claims to measure.

Reliability

Whether a measure produces consistent results over repeated administrations.

Experimental study

A study in which researchers manipulate an independent variable and measure its effect on a dependent variable, using random assignment to establish cause-and-effect.

Correlational research

Research that examines relationships between variables as they naturally occur without manipulation; it shows association but cannot establish causation.

Cross-sectional design

A research design comparing different age groups at one point in time.

Longitudinal design

A research design following the same people over time to show true developmental change.

Sequential design

A research design combining cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by following multiple cohorts over time to separate age effects from cohort effects.

Genotype

The actual genetic makeup an individual inherits.

Phenotype

The observable physical or behavioral expression of inherited genes.

Zygote

The new cell formed at conception when 23 chromosomes from an egg pair with 23 chromosomes from a sperm to form 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs.

Germinal stage

The first stage of prenatal development (weeks 1–2), spanning fertilization through implantation of the blastocyst in the uterine wall.

Embryonic stage

The second stage of prenatal development (weeks 3–8), where major organs and body structures form (organogenesis); the most vulnerable period for teratogens.

Fetal stage

The third stage of prenatal development (week 9 to birth), marked by rapid growth, organ refinement, and maturation.

Mitosis

Cell division producing two identical daughter cells with the full chromosome number, used for growth and repair.

Meiosis

Cell division producing gametes (sperm or egg) with half the chromosome number, allowing genetic recombination.

Genetic carriers

Individuals who carry one copy of a recessive gene for a disorder without showing symptoms, but can pass it to offspring.

Dominant-recessive inheritance

A inheritance pattern where a trait requires only one copy of a dominant allele to be expressed, whereas a recessive trait requires two copies.

Down syndrome

A genetic condition caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 (trisomy 21), most often due to nondisjunction during meiosis.

Oxytocin

A hormone salient during the birthing process that stimulates uterine contractions.

Monozygotic twins

Identical twins formed when one fertilized egg splits into two.

Dizygotic twins

Fraternal twins formed when two separate eggs are fertilized by two separate sperm.

Apgar score

A newborn assessment scored 0–2 on five measures (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) at 1 and 5 minutes after birth, totaling 0–10.

Teratogens

Environmental agents (drugs, alcohol, nicotine, radiation, infections) that can cause harm to a developing embryo or fetus.

Placenta

An organ developing in the uterus that connects mother and fetus via the umbilical cord to exchange oxygen, nutrients, and waste.

Differential susceptibility

The idea that some individuals are more affected by their environment than others—for better and worse—due to genetics or temperament.

Perceptual narrowing

The process where infants begin capable of discriminating a broad range of stimuli but become specialized in stimuli common in their environment while losing sensitivity to unfamiliar ones.

Cephalocaudal principle

The growth and development pattern proceeding from the head downward.

Proximodistal principle

The growth and development pattern proceeding from the center of the body outward to the extremities.

Visual cliff experiment

Gibson and Walk's classic study testing depth perception in infants using an apparent drop-off covered by glass.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's stage from birth to 2 years where infants learn through senses and motor actions; key milestone is object permanence.

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not seen.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's stage from 2 to 7 years where symbolic thinking and language develop, but thinking is egocentric and lacks logical operations.

Concrete operational stage

Piaget's stage from 7 to 11 years where logical thinking about concrete objects develops, including conservation and reversibility.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's stage from 11+ years characterized by abstract, hypothetical, and systematic reasoning.

Fast mapping

The process where children infer a new word's meaning after just one or a few exposures.

Habituation

Decreased responsiveness or attention to a stimulus after repeated presentation.

Implicit memory

Unconscious memory for skills and procedures (e.g., how to crawl) present early in infancy.

Explicit memory

Conscious, intentional recollection of facts and events that develops later in childhood.

Nativist approach

The view that certain core knowledge (e.g., basic physics, number sense) is built-in or innate rather than learned solely through experience.

Synaptic pruning

The elimination of weak or unused synaptic connections in the brain to increase neural network efficiency.

Myelination

The process by which neurons become coated in a fatty sheath (myelin) that speeds up transmission of neural signals.

Dendrites

Structures of a neuron that receive signals from other neurons.

Axon

The part of a neuron that transmits electrical signals away from the cell body toward other neurons.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage (birth–1 year) focused on developing trust based on caregiver responsiveness.

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Erikson's second psychosocial stage (1–3 years) focused on developing independence in actions and choices.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's third psychosocial stage (3–6 years) focused on taking initiative in activities and play.

Stranger anxiety

Wariness or distress around unfamiliar people, typically emerging around 6–9 months.

Social referencing

Using a caregiver's emotional expression to guide one's own behavior in an ambiguous situation.

Emotional contagion

The automatic tendency to catch others' emotions (e.g., newborns crying when hearing another baby cry).

Separation anxiety

Distress when separated from a primary attachment figure, peaking around 8–14 months.

Strange Situation

Ainsworth's observational procedure measuring infant attachment through separations and reunions with a caregiver.

Secure attachment

An attachment style where the infant is distressed by separation, easily comforted upon return, and uses the caregiver as a secure base.

Insecure-avoidant attachment

An attachment style where the infant shows little distress during separation and avoids or ignores the caregiver upon return.

Insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment

An attachment style where the infant is very distressed by separation and resists comfort or acts clingy yet angry upon reunion.

Disorganized/disoriented attachment

An attachment style showing inconsistent, confused behavior upon reunion (such as freezing), often linked to frightening caregiving.

Temperament

An individual's innate, biologically-based style of emotional reactivity and self-regulation.

Goodness-of-fit

The principle that healthy development depends on the match between a child's temperament and environmental expectations/demands.

Red dot experiment

A mirror self-recognition task where a dot of rouge is placed on a child's face; touching one's own face indicates self-awareness, emerging around 18–24 months.

Authoritative parenting

A parenting style characterized by high warmth and high control/expectations, associated with the best outcomes.

Authoritarian parenting

A parenting style characterized by high control and low warmth, with strict rules and low responsiveness.

Permissive parenting

A parenting style characterized by high warmth and low control, with few demands or rules.

Uninvolved parenting

A parenting style characterized by low warmth and low control, offering minimal demands or responsiveness.