Human Development, Culture, and Genetics: Key Concepts for Psychology and Biology

Traditional culture

In developing countries, rural culture that adheres more closely to historical traditions than urban culture

Majority culture

The group that sets norms and standards and holds most political, economic, intellectual, and social power

Hindu Dharmashastras

The oldest known document on human development, describing four 25-year stages: apprentice, householder, forest dweller, renunciant

Jewish Talmud stages

Ancient theory of 14 stages with no fixed length, spanning ages 0-100

Psychosexual theory

Freud's theory that sexual desire drives development and personality is fully formed by age six

Psychosocial theory

Erikson's theory that development is driven by the need for social integration and continues across the entire lifespan, with a crisis to resolve at each stage

Microsystem

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the immediate environment of daily life

Mesosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, the interconnections between a person's microsystems

Exosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, societal institutions that influence the person indirectly

Macrosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, broad cultural beliefs and values

Chronosystem

In Bronfenbrenner's model, how development is affected by change over time, individually or historically

Cultural-Developmental Model

The course's dominant theory, combining the ecological model and Erikson's theory to focus on how culture and biology shape development

Allele

A version of a gene

Homozygous dominant

A genotype with two dominant alleles (BB)

Homozygous recessive

A genotype with two recessive alleles (bb)

Heterozygous

A genotype with one dominant and one recessive allele (Bb)

Dominant-recessive inheritance

A pattern where only the dominant allele is expressed in the phenotype, as with freckles or brown eyes

Incomplete dominance

A pattern where phenotype is mainly but not fully determined by the dominant allele, as with sickle cell trait

Polygenic inheritance

A pattern where multiple genes interact to produce a trait, such as height or skin color

X-linked inheritance

Inheritance pattern where males are more vulnerable to X-linked recessive disorders because they have only one X chromosome

Epigenetics

The continuous, bidirectional interaction between genes and environment

Reaction range

The idea that genes set a range of possible outcomes, with environment determining where development lands within that range

Germinal period

Weeks 1-2 of prenatal development, focused on implantation in the uterine wall

Blastocyst

An early ball of about 100 cells formed as the zygote travels down the fallopian tube

Trophoblast

The outer layer of the blastocyst, which becomes structures that nourish and protect the embryo

Embryonic disk

The inner layer of the blastocyst, which becomes the embryo itself

Amnion

A fluid-filled membrane that regulates temperature and cushions the embryo

Placenta

The organ that passes nutrients in, waste out, and filters bacteria and toxins during pregnancy

Embryonic period

Weeks 3-8 of prenatal development, when all major organ systems form

Ectoderm

The outer layer of the embryonic disk, becoming skin, hair, nails, sensory organs, and nervous system

Mesoderm

The middle layer of the embryonic disk, becoming muscles, bones, and circulatory and reproductive systems

Endoderm

The inner layer of the embryonic disk, becoming digestive and respiratory systems

Fetal period

Week 9 to birth, the longest prenatal period, marked by rapid growth and the onset of viability

Viability

The ability of a fetus to survive outside the womb, becoming possible starting around 22-26 weeks

Amniocentesis

A prenatal test that collects amniotic fluid with a long needle through the abdomen.

Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS)

A prenatal test that collects cells from the forming umbilical cord via a tube placed in the uterus.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

A fertility treatment where eggs are fertilized outside the womb and then placed in the uterus, with the highest success rate and cost.

First stage of labor

The longest stage of birth, during which contractions dilate the cervix.

Second stage of labor

Delivery, when the fetus is pushed through the birth canal, including crowning.

Episiotomy

An incision made to enlarge the vaginal opening during delivery.

Third stage of labor

Expulsion of the placenta and umbilical cord after birth.

Epidural

An anesthetic injected into spinal fluid to manage labor pain while the mother remains alert.

Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM)

Tracking of fetal heart rate during labor, either externally or internally.

Neonate

A newborn baby up to 4 weeks or 28 days old.

Fontanels

Soft spots between the unfused bones of a neonate's skull.

Lanugo

Fine fuzzy hair covering a neonate's skin that usually sheds within days.

Vernix

An oily, cheesy substance that protects a neonate's skin from chapping in the womb.

Neonatal jaundice

Yellowish skin or eyes in a newborn due to an immature liver, treated with phototherapy if prolonged.

Bilirubin

The yellowish pigment responsible for neonatal jaundice.

Anoxia

Oxygen deprivation in a newborn that can cause brain damage.

Apgar scale

A newborn health assessment rating appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration, each 0-2, given at 1 and 5 minutes.

Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

A 27-item assessment of newborn reflexes, physical states, and social responsiveness, rated worrisome, normal, or superior.

Low birth weight

Birth weight under 5.8 pounds.

Very low birth weight

Birth weight under 3.5 pounds.

Extremely low birth weight

Birth weight under 2.3 pounds.

Small for date

An infant who is underweight for their gestational age.

Kangaroo care

Skin-to-skin contact used to treat low birth weight infants, improving weight gain and stability.

Let-down reflex

A reflex that releases milk to the nipple in response to an infant's cry, open mouth, or thought of breast-feeding.

Rooting reflex

An infant reflex causing the head to turn toward a touch on the cheek.

Colostrum

The thick, antibody-rich milk produced in the first few days after birth.

Cephalocaudal principle

The principle that growth proceeds from the head downward.

Proximodistal principle

The principle that growth proceeds from the center of the body outward.

Synaptic exuberance

A burst in the production of new neural connections during the first year of life.

Myelination

The growth of the myelin sheath around axons, which speeds neural communication.

Synaptic pruning

The elimination of unused neural connections, increasing efficiency.

Plasticity

The degree to which development can be shaped by environmental circumstances.

Marasmus

A wasting disease from severe malnutrition, causing stopped growth, muscle atrophy, and potentially death.

Schema

A cognitive structure for processing, organizing, and interpreting information.

Assimilation

Fitting new information into an existing schema.

Accommodation

Changing a schema, or creating a new one, to fit new information.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's first stage, ages 0-2, involving coordination of senses with motor activity.

A-not-B error

An infant's tendency to search for an object where it was previously found rather than where it was last seen.

Mozart effect

A widely publicized but unreplicated 1990s finding, tested on university students, that classical music briefly boosted cognitive performance.

Infant-directed speech

Speech to infants marked by higher pitch, simplified grammar, and exaggerated intonation, more common in developed countries.

Colic

Prolonged, intense crying or fussiness in a healthy infant with no clear cause.

PURPLE program

A parent education program on infant crying given before or shortly after birth.

Temperament

Innate responses to the physical and social environment, considered the raw material of personality.

New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS)

Thomas and Chess's 1956 study proposing three infant temperament categories: easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up.

Goodness-of-fit

The principle that development goes best when a child's temperament matches the demands of their environment.

Primary emotions

Basic emotions shared with animals, including anger, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and happiness.

Secondary emotions

Sociomoral emotions requiring social learning, including embarrassment, shame, and guilt, developing between ages 1 and 2.