PSY 250 - Exam 1

development

predictable changes that occur in structure/function over the lifespan (can be biological, cognitive, or psychosocial)

empirical

data that is evidence-based rather than opinion or personal-experience based

dynamic systems theory

a theory that describes development as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction between the person and every aspect of their environment

differential susceptibility theory

theorizes that people vary in how sensitive they are to certain experiences (eg. different parental care can result in different coping tendencies, etc)

multidirectional development

development is characterized by sensitive periods where change can be more influential, but change can still occur outside of these sensitive periods

plasticity

the ability of the brain to change and adapt over time as a result of our lived experiences is referred to as:

bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems approach

the view that the study of human development needs to consider all of the contexts in which an individual develops as well as interactions between the contexts (eg. how do cultural values influence the mass media, and in turn how does the mass media influence your classroom?)

cohort

a group of people at a certain point in time in history

socioeconomic status

an important context, refers to a person’s work experience and access to resources in regard to their social position

psychoanalytic theory

a theory that places emphasis on the importance of early experience; the relationship between a parent and child is the precursor to later relationships and will determine a person’s personality

behaviorism

behaviors are learned through experience: psychologists should only study observable behavior; belief that things that are learned can be unlearned and early parenting plays an important role

cognitive theory

theorizes that the way people think changes over time and with experience

assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of what you already know is called: (eg. a child calling a cat “dog” because it’s 4-legged and furry)

accommodation

what is it called when old ideas are restructured to include new experiences? (eg. a child differentiating between dog and cat based on “woof” and “meow”)

social learning theory

theorizes that each person learns from more skilled members of the community in formal and informal ways

zone of proximal development

the area surrounding a learner that includes all the skills, knowledge, and concepts that the person is close to acquiring, but cannot master without help (eg. teaching pre-algebra, then algebra after pre-algebra is mastered)

scaffolding

occurs when experts are sensitive to the abilities of a novice and respond contingently to the novice’s responses in a learning situation so that the novice gradually increases his/her understanding of a problem

epigenetic theory

theorizes that both nature and nurture influences a child’s development

observation

research method where researchers don’t manipulate any variables, they simply follow their subjects and observe behavior

experiment

research method where researchers manipulate variables to observe the effect of one on another

survey

research method where researchers utilize interviews/questionnaires to obtain information quickly from a large group

case study

research method where an in-depth investigation is conducted of a single subject or small group

survey

what method would you use if you were trying to get an estimate of how many mothers experience post-partum depression after giving birth?

observation

what method would you use if you were interested in looking at whether preschoolers tend to play in gender-segregated groups?

experiment

what method would you use if you wanted to know whether a later start to the school day had an effect on high school students’ attendance?

case study

what method would you use if you wanted to know whether childhood today was better than childhood in previous generations?

cross-sectional

research design where data is collected once, then groups are compared (eg. different age group data is collected at one point in time)

longitudinal

research design where the same group of participants is followed over time (eg. same group of participants taking the same test at different points in time)

cross-sequential

research design where several groups of people of different ages are followed over time (eg. survey 20, 40, 60 years old, then survey again at 40, 60, 80 years old and add new 20 year olds)

minnesota twin study

pairs of twins were separated at birth but still exhibited uncanny similarities that showed evidence toward geneticism

genome

the “instruction manual” in making a living organism

monozygotic

twins that are identical are ___________, one zygote splits into two

dizygotic

twins that are fraternal are _________, two separate ova are fertilized

genotype

genes that code for a particular trait

phenotype

observable characteristics (eg. appearance, personality, intelligence), are polygenic and multifactorial

additive genes

alleles interact to produce a particular trait (eg. several genes work together to produce the eye color of an offspring)

dominant-recessive heredity

the presence of one allele is more obvious in the phenotype than the presence of others, the dominant allele will always be expressed

x-linked genes

genes carried on the x chromosome

concordence rate

the rate of chance that one twin will have a condition if the other twin does, can be different between identical and fraternal pairs of twins

heritability estimate

estimate that tells us what proportion of variation is due to genes vs due to the environment (eg. depression is 70% heritable)

twin study

studies the behavioral similarities between identical twins and fraternal twins

adoption study

studies the behavior of adopted children and examines whether their behavior and psychological characteristics are more like their biological parents or their adoptive parents

passive genotype-environment

association between the genotype a child inherits from their parents and the environment in which the child is raised, the parents create an environment strongly influenced by their own heritable characteristics

evocative genotype environment

something a child brings to the table elicits a response

niche picking

when people choose an environment that compliments their genes, environments where they can truly thrive (eg. choosing a sport based on your body build)

chromosome/genetic abnormalities

abnormalities that are not inherited; instead they are a result of genetic coding malfunction

gene disorders

disorders that are inherited, are expressed if dominant (eg. tourette’s, fragile X syndrome, etc) and sometimes if recessive (eg. sickle cell anemia, PKU)

germinal

the ________ stage is the first 2 weeks after conception; rapid cell division is taking place

placenta

the organ surrounding the developing embryo; provides nourishment via the umbilical cord

embryonic

the _________ stage lasts from weeks 3-8 & is the most sensitive period of prenatal development

fetal

the _____ stage lasts from 9 weeks until birth & is very important in development, especially neurological

age of viability

the __***_______*** __ is the age at which a preterm infant can survive outside of the uterus given modern technology (22 weeks & beyond)

conception

the point at which a pregnancy begins

38 weeks

how many weeks is a full-term pregnancy?

266 days

how many days is a full-term pregnancy?

9 months

how many months is a full-term pregnancy?

teratogens

__________ are substances/conditions that increase the risk of prenatal abnormalities, influenced by timing, amount of exposure, & genetic vulnerability (eg. medications, illegal drugs, addictive substances, infectious diseases)

date of birth

________ is determined by the fetus - the fetal brain signals the release of hormones that trigger contractions

cesarean

a ________ delivery is when the fetus is removed through incisions in the mother’s abdomen & uterus

infant mortality

________ relates to the number of infant deaths per live births; in the US, 5.4 infant deaths occur for every 1000 live births

maternal mortality

_________ relates to the number of mothers who pass away during childbirth

apgar

the _____ scale is a quick assessment of a newborn’s body functioning (eg. color, heart rate, reflexes, muscle tone, respirations); lower scores indicate that the child is in need of immediate medical attention

preterm

a _______ birth occurs when a baby is born between 23-27 weeks of gestational age (10% of babies in the US experience this)

double

infants usually ______ their birth weight by the fourth month

norms

_____ are an average or standard for a particular population

percentiles

__________ are a ranking scale from 0-100

sparing

head _______ protects the brain, head circumference indicates a child’s brain growth

neurons

_______ are nerve cells that make up the brain’s communication system

transient exuberance

_____ _______ is a great increase in the number of dendrites during the first 2 years (followed by pruning)

pruning

_______ refers to the brain’s process of strengthening the neural connections that are used and eliminating unused neural pathways

stress

the brain produces cortisol & other hormones in response to ______

stress

frequent _____ can lead to over/underreaction throughout development

HPA

the ___ axis is the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis

expectant

experience _________ brain functions are basic functions of the brain that require basic experiences in order to develop

dependent

experience _________ brain functions may or may not develop depending on experience

habituation

________ refers to the decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentation

dishabituation

__________ refers to the recovery of a habituated response after a change in stimulation

hearing

________ is the sense that develops during the last trimester and is acute at birth

vision

______ is the least mature of the senses at birth

nearsighted, peripheral

babies are ___________ at birth and have limited __________ vision with little accomodation

cones

babies are born with underdeveloped _____ which results in poor color vision at birth

motor

the following are _____ skills:

* reflexes
* sucking & rooting reflex
* babinski
* stepping
* swimming
* palmar grasp
* moro reflex

gross

_____ motor skills are large body movements

cephalocaudal

babies develop control of the head before other parts of the body

proximodistal

babies develop control of the core before the extremeties

fine

____ motor skills are small body movements

maturation, experience

development depends on ______ and ________

health

vaccinations, nutrition, and SIDS are all components of infant ______

SIDS

____ is the most common cause of death during the first year of life, occurs when a seemingly healthy baby stops breathing

stage 1

______ in piaget’s cognitive theory suggests that babies learn through their senses/motor skills & shift from reflexive behavior to

* including other people/objects
* goal-directed behavior
* understanding cause & effect
* deferred imitation

object permanence

______ ________ is the understanding that objects continue to exist after they disappear from view

brain maturation, repeated experience

the ability to remember experiences requries both _____ ______ and ________ ________

infantile amnesia

______ _______ is the phenomenon where most babies have limited memory before age 3

implicit

________ memory is woven into our daily lives

explicit

________ memory is related to the recollection of facts or events

phonemes

infants can make fine distinctions among the sounds of language (________) in all languages; this skill is lost after about 6 months

crying & cooing

______ & _______ are communicative skills a baby is born with

babbling

________ is a communicative skill that a baby develops around 6 months

gestures

________, like pointing, are a communicative skill that a baby develops around 8 months

receptive

________ vocabulary is greater during the early stages of life, where a child understands words they hear