PSYCH 306 Human Development Midterm 1

Qualitative change

Appearance of a new process or ability that focuses on the alteration of the nature of the system

Quantitative change

Numerically different change, more or less of something

Passive development

Development is the result of everything around the child

Active development

Development is the result of the child’s active agent in their life

Reciprocal determinism

Child and the environment together shapes the development of the child

Continuous development

Development that result in gradual changes

Discontinuous development

Development that are abrupt, rapid changes with periods of plateaus

O’Conner et al. (2000)

Aim: To investigate whether children can overcome early deprivation

* Samples from impoverished Romanian orphanages were adopted by Canadian and British families
* Early Adoption: < 6months
* Middle Adoption: 6-12 months
* Late Adoption: 12-24 months
* Control Group: British adopted kids
* Results showed that the longer children spent in impoverished orphanages, the higher their cognitive impairment

Social learning theory

* They need to pay attention, retain, encode, understand, and be able to retrieve behaviors
* Children are selective in what behaviors to imitate
* Behaviors are most likely imitated when there are positive reinforcements → vicarious reinforcement
* Model of higher status or high expertise
* Model similar to us or we admire

Infancy

* First year of life
* They are dependent on caregiver but begin to explore the world

Toddlers

* Age 1-3
* They explore world more actively, their language develop quickly, and begin to show autonomy

Early childhood

* Age 3-6
* As peers appear, children begin to understand how other people think and feel.

Middle childhood

* 6-12
* Children start to think in more intellectual ways
* They have an understanding of themselves, of who they are
* Peers start to become important

Adolescence

* 12-18
* Puberty marks this transition
* They can think and reason in abstract levels
* They have a stronger sense of their identity

Resilience

The ability to adapt effectively in face of threats to development

46 chromosomes

How many chromosomes do somatic cells have? (not pairs)

23 chromosomes

How many chromosomes do gametes have? (not pairs)

Autosomes

We have 22 pairs of this (44 chromosomes)

Sex chromosomes

We have 1 pair (2 chromosomes) of this in each cell (except gametes)

Gametes

Umbrella term of sperm and ova

Polar bodies

Occurs in oogenesis where the non viable division of cell disintegrates.

Homozygous

Inheritance of the same allele for a trait

Heterozygous

Inheritance of two different alleles for a trait

Co-dominance

When both alleles are expressed equally

Incomplete dominance

A blended outcome of two or more traits

Dominant-recessive inheritance

When two alleles -- one dominant and one recessive is inherited

Sex-linked diseases

* Found on sex chromosomes
* Males are more likely to inherit them as they only need one copy of X chromosome

Trisomy

Extra copy of chromosome in a cell

* Usually caused by nondisjunction

Mosaic trisomy

Extra copy of chromosome only in some cells, not all

Chorionic villus sampling

A type of sampling to detect genetic abnormality

* Sample is obtained in the villi projection of the chorion
* Needle is inserted through vagina or abdomen

Amniocentesis

A type of sampling to detect genetic abnormality

* Sample is obtained through the amniotic fluid
* Fetus shed skin cells into the amniotic fluid

10-12 weeks

When is chorionic villus sampling performed?

15-17 weeks

When is amniocentesis performed?

CVS

Which sampling technique for screening genetic abnormality at a slightly higher risk?

Passive G-E

* Where parents create an environment according to their own genes that strengthens natural tendencies of their child, due to their shared genetic makeup.
* Eg. Musical parent → musical environment → musically inclined child has strengthened musical abilities

Evocative G-E

* The child’s genetic makeup influences their behavior, in turn influencing the environment of the child that strengthens their behavior.
* Eg. Outgoing child → positive responses → strengthened extraversion

Active G-E

* The child seeks out genetically compatible environments
* Eg. Muscular child → joins football team

Epigenetics

The study of how a gene’s expression can be changed without altering the physical sequence

Methylation

The addition of a methyl group in the promoter region of the gene that silences the expression of some genes

Blastocyst

Composed of the trophoblast and inner cell mass

Trophoblast

The outer layer that eventually develops into the umbilical cord and placenta

Germinal period

* From conception to implantation (first 2 weeks)
* Rapid cell division of undifferentiated cells (stem cells)
* Implantation occurs at 7-9 days
* During implantation, the amnion and chorion forms

Morula

As it travels down the fallopian tube, it becomes the blastocyst

Implantation

Where the blastocyst embeds itself into the uterine lining

Amnion

A water tight membrane that eventually fills with fluid, forming the amniotic sac

Chorion

It is the membrane that surrounds the amnion that eventually becomes the placenta and the umbilical cord

Embryonic period

* From week 3-8
* Organogenesis occurs rapidly
* Gastrulation occurs
* Placenta and umbilical cord is fully developed
* The fetus is sexually differentiated
* Gonadal tissue forms testes for males at week 7
* By the end of this period, all major structures are formed but most are not functioning.

Fetal period

* Week 9 to birth
* All major organ systems and body parts are refined
* Rapid CNS development
* Increased responsiveness to stimulation

Function of the placenta

1). Initially serves as liver and kidney of fetus

2). Secretes progesterone and estrogen

3). Act as a filter or barrier that separates maternal and fetal blood

4). Enables the exchange of food, oxygen, and waste products

Organogenesis

Major development of all organs

Gastrulation

Where the inner cell mass differentiates into 3 layers of cells

* Ectoderm → Outer layer of cell that forms teeth, hair etc.
* Mesoderm → Middle layer of cell that forms muscle, blood, excretory
* Endoderm → Inner layer of cell that forms respiratory, digestive system

First trimester

* Most movements are present
* Movements of the limbs, reflexes, and swallowing
* External genitalia are distinguished

Second trimester

* Fetus have more motor control
* Rolling, thumbsucking
* Primitive vision, reaction to bright light
* Experiences tactile stimulation, tastes, and smells
* Fetus moves in response to sound
* Lanugo hair and vernix

Age of viability

22-26 weeks → choose to resuscitate or not

* > 26 weeks = high survival
* < 22 weeks = unlikely to survive

Third trimester

* Lungs are sufficiently developed by week 28
* Initial myelination of the brain
* Heart + movement are organized into wake-sleep cycle
* Rapid weight gain

Umbilical cord

Connects baby to placenta

* One vein delivers blood with nutrient and two arteries for removal of waste

Time of exposure

Teratogens: sensitive periods that determine the severity

* Before implantation → no effect or miscarriage
* Embryonic period → most vulnerable
* Later exposure → create functional problems

Hereditary

Teratogens: Abnormalities that are linked to genotype of mom or child

Specific effects

Teratogens: Different teratogens exerts a different effect

Other negative influences

Teratogens: Other factors that intensify the effect of that teratogen

Only affects fetus

Teratogens: Little to no impact on m other

* Due to size differences
* Mothers’ organs are fully developed

Dose-response relation

Teratogens: Higher dose or longer exposure = More severe

Sleeper effects

Teratogens: Impact of teratogen may not be apparent for many years

Diagnosis of FAS

1). Facial abnormalities

2). Pre or post natal growth deficiency

3). CNS impairment (at least 3)

Maternal smoking

* Higher risk of LBW
* Reduces capacity of blood transporting oxygen
* Suppression of appetite
* Risk of SIDS
* Increases rate of asthma, obesity and ADHD

Maternal stress

* Stress hormones reduces blood flow to fetus
* Stress hormones crossing placenta impact neurological functioning

What is a low birth weight?

Preterm

Small for gestational age

Miscarriage

Pregnancy loss before week 20

Still-birth

Pregnancy loss after week 20

Survival reflexes

Reflexes that ensure infant survival

Primitive reflexes

Present at birth but not in adults

Grasp reflex

Primitive reflex: Babies grab onto hand when shown

Stepping reflex

Primitive reflex: Babies form stepping actions when held vertically above surface

Babinsky reflex

Primitive reflex: Ticking on the back of the feet that prompts spreading of toes

NBAS

* Assesses newborns’ behavioral responses to their extrauterine environment
* Mostly used for research purposes

APGAR

Assessment of newborn’s overall condition at 1 and 5 minutes after birth and is evaluated based on their: Activity level and muscle tone, pulse, grimace response, appearance (skin color), and respiratory

7-10

What is a good APGAR score?

Classical conditioning

Type of early learning

* It is difficult to establish until week 3-4
* Can be done earlier with feeding
* They have difficulty learning negative associations until 6 months

Operant conditioning

Type of early learning

* Uses rewarding stimuli to perform behaviour
* Best done at 3-4 weeks

Observational learning

Type of early learning

* Newborns can imitate behaviors but are extremely limited
* At 6-9 months they can fully imitate behaviors of adults
* At 6-9 months they can engage in deferred imitation after 24 hours
* At 14 months, they can defer imitation to a week

Video deficit model

Where infants have trouble imitating behaviors through video, up until 14 months of age

Deferred imitation

Babies that remember behavior and are able to imitate it after 24 hours or more

Preferential looking paradigm

Show infants two stimuli at a time and see which one they prefer

* Longer → preference to stimuli
* Equal → can’t discriminate, no preference, or can discriminate but not expressed

Habituation paradigm

Where infants are presented with a new stimuli until habituation occurs → present a new stimulus to see if new reaction occurs (dishabituation)

Operant conditioning paradigm

* Infants are presented with two different speech sounds: one played repeatedly, the other associated with reward
* Condition phase: one sound is played repeatedly, while the other is played along with the interesting stimuli
* Test phase: two sounds are played interchangeably at random intervals, if baby looks at the interesting stimuli when “reward sound” plays → baby is able to discriminate speech sounds

1-2 months

Color vision: Discrimination of color begins, but requires obvious differences

2-3 months

Color vision: Vision is similar to adults, they see all spectrum

4-5 months

Color vision: They start to group shades by their colors

Top heavy faces

What type of faces do infants prefer to look at when static?

3 months

When do infants begin to discriminate between “top heavy” scrambled faces to normal upright faces when images are static?

* ie. this can also be distinguished before __ months of age, but requires movement across their visual field.

9 months

When are babies unable to distinguish between monkey faces?

Face prototype

A schema or representation developed in relation to faces

Other race effect

Difficulty distinguishing faces in other races

* This occurs after 9 months, including adults

Decelerated

In Campos et al. (1970), what happened to babies’ heart rate when lowered to the deep end?

Kinetic depth cues

Movement of objects that provide information about depth

Binocular depth cues

Degree of convergence and retinal disparity that estimates distance

Convergence

The angle of this effect helps estimate distance. The closer the object, the higher the degree of convergence

Retinal disparity

The position of right and left eyes are different - the more different the images are, the closer to object