PSYC 2230 Child Development

continuous development

cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills

discontinuous development

new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times

Nature

Development is determined by genetic or biological factors

Nurture

development is determined by experience or environmental factors

Active

Children are active in helping to shape and influence their own development

Passive

Children are passive recipients of external influences that determine their development

Maturation theory

Development reflects natural unfolding of pre-arranged biological plan

Ethological theory

Many behaviours viewed as adaptive because they have survival value

Critical Period

Time when child is ready and able to learn something

Imprinting

Forming emotional bond between child and first moving object (usually mother)

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Children hold different concepts of the world at different ages, they are active constructors

Vygotsky’s Theory of Contextual Development

Children’s concepts of the world and cognitive skills arise through social interactions, adults are scaffolding, language is key in development

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

Children’s development is not only affected by their family, but by other external influences that affect the family, such as parents’ work, culture, etc, influence bi-directionally

Naturalistic Observation

a research method where investigators watch and record subjects' behavior in their real-world, everyday environments without interfering

Structured Observation

create a setting to elicit certain behaviours of interest

Construct validity

measures the construct it’s supposed to measure

Concurrent validity

two forms of measurement correspond to one another

Longitudinal study

the same individuals are tested repeatedly over time

Microgenetic study

tested repeatedly over a shorter span of days/weeks (watching for the change to occur)

Cross-sectional study

children of different ages are tested at one point of development

Longitudinal-sequential studies

different groups of participants at different ages over time

Meta-Analysis

using many different studies to address a single issue

Genes

groups of nucleotide bases in sections of the DNA strands that provide biochemical instructions

Genotype

one’s complete set of genes

Phenotype

one’s physical, behavioural, psychological features that are expressed

Alleles

Different forms of genes (one from each parent)

reaction range

the same genotype can produce a range of phenotypes in reaction to the environment

epigenesis

genes and environment drive development

Methylation

A process where genes are '‘turned off’ by experiences

heritability coefficient

extent to which different people reflect heredity

niche-picking

Deliberately seeking environments that fits one heredity

Teratogen

An agent that causes abnormal prenatal development

Hypoxia

umbilical cord is pinched or squeezed shut, cutting off the flow of blood to the baby

Caesarean section (C-section)

May be performed if fetus is in distress, an irregular position, or is too large to pass
through the birth canal

ultrasound

sound waves to create images of baby

amniocentesis

removes a small sample of amniotic fluid from the sac surrounding a fetus

chorionic villus sampling (placenta)

taking a sample of tissue from the placenta to test for chromosomal abnormalities

non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)

blood test (because baby’s DNA is in mother’s bloodstream)

Postpartum Psychosis

Loss of ability to determine reality from what is not

Postpartum Anxiety

Feel unsafe or threatened – general or
specific fears

Apgar score

assesses five vital signs in newborns (breathing, heartbeat, muscle tone, presence of reflexes, skin tone)

Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS)

ncludes 28 measures of alertness and ability to interact with
people

• Autonomic (breathing, temperature)
• Motor (activity level)
• State (staying alert or asleep)
• Social (interact with people

Cephalocaudal

from head to foot

Proximodistal

from centre of body to extremities

Secular growth trends

generational or cohort changes in physical development

Anorexia

persistent refusal to eat and irrational fear of being/becoming overweight

Bulimia

uncontrolled cycles of eating and purging

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

dissatisfaction with perceived body shape

neuron

receives and transits information

cell body

contains the basic biological machinery that keeps the neuron alive

neurotransmitters

chemicals that carry