Human Development Flashcards

Exactly 40 vocabulary flashcards covering concepts of human development, hereditary mechanics, developmental stages, and psychological theories from the provided transcript.

Developmental psychologists

Scientists who study changes over the lifespan, from conception to late adulthood.

Physical development

A major path of development involving body changes.

Psychosocial development

A major path of development involving social and emotional changes.

Cognitive development

A major path of development involving thought processes.

Maturation

The gradual unfolding of hereditary traits, such as sitting or walking.

Chromosomes

Tightly wound strands of DNA; human body cells contain $46$ chromosomes arranged in $23$ pairs.

Germ cells

Egg and sperm cells that each contain $23$ chromosomes.

Dominant genes

Genes that always manifest their traits whenever they are present.

Recessive genes

Genes that manifest a trait only when paired with another identical recessive gene.

Autosomes

The $22$ pairs of chromosomes that carry hereditary traits unrelated to sex determination.

Gonosomes

The single pair of chromosomes, either $XX$ or $XY$, that determines the sex of the individual.

Monozygotic twins

Identical twins that occur when one fertilized egg splits into two; they share the same genetic makeup and are always the same sex.

Dizygotic twins

Fraternal twins that occur when two eggs are fertilized by two different sperm; they share no more genetic similarity than ordinary siblings.

Germinal Stage

The first period of pregnancy, also called the Period of the Ovum, lasting from fertilization to $2$ weeks.

Period of the Embryo

The prenatal stage from the second week to $8$ weeks, during which major organs and systems develop.

Period of the Fetus

The prenatal stage from $8$ weeks until birth, characterized by rapid growth and weight gain.

Period of the Partunate

The first $15-20$ minutes after birth where the infant becomes independent.

Period of the Neonate

The stage from birth until the umbilical cord falls off, typically lasting about $2$ weeks.

Cephalocaudal

The motor development sequence where control proceeds from the head down to the toes.

Proximo-distal

The motor development sequence where control proceeds from the center of the body to the extremities.

Object permanence

The realization, typically developed in the sensorimotor stage, that objects continue to exist when out of sight.

Conservation

The understanding that the properties of a substance remain the same despite changes in its form or appearance.

Phonology

The component of language involving the system of sounds and the rules for combining them.

Semantics

The component of language involving word meanings and combinations.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Chomsky's term for the innate biological system humans are born with that enables language development.

Personal fable

An adolescent belief in their own uniqueness and invulnerability.

Imaginary audience

An adolescent belief that others are as concerned with their thoughts and behaviors as they are themselves.

Foreclosure

One of James Marcia's identity statuses where a person makes a commitment without exploring other options.

Moratorium

One of James Marcia's identity statuses where a person is actively exploring options without having made a commitment.

Assimilation

The process of interpreting new experiences using existing mental schemas.

Accommodation

The process of changing existing schemas to deal with new objects or situations.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The difference between what a child can do independently and what they can achieve with help from a more knowledgeable person.

Scaffolding

Providing support to a learner that is gradually withdrawn as the learner becomes more capable.

Microsystem

The innermost layer of Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, consisting of the child's immediate environment like family and school.

Mesosystem

The interactions between elements of the microsystem, such as the relationship between a child's parents and their teachers.

Exosystem

External social settings that indirectly affect the child, such as a parent's workplace or government policies.

Macrosystem

The outermost layer of Bronfenbrenner's model, representing the broader cultural values, laws, and ideologies of a society.

Chronosystem

The dimension of time and environmental changes that occur over the course of a life.

Synaptic pruning

The brain's process of eliminating unused neural connections to make the system more efficient.

Viability

The point between $22$ and $26$ weeks at which survival outside the womb is possible.