Child Development Exam 1 (Chapters 1-4)

child development

area of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from conception through adolescence

child development is a part of what kind of science?

developmental

innate characteristics of child development

growing to certain height, puberty, learning to communicate

characteristics encouraged by others in child development

proper nutrition, expanded vocabulary, use of self-control, and assertiveness

What are the three domains of development?

-physical

-cognitive

-emotional and social

Period of development

-prenatal period

-infancy and toddlerhood

-early childhood

-middle childhood

-adolescence

A theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that do what?

-describe

-reflect

-predict

A theory must

-guide and give meaning

-understand and know how to improve

-scientifically verified

continuous development

gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were already present

discontinuous development

new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at various times (aka stages)

contexts

combo of personal and environmental circumstances that lead to different paths of change

stability

characteristics like heredity and genetics will remain the same

plasticity

open to change in response to influences

resiliency

ability to adapt effectively in face of diversity or threats

Childhood in medieval times

-childhood has its own distinction

-laws were made and enforced to protect children

childhood in the reformation

-children born evil and stubborn; need to be civilized

-childrearing viewed as most important obligation

Locke's philosophy

-child are born with blank slate

-development is continuous

-nurture is important

-plasticity is high

Rousseau's Philosophy

-children are born with natural sense of wrong and right (noble savages)

-development is discontinuous

-focused on nature

Darwin's findings

-natural selection

-survival of the fittest

normative period

-most important to parents

mental testing movement

IQ tests became important

psychoanalytic perspective

addressing conflict between natural drive and social expectations

Freud (psychosexual theory)

manage child's sexual and aggressive drive early

-id, ego, superego

Erickson (psychosocial theory)

-ego helps to become productive member of society

behaviorism

focuses on directly observable events (stimuli and responses)

traditional behaviorism

-classical conditioning

-operant conditioning

social learning theory (Bandura)

modeling/imitation/observational learning

applied behavior analysis

goal is to eliminate bad behaviors and increase good behaviors

cognitive-developmental theory (Piaget)

children construct knowledge through manipulation and exploration of their world

(adaptation and equilibrium)

Piaget's Stages

-sensorimotor stage

-preoperational stage

-concrete operational stage

-formal operational stage

sensorimotor stage

(birth- 2 y.o.)

use of senses and movements to explore the world

preoperational stage

(2-7 y.o.)

symbolic but illogical thinking (sky is falling)

concrete operational stage (7-11 y.o.)

cognition is more organized

formal operational stage (11 y.o. +)

abstract, systematic reasoning system

information processing

information = input

behavioral response = output

developmental cognitive neuroscience

studies the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing child's cognitive processing and behavior patterns

developmental social neuroscience

studying relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development

ethology

adaptive value of behavior and it evolutionary history

critical period

limited time span when child is biologically prepared to acquire certain adaptive behaviors but needs support of appropriate environment

sensitive period

optimal for specific capacities to emerge because individual is responsive to environmental influences

evolutionary developmental psychology

focus on adaptive of species-wide, cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as they change with age

Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky)

studies how culture is transmitted to the next generation

-neglects biological influence

ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner)

children develop within complex system of relationships

microsystem

innermost level of environment; immediate surroundings

mesosystem

second level; home, school, neighborhood, child-care center

exosystem

level does not contain children, but have an effect on children

macrosystem

outermost level; cultural values, laws, customs, resources

chronosystem

temporal dimension

dynamic system theory

mind, body, and physical and social world form integrated system to master new skill

-change to system causes child to reorganize

Children in America move through

stages and ecosystem

behaviors are

malleable

systematic observation

-naturalistic

-structured

self-reports

-clinical interview

-structured interview

clinical/case study

gather wide range of info on one child; interviews, observations, and test scores

ethnography

descriptive, qualitative technique aiming to understand a culture or specific social group through participant observation

correlational design

correlation coefficient

experimental design

-independent variable

-dependent variable

-random assignment

field experiment design

-natural

-quasi

longitudinal design (development)

-Cohorts

-practice effects

-biased sampling

sequential

different groups & years; same stage

rules out cohort

cross sectional

different age studied at the same time

microgenetic development design

observes change over short period of time from inception

Ethics

-children's rights

-Institutional Review Board (IRB)

-Debriefing

Children's rights

-protection from harm

-informed consent

-privacy

-knowledge of reason

-beneficial treatment

phenotype

what we can see; eye color, hair color

genotype

what makes us unique; genetic info that determines phenotype

chromosomes

stores and transmits genetic information

____ matching pairs of chromosomes

23, except male have 22

DNA consists of

-gene

-protein-coding genes

-regulator genes

gene

segment of DNA along chromosome

protein-coding genes

determine body characteristics

regulator genes

modify instructions

gametes

sex cells

sperm

23 chromosomes

ovium

23 chromosomes

meiosis

halves the number of chromosomes present in the body

zygote

two halves combine to form a whole XX and XY

autosomes

non-sex cells; 22 pairs

fraternal twins

-dizygotic twins

-2 ova

identical twins

-monozygotic twins

Twins walk and talk _____ than single babies

later

When do twins catch up to peers?

middle school

Who develops slower than twins?

triplets

allele

each form of gene inherited by parents, one from both parents

homozygous

same from each parent

heterozygous

different from each parent

dominant-recessive pattern

one has an effect while other is present

(PKU & Huntington disease)

carrier of dominant-recessive pattern

can pass to children, though they do not demonstrate trait

incomplete dominance pattern

both alleles are expressed (i.e. sickle cell)

Who is more likely to be affected due to only 1 X

males

disadvantaged males experiece

-increased miscarriages

-infant/childhood deaths

-birth defects

advantaged males experience

more boys born than girls

genomic imprinting

genes are marked in a way that alleles are expressed regardless of makeup

(explains patterns observed)

mutation

permanent change in segment of gene

mutation occurs in what percentage of all pregnancies but account for what percentage of all deaths and impairments?

3%, 20%

ionizing radiation

high energy, should be least exposed to

nonionizing radiation

microwaves

germline mutation

affects gametes and is passed down to children

somatic mutation

affects body cells, but not passed to children

What explains why some people get cancer from smoking and others don't?

somatic mutation