Early Childhood Development and Psychodynamic Theory

These flashcards cover key concepts and terms related to early childhood development and psychodynamic theory as outlined in the lecture notes.

Psychodynamic Theory

A theory of psychology that emphasizes unconscious processes and childhood experiences in shaping behavior and personality.

Social Baseline Theory

A theory suggesting that the human brain expects to be in the presence of others as potential support figures in times of threat or stress.

Epigenetic Age Acceleration

A phenomenon linking accelerated biological aging to maladaptive social relationships earlier in life resulting from stress.

Hippocampus

A brain region crucial for forming new memories, found to be immature at birth.

Orbitofrontal Cortex

A part of the brain that matures around age 2 and is involved in managing feelings and social behavior.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe the same action performed by another.

Attachment Theory

Bowlby's theory that describes the dynamics of long-term interpersonal relationships between humans.

Good Enough Mothering

Winnicott's concept emphasizing the significance of a caregiver meeting a child's needs adequately but not perfectly.

Paranoid-Schizoid Position

A developmental state in infants characterized by anxiety and splitting of good and bad objects.

Depressive Position

A later developmental stage where an infant recognizes the mother as a whole object, integrating both good and bad experiences.

Transitional Object

An object used by an infant or child to provide comfort during the separation from the primary caregiver.

Oedipus Complex

A psychoanalytic theory positing that a child feels desire for the opposite-sex parent and jealousy toward the same-sex parent.

False Self

A concept by Winnicott referring to a self developed to conform to social norms, often at the expense of the true self.