Child Development and Evolutionary Psychology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering foundational theories and research methods in child development, evolutionary psychology, cognitive milestones, and language acquisition.

Epigenetics

The study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment.

Experimental Study

A research design that attempts to isolate the effect of one or more independent variables on a dependent variable while holding all other variables constant, usually conducted in a laboratory or controlled setting.

Correlational Study

A study that examines the relationship between variables without controlling for all other variables, which prevents researchers from drawing causal inferences.

Descriptive Study

A research method that gathers observed data without attempting to examine relationships between variables, preventing both predictions and causal inferences.

Cross-Sectional Design

A study design where people of different ages are evaluated on a task at the same point in time to determine differences among age groups or cohorts.

Longitudinal Design

A study design where the same group of participants is observed repeatedly over a period of time.

Sequential Design

A research design combining cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by selecting participants of different ages at the outset and following all of them repeatedly over time.

Correlation Coefficient

A descriptive statistic illustrating the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables, ranging from $-1$ to $1$.

Inferential Statistics

Mathematical formulas used to determine the statistical significance of a result, assessing the likelihood that findings are due to chance and permitting population generalizations.

Reliability

The agreement between different measurements of the same observation, critical for replicating experimental results.

Face Validity

The extent to which an experimental measure appears to assess what it desires to measure.

Criterion Validity

The degree to which a measure agrees with different measures used in other studies.

Id

In Freud's theory, the unconscious component of personality representing basic urges, functioning to achieve maximum gratification immediately.

Ego

In Freud's theory, the rational, logical, problem-solving component of the mind that resolves conflicts between id impulses and external world demands.

Superego

In Freud's personality structure, the internalized moral standards and conscience that guide actions to prevent guilt.

Operant Conditioning

A behavioral learning process described by B.F. Skinner in which behaviors that produce favorable outcomes recur, while behaviors followed by unfavorable outcomes are less likely to recur.

Observational Learning

A form of learning emphasized by Albert Bandura where individuals form an internal model of observed behavior by watching others and imitating them without needing direct environmental rewards.

Schema

An organized pattern of behavior or thinking (scheme) that serves as a basic building block or unit of knowledge relating to an aspect of the world.

Zone of Proximal Development

In Vygotsky's theory, the difference between what a learner can achieve independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a more knowledgeable other.

Scaffolding

The educational practice of demonstrating problem-solving and offering temporary support tailored to a child's current capability, which is gradually withdrawn as the learner achieves independence.

Microsystem

The layer in Bronfenbrenner's ecological model consisting of the people, objects, and activities in the individual's immediate environment with which they directly interact (e.g., family, school).

Mesosystem

The layer in Bronfenbrenner's model representing interconnections and mutual influences among the immediate settings of a child's microsystem (e.g., interactions between family, peers, and school).

Exosystem

The ecological layer comprising social, environmental, and institutional settings that indirectly affect an individual without their direct participation (e.g., parental workplace policies).

Macrosystem

The overarching cultural, subcultural, and ideological contexts in which all other ecological systems are embedded (e.g., cultural values, social classes).

Chronosystem

The temporal dimension of Bronfenbrenner's model encompassing historical changes, evolving customs, and socio-historical events that influence all other systems over time.

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model

A developmental perspective conceptualizing a child's environment as a set of nested structures (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem), adapted to examine developmental contexts and attachment processes.

Biological Fitness

A biological measure of reproductive success defined by the number of offspring produced and the propagation of successful genetic lineages into future generations.

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA)

The ancestral evolutionary environment in which specific domain-specific cognitive and behavioral adaptations originally evolved to solve recurrent survival problems.

Deterministic Fallacy

The incorrect assumption that if a behavior or trait has evolved or has a genetic basis, it cannot be changed and operates completely independently of the environment.

Naturalistic Fallacy

The mistaken belief that because a trait or behavior evolved in nature, it is inherently morally good or acceptable.

Genotype

The complete inherited genetic material an individual receives from their biological parents.

Phenotype

The observable physical, physiological, and behavioral expression of an individual's genotype resulting from interactions with the environment.

Crossing Over

The process during meiosis wherein sections of DNA switch from one homologous chromosome to another, generating genetic diversity.

Random Assignment (Meiosis)

The random shuffling of the $23$ pairs of chromosomes into sperm and egg cells, where chance determines which chromosome of each pair enters a gamete.

Male Disadvantage

The heightened vulnerability of biological males to recessive X-linked disorders because the $Y$ chromosome contains only about one-third as many genes as the $X$ chromosome, lacking matching alleles to suppress deleterious recessive traits.

Polygenic Inheritance

A pattern of inheritance in which complex characteristics or behavioral traits (such as shyness or aggression) are regulated by the combined action of multiple genes.

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

An inherited metabolic disorder linked to a defective gene on chromosome $12$ causing an inability to metabolize phenylalanine, leading to intellectual disability unless managed through early dietary restriction.

Regulator Genes

Stretches of DNA that control the continuous activation and deactivation of other genes throughout the lifespan, serving as a core developmental toolkit for building organisms.

MAOA Gene

A gene encoding an enzyme that inhibits brain chemicals linked to aggression; low activity versions combined with childhood maltreatment significantly increase the likelihood of antisocial behavior.

Neurogenesis

The biological process of forming neurons (proliferation), which represents the initial stage in brain development and is completed prior to birth.

Synaptogenesis

The developmental formation of networks of connections and synapses between neurons in the brain, beginning prenatally and continuing across the lifespan.

Synaptic Pruning

The developmental elimination of excess neurons and unused synaptic connections between childhood and adulthood to increase the speed and efficiency of neural transmission.

Experience-Expectant Synaptogenesis

Brain wiring processes where synapses form and are maintained based on universal, species-typical inputs that the evolutionary brain expects (such as basic visual and auditory stimulation).

Experience-Dependent Synaptogenesis

The ongoing generation of neural connections throughout life that occurs as a direct result of unique individual experiences and learning.

Kennard Effect

The observation that younger developing brains tend to reorganize and recover more effectively following neural injury due to heightened neuroplasticity.

Equifinality

The developmental principle that a single common psychological outcome (such as depression) can originate from multiple diverse developmental pathways or distinct early experiences.

Ontogeny

The individual developmental history of an organism from fertilization through maturity.

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history and ancestral lineage of a species or population.

Assimilation

The cognitive process of incorporating new information into preexisting mental schemas without altering the schemas' core structures.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of modifying and reorganizing existing schemas in response to novel environmental experiences and incoming information.

Equilibration

The biological and cognitive mechanism by which a child balances assimilation and accommodation to resolve disequilibrium and restore mental stability.

Object Permanence

The understanding that physical objects continue to exist even when they are hidden from sight and cannot be directly perceived.

A-not-B Error

The developmental error seen in infants aged $8\text{ to }12$ months where they search for a hidden object at its initial location (A) even after watching it be moved to a second location (B).

Deferred Imitation

The delayed repetition of an observed behavior minutes, hours, or days after it occurred, reflecting internal mental representation and symbolic capacity.

Conservation

The understanding that quantitative properties of an object (such as volume, number, or mass) remain unchanged despite alterations in its superficial perceptual appearance.

Theory of Mind

The cognitive capacity to attribute distinct mental states (desires, beliefs, and emotions) to oneself and to recognize that others hold mental states different from one's own, developing around age $4$.

Guided Participation

A social learning process wherein knowledgeable individuals structure and organize activities to help less experienced individuals acquire cultural knowledge and cognitive competencies.

Private Speech

Overt, self-directed vocalizations used prominently by children aged $4\text{ to }6$ to guide and regulate their behavior, which eventually internalizes into silent thought.

Meta-Attention

An individual's introspective understanding of their own attention, concentration, and selective focus capacities, nearing adult-like capability around age $8$.

Working Memory

A cognitive system responsible for actively attending to, maintaining, processing, and temporarily storing information on a moment-to-moment basis.

Implicit Memory

An automatic, unconscious form of memory that utilizes past experiences to execute tasks without conscious recollection, operating largely independent of the hippocampus.

Explicit Memory

A form of long-term memory involving conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, events, and meanings, dependent on language and the maturation of the hippocampus.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability of older children and adults to retrieve autobiographical memories from early childhood (typically before age $2\text{ to }4$ or prior to age $10$).

Phonemes

The elementary, smallest units of meaningful sound in spoken language that distinguish one word from another.

Morphemes

The smallest linguistic units that carry meaning, consisting of standalone words (free morphemes) or meaningful word parts like prefixes and suffixes (bound morphemes).

Holophrastic Period

The developmental stage in early language acquisition where a toddler utilizes a single word to communicate an entire phrase, thought, or complex idea.

Whole Object Assumption

A word-learning constraint wherein young children assume that a novel word refers to an entire object rather than to its isolated parts, colors, or properties.

Mutual Exclusivity Assumption

A cognitive bias where children expect each object to possess only one label, deducing that a new word must refer to an unnamed object rather than a familiar one.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Noam Chomsky's proposed innate, species-specific brain mechanism that detects deep grammatical patterns and underlying linguistic structures without explicit syntax training.

Less is More Theory

Elissa Newport's hypothesis suggesting that children's cognitive limitations allow them to process linguistic input in smaller, simpler chunks, making it easier to master grammar compared to adults.