Chapter Five - Child Development

Affordances

The action possibilities that a given situation or stimulus provides

Multimodal approach to perception

The approach that considers how information that is collected by various individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated

Sensation

The physical stimulation of the sense organs

Perception

The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving the sense organs and the brain

Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

A measure designed to determine infants’ neurological and behavioral responses to their environment

Norms

The average performance of a large sample of children of a given age

Dynamic Systems Theory

A theory of how motor skills develop and are coordinated

Rooting Reflex

3 Weeks - Neonate’s tendency to turn its head toward things that touch its cheek

Stepping Reflex

2 months - Movement of legs when held upright with feet touching the floor

Swimming reflex

4-6 Months: Infant’s tendency to paddle and kick in a sort of swimming motion when lying facedown in a body of water

Moro Reflex

6 months: Activated when support for the neck and head is suddenly removed. The arms of the infant are thrust outward and then appear to grasp onto something

Babinski reflex

8-12 Months: An infant fans out its toes in response to a stroke on the outside of its foot

Startle reflex

Different - An infant, in response to a sudden noise, flings out its arms, arches its back, and spreads its fingers

Eye-blink Reflex

Rapid shutting and opening of eye on exposure to direct light

Sucking reflex

Infant’s tendency to suck at things that touch its lips

Gag Reflex

An infant’s reflex to clear its throat

Reflexes

Unlearned, organized, involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain stimuli

Nonorganic failure to thrive

A disorder in which infants stop growing due to a lack of stimulation and attention as the result of inadequate parenting

Cephalocaudal principle

The principle that growth follows a pattern that begins with the head and upper body parts and then proceeds down to the rest of the body

Proximodistal principle

Development proceeds from the center of the body outward

Principle of hierarchical integration

Simple skills typically develop separately and independently but are later integrated into more complex skills

Principle of the independence of systems

Different body systems grow at different rates

Neuron

The basic nerve cell of the nervous system

Synapse

The gap at the connection between neurons, through which neurons chemically communicate with one another

Myelin

A fatty substance that helps insulate neurons and speeds the transmission of nerve impulses

Cerebral cortex

The upper layer of the brain

Plasticity

The degree to which a developing behavior or physical structure is modifiable

Sensitive period

A specific time when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment

Rhythms

Repetitive, cyclical patterns of behavior

State

The degree of awareness an infant displays to both internal and external stimulation

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

The period of sleep that is found in older children and adults and is associated with dreaming

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

The sudden death of a seemingly health baby that cannot be explained after all other causes are ruled out

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID)

The sudden death of an infant younger than 1 year of age that may be caused by suffocation, infection, disease, trauma, or other causes