Wk3 DevPsy

Peak production of synapses

Occurs in frontal lobes during toddlerhood (around age 3).

Synaptic pruning

Process of reducing number of connections between neurons so that they become more efficient.

Critical period for language development

The early years of life are essential for language acquisition.

Benefits of cochlear implants

Younger children receiving this early hearing intervention have better outcomes.

Motor advances by 3rd birthday

Can run, adjust motion to changes in surfaces, climb, jump, and reverse motions.

Hand preference

Begins to emerge during toddlerhood.

Information processing

As info moves through each stage, mental strategies are used to operate and transform it.

Sustained attention

Increases in the 2nd year as plans and activities increase in complexity.

Executive function

Cognitive operations and strategies that enable us to achieve our goals.

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory

Children's cognitive development is influenced by rich social and cultural worlds.

Scaffolding

Adjusting support offered to fit learner's current level of performance.

Zone of proximal development

Range of capability a child can reach with some support.

Emergent curriculum

Importance of children's ideas, interests, and spontaneity in the planning process.

Synaptic density

Density of synapses among neurons in the brain; peaks around age 3.

Language development (12-24mo)

Average 18mo can speak around 50 words, generally single words at a time.

Fast-mapping

Words are remembered after hearing them just once.

Language development (24-36mo)

Begin to use 3-4 word statements and can talk about past and future events.

Over-regularisation

Applying grammatical rules to exceptions (e.g., 'fishes').

Secondary emotions

Require social learning and develop mostly in the second year of life.

Emotional regulation

Strategies used to adjust our emotional state to a comfortable level.

Awareness of self

Self-recognition emerges; growing awareness of the self as distinct from others.

Cultural considerations about identity

How we view the 'self' shaped by culture, either individualistic or collectivist.

Attachment

Assessed in toddlers using 'strange situation' between 12-24mo.

Secure attachment

Use mother as a secure base to explore; protests when mother leaves.

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Little interaction with mother and don't respond to her departure or return.

Disorganised-disoriented attachment

Characterised by unusual behaviour and may appear dazed and detached.

Attachment across cultures

Mother-child as primary attachment relationship is not universal across cultures.

Cultural Parenting Roles

Parents in some cultures view their role as to shape the child into an adult, while others allow the child to become who they are meant to be.

Social World of Toddlers

The social world of toddlers begins to broaden and include siblings, peers, and friends.

Sibling Attachment

The introduction of a new sibling can be a time of adjustment but often forms secure attachments.

Father Involvement

Involvement of fathers varies greatly with culture, with a trend toward greater father involvement in Western countries.

Peer Interaction

Toddlers interact with peers in formal or informal settings, leading to more social and interactive play.

Friendship Development

Friendships in toddlers are based on similarities, with preference and emotional closeness to friends over peers.

Empathy in Toddlers

Toddlers begin to display empathy by responding to distress and engaging in prosocial behavior.

Physical Growth in Toddlers

During toddlerhood, children lose 'baby fat' and become leaner as they grow longer.

Head to Body Ratio

The head, which was 1/4 of the neonate's length, is 1/5 of the 2-year-old's height.

Risk of Stunting

Starting around 6 months, children are at risk of stunting due to poor nutrition affecting height and cognitive potential.

Kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor is a condition resulting from severe protein deficiency, leading to symptoms like lethargy and skin lesions.

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are dietary ingredients essential for optimal physical growth, including iodine, iron, and vitamins A, B12, C, and D.

Sleep Patterns in Toddlers

Sleep declines from 16-18 hours in neonates to about 12-13 hours by the second birthday.

Napping in Toddlers

Most toddlers take only one nap during the day by 18 months old.

Factors Affecting Sleep Duration

Longer sleep duration in toddlers is related to less physical activity, shorter naps, early bedtimes, and being older.

Erikson's Stage of Autonomy

Toddlers are in Erikson's stage of autonomy vs shame and doubt, seeking to exercise new skills.

Interoception

Interoception helps individuals feel and understand internal body signals, which can be challenging for some children.

Toilet-Training Readiness

Toddlers typically show readiness for toilet-training between 20-36 months.

Weaning Practices

In Australia, most infants wean during the first year, while traditional cultures may continue into the 2nd or 3rd year.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Object permanence develops further in toddlers, and they no longer make the 'A not B' search error.

Deferred Imitation

Deferred imitation is the capacity to repeat actions observed at an earlier time, often seen in pretend play.

Language Development (12-24 months)

Average 18-month-olds can speak around 50 words, typically using single words at a time.

Overextension and Underextension

Overextension and underextension are common in toddlers' language development, such as using 'raspberry' to mean any berry.

Vocabulary Growth

Toddlers learn 5-6 new words each week between 18-24 months.

Overextension

Using 'raspberry' to mean any berry.

Underextension

Common in toddler language development.

Language development (18-24 months)

Learns 5-6 new words each week.

Language development (24-36 months)

Begins to use 3-4 word statements.

Self-conscious emotions

Require social learning (e.g., shame, embarrassment, guilt).

Gender identity

Begins to form between 18-30 months.

Insecure-resistant attachment

Distressed by departure, ambivalent on mother's return.

Empathy

Responding to distress displayed by toddlers.

Stunting

Poor nutrition affects height, physical growth, and cognitive potential.

Cognitive capacities

Increase alongside emotional regulation in the second year of life.

Cultural influences on parenting

Varies with culture, affecting attachment and child development.

Toddler friendships

Based on similarities and emotional closeness.

Physical development in toddlers

Children lose baby fat and become leaner as they grow.

Toddler Naps

Most toddlers take only one nap during the day by the time they reach 18 months old.

Average Sleep Duration

Australian toddlers aged 12-28 months averaged about 11 hours of sleep at night and 1.5 hours during the day.

Factors for Longer Sleep

Less physical activity, shorter naps, early bedtimes, and being an older toddler are related to longer sleep duration.

Screen Time Impact

Screen time did not impact sleep.

Sleep Disruption Causes

Sleep disruption is associated with teething and separation anxiety.

Sleeping Alone

Sleeping alone is rare in traditional cultures.

Piaget's Sensorimotor Stages

Cognitive development during the first 2 years of life follows a sequence of 6 sensorimotor stages.

Primary Cognitive Advance

The primary cognitive advance of the first four stages of sensorimotor development is from simple reflexes to intentional, coordinated behaviour.

Tertiary Circular Reactions

The fifth stage of sensorimotor development, from age 12-18 months, where toddlers intentionally try out different behaviours.

Secondary Circular Reactions

In this stage, the action first occurs by accident and then is intentionally repeated.

Mental Representations

The final stage of sensorimotor development, from 18 to 24 months, where toddlers think about possibilities before acting.

A-not-B Error

Infants tend to look under the first blanket (A) where they found an object, even after seeing it hidden under a second blanket (B).

Vygotsky's Theory

Children learn through interactions with others and require assistance from others to learn what they need to know.

Private Speech

Children begin to speak to themselves in a self-guiding and self-directing way.

Attachment Theory

The study of the relationship between a special person and a child in infancy and toddlerhood.

Guided Participation

The interaction between two people as they participate in a culturally valued activity.

Infinite Generativity

Ability to take the word symbols of a language and combine them in a virtually infinite number of new ways.

Broca's Area

Portion of the left frontal lobe designated for speech production.

Wernicke's Area

Portion of the left temporal lobe designated for speech comprehension.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Chomsky proposed that children are born with a device that enables them to perceive and grasp grammatical rules quickly.

Holophrase

Single word used to represent a sentence.

Telegraphic Speech

Strips away connecting words like 'the' and 'and', getting right to the point with nouns, verbs, and modifiers.

Empathy and Prosocial Behaviour

Toddlers develop empathy and helpful acts along with secondary emotions.

Self-Recognition

Ability to recognise self in images.

Self-Reflection

Pondering self as separate from peers and objects.