Child Development

Additive genes

Definition: Multiple genes that work together to influence a trait.

Age of viability

Definition: The point in prenatal development when a fetus can survive outside the womb with medical support.

Apgar Test

Definition: A test given to a newborn that checks Appearance/Color, Pulse, Grimace Response/Reflexes, Activity and Muscle Tone, and Respiration.

Attachment (types)

Definition: The four types are secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized.

Cephalocaudalc

Definition: Development that occurs from head to tail.

Contact-maintaining behaviors

Definition: Behaviors used to maintain physical contact and closeness with a caregiver, such as touching, holding, or staying close.

Development of senses

Definition: The five senses develop during infancy. Seeing is the worst at birth, while hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling are also present.

Differential susceptibility

Definition: The idea that some children are more affected by their environment and experiences than others.

Dominant gene

Definition: A dominant gene can show its trait when only one copy is present;

Emotions (from birth to age two)

Definition: Birth: comfort, pain. 6 months: anger, curiosity, sadness. 1 year: fear, joy. 2 years: pride, shame, embarrassment, guilt, disgust, jealousy.

Erikson’s stages

Definition: Trust v. Mistrust → Autonomy v. Shame/Doubt → Initiative v. Guilt → Industry v. Inferiority → Identity v. Role Confusion → Intimacy v. Isolation → Generativity v. Stagnation → Integrity v. Despair.

Experience-dependent growth

Definition: Brain development that happens because of specific experiences and learning.

Experience-expectant growth

Definition: Brain development that depends on common experiences that most children are expected to have, such as seeing, hearing, and interacting with people.

Five senses

Definition: Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling. Seeing is the worst at birth.

Freud’s stages

Definition: Oral → Anal → Phallic → Latency → Genital.

Genotype

Definition: Genotype is a person's genetic makeup

Language acquisition

Definition: Cooing → Babbling → Echolalic babbling → Imitative speech → Spontaneous speech → Telegraphic speech.

Memory

Definition: Implicit memory involves movements or thoughts that are not put into words (non-verbal); explicit memory is language-dependent.

Motor skills (gross v. fine)

Definition: Gross motor skills use large muscles, such as walking or running; fine motor skills use smaller muscles, such as picking up small objects.

Nature v. nurture

Definition: Nature = heredity has the most influence. Nurture = environment has the most influence.

Object permanence

Definition: The understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.

Physical growth patterns

Definition: Cephalocaudal = head-to-tail. Proximodistal = near-to-far.

Piaget’s stages

Definition: Piaget explains how children construct ideas based on experience. New experiences can create disequilibrium, leading to assimilation or accommodation and then a new equilibrium.

Prenatal development stages

Definition: Zygote → Embryo → Fetus. The germinal stage is the first 14 days.

Process for teaching new words

Definition: Hear the word → connect the word to its meaning → imitate/use the word → eventually use it independently.

Proximity-seeking behaviors

Definition: Behaviors used by a child to get closer to or stay near a caregiver, especially when the child feels unsure or threatened.

Proximodistal

Definition: Development that occurs from near to far, beginning closer to the center of the body and moving outward.

Pruning

Definition: The elimination of unused connections in the brain.

Psychoanalytic theory

Definition: Focuses on inner drives, deep motives, and unconscious needs rooted in childhood.

Reflexes

Definition: Automatic responses that occur without conscious thought; reflexes are checked as part of the Grimace Response/Reflexes portion of the APGAR test.

Reinforcers

Definition: Rewards or consequences used to shape behavior through positive or negative reinforcement.

Replication of a study

Definition: Repeating a research study to see if the same or similar results are found again.

Research study design

Definition: The plan for how a research study will be carried out, including how information will be collected and analyzed.

Scientific method

Definition: Pose a question → develop a hypothesis → test the hypothesis → analyze the evidence → report the results.

Self-awareness

Definition: An understanding of one’s body as a separate identity. It can be measured with a “mark” test using makeup and a mirror.

Separation anxiety

Definition: Anxiety or distress a child experiences when separated from a caregiver.

Sleep issues

Definition: Problems with infant or toddler sleep, such as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking during the night.

Social referencing

Definition: When a child looks to another person’s emotional reaction to help decide how to respond to an unfamiliar situation.

Strange situation test

Definition: A test used to identify attachment types: secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized.

Teratogens

Definition: Things that can cause damage to a developing fetus. The timing of exposure matters because there is a critical period when each organ is most susceptible to damage.

Twins

Definition: Monozygotic twins come from one zygote that splits and are identical. Dizygotic twins come from two zygotes that implant in the uterus at the same time.

Trust vs. Mistrust

(Infancy, Birth to 18 months) – Virtue: Hope

• Infants learn whether they can rely on caregivers to meet their basic needs

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

(Toddlerhood, 18 months to 3 years) – Virtue: Will

• Toddlers build physical independence and a sense of control

Initiative vs. Guilt

(Preschool, 3 to 5 years) – Virtue: Purpose

• Children plan, play, and carry out activities

Industry vs. Inferiority

(School Age, 6 to 11 years) – Virtue: Competence

• Children master academic and social skills to feel capable.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

(Adolescence, 12 to 18 years) – Virtue: Fidelity

• Teens explore personal values, beliefs, and who they want to become

Intimacy vs. Isolation

(Young Adulthood, 19 to 40 years) – Virtue: Love

• Adults seek deep, committed relationships and emotional closeness

Generativity vs. Stagnation

(Middle Adulthood, 40 to 65 years) – Virtue: Care

• Adults contribute to society, raise families, or mentor the next generation

Integrity vs. Despair

(Late Adulthood, 65 years to death) – Virtue: Wisdom

• Older adults reflect on their lives with a sense of fulfillment or regret

Recessive Gene

recessive gene usually requires two copies to show its trait.

Phenotype

phenotype is the observable traits that result from genes and environment.