PSYC 216 UIUC Exam 1

empirical evidence

based on observation or actual experience rather than other sources of knowledge (e.g., logic, intuition, theory alone)

nature

our biological endowment/genetic inheritance

nurture

our environment

discontinuity

qualitatively distinct periods or stages of development

continuity

quantitative enhancement or maturation

ontogeny

human lifespan that tells us when and how developments happen, what changes and stays the same, and when things are most helpful or hurtful during stages of development

cross-cultural

study of different groups that tells us what is universal to humans and what varies, the role of experience, and what is most helpful or harmful

phylogeny

evolutionary development of a species that tells us when abilities appear and a peak into human nature

quantitative research

empirical research using statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques

qualitative research

document or describe experiences or perspectives

correlational quantitative research

an association between 2 or more variables (limitation- correlation does not equal causation)

experimental quantitative research

research done with an independent and dependent variable which allows a concrete cause-effect relationship to be established

longitudinal research

same children are examined repeatedly over an extended period of time

cross-sectional research

children of different ages or of one age are studied at a single point in time

micro-genetic research

children observed intensely during a specific developmental change

visual preference

show infants two images that require head movement to look at and record which image they prefer to look at

infant preferential looking

Differential looking at the paired pictures indicates that infants notice a difference between them

habituation

initial presentation creates an orienting response/interest, but after repeated presentation subject gets bored/disinterested

violation of expectation

Infants are usually more interested in events that violate their expectations than those that conform

genetics

Study of DNA, genes, chromosomes, etc. to understand biological basis of development and disease.

prenatal period

development between conception and birth

prenatal development stages

stage 1: germinal- rapid cell division=rapid growth (conception to second week)

stage 2: embryonic- development of major organs (third-eight week) (most susceptible to teratogens/major structural abnormalities)

stage 3: fetal- major advancements on brain, longest and final stage (ninth week-birth)

gray matter

surface of the brain/top layers; mostly made up of cell bodies (neurons); cerebral cortex

white matter

lower layers; mostly made up of connective and supportive tissue

glial cells

form white matter fibers, outnumber neurons 10-1, make up about half the human brain

proliferation (neuron development)

neurogenesis- growth of new neurons, starts around fetal stage and ends around birth, happens until 100 billion neurons are reached

migration (neuron development)

movement of neurons from central to peripheral regions, starts prenatally

synaptogenisis (neuron development)

exuberant growth of connections between neurons in prenatal development, creates huge surplus of connections

gyrification (neuron development)

increase in brain matter, prenatal-1 year old

myelination (neuron development)

growth of fatty tissues around axon to act as insulation, speeds up cell transmission between neurons, mostly postnatal

lobular brain organization

frontal- planning, decision making

parietal- touch, attention, STM

temporal- auditory processing, memory

occipital- visual signal processing and representation

hemispheric organization

organized into two halves, mostly symmetrical but some asymmetries

contralateral organization

sensory information entering one side of the brain is routed to the other side of the brain

somatotopic organization

organization of motor and somatosensory (touch and feeling)

retinotopic organization

much of the visual system is arranged spatially as the information falls on the retina/eye.

dose-response relation

amount of exposure is important to the outcome

sensitive period

timing of exposure is important to the outcome, optimal time frame for development to occur (most development occurs here)

teratogen

environmental agent that can cause harm to developing organism during pregnancy

maternal risk factors

age, nutrition, emotional state, poverty

synaptic pruning

loss of connections (synaptogenisis) starts during prenatal development and continues into early adulthood

plasticity

flexibility in the final wiring of the brain, allowed for by synaptogenisis (ex. brain can recover better from injury)

experience-expectant process

development resulting from the kinds of general experiences every member of the species is likely to have (reliable experiences that the brain can expect)

critical period

experience/development MUST occur during defined period, developments that occur/do not occur during these periods are often irreversible/can not be established later (ex: imprinting) (often viewed as the exception rather than the rule)

experience-dependent process

development resulting from the idiosyncratic (individual) experiences of the organism, plasticity in brain for experiences

perceptual narrowing

ability to perceive certain distinctions in environmental stimuli becomes specialized or tuned to that commonly present ("loss of distinctions") (ex: 3 month olds can tell differences between monkeys, but by 9 months they can only tell distinctions between human faces)

mature face processing system

a specialized system for processing, recognizing, and remembering faces

prosopagnosia

significantly diminished ability to recognize and remember faces with intact ability to remember other types of things

inversion/configuration

inverted, wacky faces look normal upside down but right side up clearly not correct

racial bias

tend to be biased towards own race

autism

disorder of neurological development, tend to spontaneously engage different brain regions which leads to poor facial recognition compared to kids without autism

romanian orphans

extreme amount of unwanted children=severe lack of physical care/attention for these orphans, they were deprived of typical level of face content and expression

logic

formal rules of correct/incorrect reasoning

intuition

implicit understanding without formal training, common sense

authority

appeal to expertise or status

observation

taking systematic measures