child growth and development

prenatal

conception to birth

infancy and toddlerhood

birth to 2 years

early childhood

2-6 years

middle childhood

6-11 years

adolescence

11-18

nature

hereditary information we receive from our parents at the moment of conception

nurture

Physical and social world that influences biological and psychological development

stability

lifelong persistence of individual characteristics established by heredity or early experiences

Plasticity

openness to change in individual characteristics in response to influential experiences

Evolutionary Theory

Darwin: Principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest

normative approach

Hall & Gesell: Development as a maturational process; age-related averages from large studies of children represent typical development

Mental Testing Movement

Binet and Simon: Early developers of intelligence testing; sparked interest in individual differences in development

Genotype

an individuals unique genetic information

Phenotype

an individuals directly observable characteristics

Chromosomes

structures that store and transmit genetic information

DNA

substance of which genes and chromosomes are made

Gene

a segment of DNA located along the chromosomes

Autosomes

22 matching pairs of chromosomes

sex chromosomes

23rd pair chromosomes (XX=female , XY=male)

Gametes

sex cells (sperm and ovum)

Zygote

formed when sperm and ovum unite

fraternal twins

two zygotes or fertilized ova

identical twins

one duplicating zygote that divides into two clusters of cells

Homozygous

both alleles are alike

Heterozygous

alleles are different

Down Syndrome

results when 21st chromosome pair fails to separate during meiosis

Sex chromosome abnormalities

-Caused by problems with X or Y chromosomes
-Often not recognized until adolescence

Risks

complications, most commonly premature labor or miscarriage

direct influences

interactions (both positive and negative) between family members

indirect influence

effect of third parties on interaction between family members

Adapting to change

dynamic, ever-changing interplay of forces within the family as each member adapts to development of other members

Collectivism

people stress group goals over individual goals

Individualism

people are concerned with personal needs

kinship studies

comparisons of twins, or adoptees with their biological versus adoptive parents

niche-picking

active correlation

Methylation

environmentally triggered biochemical process that reduces or silences gene expression

Epigenetics

study of how environment alters gene expression

Domains of Development

physical, cognitive, emotional and social

developmental cognitive neuroscience

-Relationship between brain activity and cognitive processing and behavior patterns
-Incorporates psychology, biology, neuroscience, medicine

developmental social neuroscience

relationship of changes in the brain to emotional and social development

naturalistic observation

behavior is recorded in the field or natural environment

structured observation

Laboratory situation set up to evoke behavior
All participants have equal chance to display behavior
May not be typical of participants' everyday behaviors

correlation coefficient

describes how two variable are associated with each other

classical conditioning

associating a neutral stimulus with another stimulus that produces a reflexive response

operant conditioning

influencing the frequency of a behavior by following it with reinforces or punishment

Freud and Erikson

Emphasis on individual's unique life history
Conflicts between biological drives and social expectations

Layers of the environment

microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem

Meiosis

Cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms