Untitled Flashcards Set

Auditory sensory acuity

The ability to hear and distinguish sounds.

Genetic mutation

An error in the replication of DNA that leads to change.

Gross motor coordination

The movements we make with large muscles, like those in your legs, arms, and torso.

Growth spurt

A period of growth that occurs in a short period of time.

Imprinting

Early stages of development can attach oneself to something, such as why newborns prefer their parents over strangers.

Mature illness

An illness associated with aging.

Mobility

The ability to move.

Reaction time

A timeframe in which one can react to a stimulus.

Reflex

Automatic and involuntary responses to stimuli that help protect our bodies from harm or maintain balance.

Rooting reflex

This reflex starts when the corner of the baby's mouth is stroked or touched.

Sensitive period

Specific timeframes in which children are more receptive to learning and acquiring certain skills or abilities.

Visual sensory acuity

Refers to the sharpness and clarity of vision, specifically the ability to see fine details.

Abstract Concept

Ideas or thoughts that are not concrete or physical in nature.

Animism

The belief that inanimate objects have feelings, thoughts, and mental characteristics of living things.

Dementia

A generalized, pervasive deterioration of memory and at least one other cognitive function due to various causes.

Pretend play

A type of play where children use their imagination to create scenarios and act out different roles and events.

Reversibility

The ability of a process or change to be reversed or undone to restore the original state.

Zone of proximity development

The gap between what a learner can do without help and what they can do with guidance and support.

Non-verbal gestures

Forms of communication through body movements, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues.

Syntax

The set of rules that govern the structure of sentences in a language.

Adverse childhood experiences

Potentially traumatic events in childhood that can impact development and health.

Anxious attachment

A type of insecure attachment characterized by fear of abandonment and a constant need for reassurance.

Chronosystem

The dimension of time in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory.

Exosystem

The external environments indirectly affecting the individual, such as a parent's workplace.

Identity diffusion

A lack of direction or commitment in forming an identity.

Identity foreclosure

Committing to an identity without exploring alternatives, often based on parental or societal expectations.

Identity moratorium

A period of active exploration without commitment to a specific identity.

Generativity

A concern for establishing and guiding the next generation.

Stagnation

A sense of self-absorption and lack of growth, often resulting from failure to contribute meaningfully to others.

Imaginary audience

The belief in adolescence that others are constantly watching and judging one's actions.

Industry and inferiority

Erikson's stage (ages 6-12) where children feel competent through learning or feel inferior if they fail.

Macrosystem

The overarching cultural and societal influences in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory.

Microsystem

The immediate environments and relationships directly impacting an individual.

Mesosystem

The interactions between components of the microsystem.

Parallel play

A developmental stage where children play alongside each other without direct interaction.

Psychosocial

Relating to the interaction between psychological development and social environment.

Acquisition

When behavior, such as a conditioned response, has been learned.

Taste aversion

A biological tendency to avoid a food if eating it is followed by illness.

Teratogens

Substances that damage fetal development, such as tobacco and alcohol.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

A condition in a child resulting from alcohol exposure during pregnancy.

Puberty

Period of sexual maturation when a person can reproduce.

Menopause

The point in a woman's life when menstrual periods stop permanently.

Sex

Biological and physiological characteristics that define male and female.

Gender

The social and cultural differences between male and female.

Intersex

Describes individuals whose sex characteristics are not typically considered male or female.

X chromosome

One of the two sex chromosomes that carries a larger amount of genetic information.

Y chromosome

One of the two sex chromosomes that is smaller than the X chromosome.

Testosterone

The main male sex hormone.

Estrogens

Hormones that play a key role in female reproductive system.

Primary sex characteristics

Organs and structures directly related to sexual reproduction.

Secondary sex characteristics

Physical characteristics developing at puberty that distinguish between sexes.

Spermarche

The first time a male ejaculates.

Menarche

The first menstrual period.

Jean Piaget

The Swiss biologist known for his theory of cognitive development in children.

Cognition

All mental activities related to thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

Incorporating new information into existing knowledge without changing it.

Accommodation

Adapting current understandings to incorporate new information.

Sensorimotor stage

Stage from birth to nearly 2 years where infants know the world mainly through sensory impressions and motor activities.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

Preoperational stage

Stage from about 2 to 6 or 7 years where a child learns to use language but does not yet think logically.

Conservation

The principle that mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in object form.

Egocentrism

The inability to take another's point of view, common in preoperational children.

Concrete operational stage

Stage of cognitive development from ages 7 to 11 where logical thinking about concrete events develops.

Formal operational stage

Stage beginning about age 12 where abstract and logical reasoning develops.

Lev Vygotsky

Studied child development focused on the influence of social environment.

Scaffold

A framework offering temporary support as children develop higher levels of thinking.

Theory of mind

Ideas about one’s own and others’ mental states and behaviors.

Noam Chomsky

Linguist who proposed that all human languages share a universal grammar.

Phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

Morpheme

The smallest unit in a language that carries meaning.

Grammar

Set of rules that enables communication in a language.

Universal grammar (UG)

The basic building blocks of language.

Babbling Stage

Speech development stage beginning around 4 months where infants produce sounds unrelated to household language.

One-Word Stage

Stage around age 1 when a child speaks mostly in single words.

Two-Word Stage

Stage starting around age 2 when a child forms two-word statements.

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech stage using mostly nouns and verbs, resembling a telegram.

Generative Grammar

Theory suggesting humans are predisposed to develop grammar.

Semantics

Aspect of language concerned with meaning.

Paul Broca

Neurologist who discovered the connection between brain damage and speech production.

Broca's Area

Region in the left frontal lobe involved in speech production.

Carl Wernicke

Neurologist who identified a brain region involved in language comprehension.

Wernicke's Area

Region in the left temporal lobe responsible for language comprehension.

Ecological Systems Theory

Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner on human development influenced by different environmental systems.

Stranger Anxiety

Fear of unfamiliar people, usually developing in infants around 8 months.

Social Anxiety

Intense fear of social situations where one may be judged or embarrassed.

Attachment

Emotional bond between an infant and caregiver influencing development.

Harry Harlow

Psychologist known for research on secure attachments in monkeys.

Imprinting

Form of attachment where certain animals bond with the first moving object they see.

Secure Attachment

Type of attachment where infants explore their environment with confidence.

Insecure Attachment

Type of attachment characterized by anxious or resistant behaviors.

Disorganized Attachment

Type of attachment showing confused behaviors towards a caregiver.

Temperament

An individual's characteristic level of emotional excitability.

Social identity

A sense of self shaped by integrating various roles.

Emerging adulthood

Period of life from late teens to mid-twenties in modern cultures.

Social clock

Culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage or parenthood.

Learning

Process of acquiring new and enduring information or behaviors.

Associative learning

Learning principle where ideas reinforce each other.

Stimulus

Any object, event, or situation that elicits a response from an organism.

Operant behavior

Behavior that operates on the environment and produces consequences.