Chapter 5 Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Affordances

Opportunities for interaction in the environment.

Amodal sensory properties

Sensory information not tied to a specific modality.

Brain plasticity

Ability of the brain to change and adapt.

Cephalocaudal trend

Development proceeds from head to toe.

Cerebral cortex

Outer layer of the brain responsible for higher functions.

Classical conditioning

Learning through association between stimuli.

Conditioned response (CR)

Learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.

Differentiation theory

Development involves refining skills from general to specific.

Dynamic systems theory of motor development

Motor skills emerge from complex interactions.

Experience-dependent brain growth

Growth influenced by individual experiences.

Experience-expectant brain growth

Growth based on universal experiences.

Glial cells

Supportive cells in the nervous system.

Habituation

Decreased response to repeated stimuli.

Imitation

Copying behavior observed in others.

Intermodal perception

Integration of information from different sensory modalities.

Kwashiorkor

Severe protein deficiency leading to malnutrition.

Lateralization

Specialization of brain hemispheres for different functions.

Marasmus

Severe malnutrition causing energy deficiency.

Mirror neurons

Neurons that fire during action observation.

Myelination

Formation of a myelin sheath around neurons.

Neurons

Basic building blocks of the nervous system.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals across synapses.

Operant conditioning

Learning through consequences of behavior.

Perceptual narrowing effect

Reduced ability to discriminate between stimuli.

Pincer grasp

Fine motor skill using thumb and finger.

Prefrontal cortex

Brain region for decision making and planning.

Prereaching

Initial, uncoordinated reaching movements in infants.

Programmed cell death

Natural process of eliminating excess cells.

Proximodistal trend

Development proceeds from center to extremities.

Punishment

Consequences that decrease the likelihood of behavior.

Recovery

Return to baseline after habituation.

Reinforcer

Stimulus that increases likelihood of behavior.

Shape constancy

Perception of object shape remains constant.

Size constancy

Perception of object size remains constant.

Statistical learning

Ability to detect patterns in the environment.

Synapses

Junctions between neurons for signal transmission.

Synaptic pruning

Elimination of unused synapses for efficiency.

Ulnar grasp

Grasp using the whole hand.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

Natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Stimulus that naturally elicits a response.

Weight faltering

Inadequate weight gain in infants or children.