exam 1 readings

Complications of pregnancy

Problems during pregnancy range from common discomforts to serious conditions requiring medical care.

Assessing the neonate

Newborn assessments check immediate health and behavior; the reading describes the Apgar assessment and NBAS.

Infant sleep

Newborns sleep in several periods across the day, and sleep patterns change with age.

From reflexes to voluntary movements

Many automatic newborn responses fade as controlled movement develops.

Infant memory

Infants can form memories, but retention and recall improve with development.

Attention

The ability to focus develops during childhood, including divided, selective, and sustained attention.

Memory

Information moves through sensory, working, and long-term memory systems.

Theories of language development

Biological readiness, learning, and social interaction all help explain how children acquire language.

Brain areas for language

Broca’s area is associated with language production; Wernicke’s area is associated with comprehension.

Is there a critical period for learning language?

Early experience appears especially important, although language learning is not limited to one exact cutoff.

Sex-linked chromosomal abnormality

The textbook’s term for an unusual number of sex chromosomes, such as in Turner or Klinefelter syndrome.

Conducting ethical research

Researchers protect participants’ welfare, rights, and privacy.

No harm

Researchers must work to prevent harm to participants.

Informed consent

A participant agrees to take part after receiving information about the study and may withdraw.

Confidentiality

Researchers protect participants’ private information.

Deception

Researchers withhold or alter information about a study when it is justified and ethically reviewed.

Debriefing

Researchers explain the study afterward, including any deception.

Monozygotic twins

Identical twins formed when one fertilized egg splits.

Dizygotic twins

Fraternal twins formed from two separately fertilized eggs.

Chromosomal abnormality

An unusual number or structure of chromosomes.

Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

A condition caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Sex chromosome abnormality

An unusual number of sex chromosomes.

Turner syndrome

A condition in which a person typically has one X chromosome.

Klinefelter syndrome

A condition in which a person typically has an extra X chromosome (XXY).

Mothers over 35

Most have healthy pregnancies, but some pregnancy complications become more likely with age.

Teenage pregnancy

Pregnancy during adolescence, associated in the reading with increased risks for some complications.

Gestational diabetes

High blood sugar that develops during pregnancy.

High blood pressure (hypertension)

Elevated blood pressure that may exist before pregnancy or develop during it.

Rh disease

A condition that can occur when an Rh-negative pregnant person develops antibodies against an Rh-positive fetus’s blood cells.

Weight gain during pregnancy

Both too little and too much gain can be associated with complications.

Stress during pregnancy

High or prolonged stress can affect pregnancy and child development.

Depression during pregnancy

Depression can occur before, during, or after pregnancy and affect daily functioning.

Paternal impact

A father’s age and exposure to harmful substances may affect reproductive and offspring health.

Minor pregnancy complications

Common discomforts such as nausea, heartburn, and back pain.

Major pregnancy complications

Serious conditions that can threaten the pregnant person or fetus.

Ectopic pregnancy

Implantation of a fertilized egg outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube.

Preeclampsia (toxemia)

A pregnancy complication involving high blood pressure and signs of organ problems.

Maternal mortality

Death related to pregnancy or childbirth.

Spontaneous abortion

The medical term for miscarriage.

Apgar assessment

A quick newborn assessment at one and five minutes after birth.

What does the Apgar assessment measure?

Appearance, pulse, reflex response, activity, and respiration.

Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

A broader assessment of a newborn’s behavior and responses.

Polyphasic sleep

Sleep divided among several periods throughout the day.

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID)

An umbrella category for unexpected deaths of infants under one year old.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

An unexplained sudden infant death after investigation.

Unknown cause of infant death

A classification used when the cause cannot be established from the available investigation.

Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed

A category of sleep-related infant deaths involving hazards in the sleep environment.

What is the key point about infant bed sharing?

The reading associates bed sharing with increased sleep-related risk, especially for very young infants.

Reflex

An automatic response to stimulation; many newborn reflexes later give way to voluntary movements.

Sucking reflex

An infant automatically sucks when something touches the lips.

Rooting reflex

An infant turns toward a touch on the cheek.

Grasp reflex

An infant’s fingers close around something touching the palm.

Babinski reflex

An infant’s toes fan and curl when the sole is stroked.

Moro reflex

A startled infant extends the limbs and then draws them inward.

Tonic neck reflex

Turning an infant’s head to one side produces a “fencer” position.

Stepping reflex

An infant makes stepping motions when held upright with the feet touching a surface.

Infantile amnesia

The inability to recall most experiences from the first few years of life.

Deferred imitation

Repeating an observed action after a delay.

What is the main point about infant memory?

Infants can remember events, although early memories may be brief and depend on reminders or context.

Development of a sense of self

During the second year, children increasingly recognize themselves as separate people.

Self-awareness

Recognizing oneself as separate from others, often studied with the mirror test.

Information processing

An approach that studies how attention, memory, and other mental processes develop.

Divided attention (multitasking)

Attending to more than one task or source of information.

Selective attention

Focusing on relevant information while ignoring distractions.

Sustained attention

Keeping attention on a task over time.

Sensory memory

Very brief storage of information received through the senses.

Working memory (short-term memory)

Holding and using a limited amount of information in conscious thought.

Executive function

Skills used to regulate attention, behavior, and flexible thinking.

Rehearsal

Repeating information to help remember it.

Clustering

Grouping related information to make it easier to remember.

Long-term memory

Relatively lasting storage of information.

Declarative memory

Memory for facts and events that can be consciously recalled.

Nondeclarative (implicit) memory

Memory expressed through skills or behavior without conscious recall.

Semantic memory

Memory for general facts and knowledge.

Episodic memory

Memory for specific personal events.

Autobiographical memory

Memory for events from one’s own life.

Nativism

The view that humans have an inborn capacity that supports language learning.

Language acquisition device (LAD)

Chomsky’s proposed inborn mechanism for acquiring language.

Universal grammar

Chomsky’s proposal that languages share underlying grammatical principles.

Deep structure

The underlying meaning of an idea in Chomsky’s theory.

Surface structure

The words and grammatical form used to express an idea.

Broca’s area

A brain region strongly involved in language production.

Wernicke’s area

A brain region strongly involved in language comprehension.

Critical period for language

The proposed early window when language learning is especially receptive.

Learning theory of language

The view that observation, imitation, and reinforcement contribute to language learning.

Social pragmatics

The view that children learn language through social interaction and a need to communicate.

What is the overarching point of the language theories?

Both biological capacities and social experience contribute to language development.

Bilingualism

Understanding and using two languages.

What affects a bilingual child’s skill in each language?

The amount and quality of exposure and opportunities to use it.

Mutual-exclusivity bias

The tendency to assume a new word names an object that does not already have a known name.

Trust versus mistrust

Erikson’s first psychosocial stage, in which consistent care helps infants develop basic trust.

Problems establishing trust

In Erikson’s theory, inconsistent or unavailable care can make trust harder to develop.

Spanking

Physical punishment; the reading associates it with negative behavioral and learning outcomes.

Bullying

Repeated aggressive behavior involving a real or perceived power imbalance.

Cyberbullying

Bullying carried out through electronic communication.

Who is at increased risk of being bullied?

The reading identifies children who are socially isolated or perceived as different.

Who is more likely to bully others?

The reading describes some bullies as seeking popularity, power, or control.

Why might bullied children not ask for help?

They may fear retaliation, feel embarrassed, or doubt that adults will help.

Children’s art

Drawings become more organized and recognizable as motor, perceptual, and thinking skills develop.

What else shapes children’s art?

Cultural expectations can influence what and how children draw.