Human Development - Part 1

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering human developmental stages, prenatal development, brain plasticity, infant reflexes, attachment theory, and parenting styles.

Developmental Psychology

The study of developmental changes over the lifespan involving physiology, cognition, emotion, and social behavior.

Zygote

The initial prenatal developmental stage lasting from conception up to $2\,\text{weeks}$, during which implantation into the uterine wall occurs.

Embryo

The prenatal developmental stage lasting from $2\,\text{weeks}$ to $2\,\text{months}$, during which organs and internal systems begin to form.

Fetus

The prenatal developmental stage lasting from $2\,\text{months}$ until birth, characterized by rapid growth and the maturation of body organs.

Brain Plasticity

The brain's capacity to organize and adapt its neural structure in response to environmental experiences.

Synaptic Pruning

A developmental neural process in which active, used connections are preserved while unused connections are lost, enabling the brain to adapt to its environment.

Teratogens

Environmental agents—including toxins, stress, poor nutrition, and maternal alcohol consumption—that can harm the embryo or fetus and impair prenatal development.

Thalidomide

A morning sickness medication prescribed to pregnant women in the 1950s and 1960s that caused severe birth defects, including shortened or absent limbs, affecting around $10{,}000$ babies in Germany.

Grasping Reflex

An innate infant motor reflex where an infant grabs onto an object placed in their hand.

Rooting Reflex

An innate infant motor reflex characterized by turning the head and sucking when an object makes contact near the infant's mouth.

Sucking Reflex

An innate survival reflex where an infant sucks on any object placed directly in their mouth.

Dynamic Systems Theory

A framework stating that new behaviors emerge through ongoing interactions between biological beings and their cultural and environmental contexts.

Attachment

An emotional connection between individuals that persists over time and across circumstances, fostered by innate infant behaviors that elicit adult attention.

Oxytocin

A hormone that promotes bonding, maternal tendencies, and social acceptance, which is released during nursing to facilitate milk movement into the ducts.

Harlow's Attachment Study

An experiment with infant rhesus monkeys showing that infants prefer a comforting terrycloth surrogate over a bare wire surrogate that provides milk, highlighting comfort and security over pure nourishment.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test

A standardized observational procedure used to evaluate infant attachment styles by observing child behavior during separations and reunions with the primary caregiver.

Secure Attachment

An attachment pattern observed in roughly $70\%$ of children, where the child uses the caregiver as a safe base, shows distress upon separation, and is immediately comforted upon reunion.

Insecure Avoidant Attachment

An attachment pattern exhibited by roughly $15\%$ of children (often associated with rejection), characterized by minimal distress upon caregiver departure and avoidance of contact upon reunion.

Insecure Ambivalent Attachment

An attachment pattern observed in roughly $15\%$ of children (often associated with inconsistent care), where the child displays intense separation distress and simultaneously seeks and rejects contact upon reunion.

Parental Support

A dimension of parenting defined by the extent to which caregivers demonstrate empathy and validate the child's perspective.

Behavioral Regulation

A dimension of parenting defined by the degree to which caregivers supervise behavior, enforce consistent discipline, and maintain clear expectations.

Authoritative Parenting

Considered the ideal parenting style, characterized by high levels of parental support and high levels of behavioral regulation.

Authoritarian Parenting

A parenting style characterized by low parental support combined with high behavioral regulation.

Indulgent Parenting

A parenting style characterized by high parental support combined with low behavioral regulation.

Uninvolved Parenting

A parenting style characterized by low parental support combined with low behavioral regulation.