Developmental Psychology exam 3

Proliferation

The rapid growth of neurons and formation of synapses during early brain development.

Synaptic Pruning

The process of eliminating unused or less frequently used synaptic connections to make brain networks more efficient.

Primary Circular Reactions

Repetitive actions centered around the infant's own body, such as thumb sucking.

Secondary Circular Reactions

Repeated actions involving the external environment, like shaking a rattle.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.

A-not-B Error

A phenomenon where infants search for an object where it was last found instead of where it was recently hidden.

Cooing

The early vocal sound made by infants around 6-8 weeks.

Babbling

Repetition of consonant-vowel combinations by infants around 4-6 months.

Temperament Categories

Classification of infants into easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up categories.

Primary Emotions

Basic emotions that emerge in infancy, such as joy, anger, fear, and sadness.

Social Referencing

Infants looking to caregivers for emotional cues in uncertain situations.

Still-Face Experiment

Procedure highlighting the importance of social interaction, where a caregiver maintains a neutral face.

Risk Factors for SIDS

Factors such as sleeping on the stomach, premature birth, and soft bedding that increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Tertiary Circular Reactions

Experimentation with new actions by toddlers to see how they affect the world.

Chomsky’s Language Acquisition Device

The innate mechanism proposed by Chomsky that helps children acquire language.

Naming/Vocabulary Explosion

The rapid increase in vocabulary that occurs around 18 months.

Self-awareness

The recognition of oneself in mirrors or photographs beginning around 18-24 months.

Secondary Emotions

Emotions such as shame and guilt that emerge in toddlerhood as social awareness increases.

Erikson’s Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

The developmental stage in toddlerhood where toddlers assert their independence and a sense of autonomy is developed.

Secure Attachment

Attachment style where toddlers feel distressed when separated but are comforted easily upon reunion.

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment

Attachment style characterized by avoiding or ignoring the caregiver and showing little distress when separated.

Disorganized Attachment

A pattern of inconsistent and erratic behavior toward the caregiver related to trauma or neglect.