Child Development Psychology Midterm

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Germinal period

(0-2 weeks); rapid cell division and the beginning of cell differentiation.

Embryonic period

(2-8 weeks); during which the major organs and structures of the organism develop

Fetal period

(9 weeks-birth); major growth and advancement of organ complexity

Implantation

The process by which the zygote attaches to the uterine wall

Placenta

a flattened circular organ in the uterus; nourishing and maintaining the fetus through the umbilical cord

Umbilical cord

A tube containing the blood vessels connecting the fetus and placenta

Age of viability

The age (about 22 weeks after conception) at which a fetus may survive outside the mother's uterus if specialized medical care is available

Gestational age

the age of the fetus between conception and birth

Teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Microbiome

all of the microorganisms that live in a particular environment, such as a human body

Apgar scale

a standard measurement system that looks for a variety of indications of good health in newborns

Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale

A test often administered to newborns that measures responsiveness and records 46 behaviors, including 20 reflexes.

Neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Synaptogenesis

the process by which neurons form synapses with other neurons, resulting in trillions of connections

Myelin

Fatty tissue encasing many neurons; enables greater transmission speed of neural impulses

Spinal cord

Nerves that run up and down the length of the back and transmit most messages between the body and brain

Brain stem

Connects the brain to the spinal cord; controls involuntary, life-sustaining activities such as breathing, heart rate, sleeping, and maintaining consciousness.

Cerebral cortex

The fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Experience-expectant

Brain functions that require certain basic common experiences (which an infant can be expected to have) in order to develop normally

Experience-dependent

Brain functions that depend on particular, variable experiences and therefore may or may not develop in a particular person

Exuberant synaptogenesis

a rapid growth in synaptic density that prepares the brain for a vast range of possible experiences

Synaptic pruning

a process whereby the synaptic connections in the brain that are used are preserved, and those that are not used are lost

Reflex

A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. Ex. as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

Dishabituation

Recovery of a habituated response after a change in stimulation. Ex. an infant who was habituated to a toy became re-interested when the toy was dyed blue

Multimodal perception

the approach that considers how information that is collected by various individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated

Sensorimotor stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Primary circular reactions

in Piaget's framework, the first infant habits during the sensorimotor stage, centered on the body

Prefrontal cortex

Part of frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning, and language

Early life adversity

profound and pervasive deprivation experienced during infancy, often resulting in severe developmental delays

Sleeper effects

The delayed effect of an earlier experience, for example of early deprivation of visual stimulation.

Fine motor skills

physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up a coin

Gross motor skills

physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping

Locomotion

the ability to move from place to place

Social referencing

reading emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation

Secondary circular reactions

In Piaget's framework, habits of the sensorimotor stage lasting from about 4 months to 1 year, centered on exploring the external world

Tertiary circular reactions

in Piaget's framework, "little scientist" activities of the sensorimotor stage, beginning around age 1, involving flexibly exploring the properties of objects

Intentionality

Doing things for a purpose

Object permanence

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view

Symbolic play

(18-24 months); A type of play in which a child uses one object to substitute for another

A-not-B error

the tendency to reach for a hidden object where it was last found rather than in the new location where it was last hidden

Visual proprioception

the visual feedback that one gets from moving around, linked to the development of wariness of heights in infancy

Emotion

the feeling that is produced in response to life experiences; physiological, actioned, and cognitive

Emotion regulation

the use of cognitive and behavioral strategies to influence one's emotional experience

Basic emotions

anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise

Differential Emotions Theory

the view that basic emotions are innate and emerge in their adult form, either at birth or on a biologically determined timetable

Ontogenetic Adaptations Theory

Emotions evolve because it contributes to survival and 'normal' development; focus on circumstances in which emotions are expressed and ways these impact caregivers

Emotions as Socialized in Cultural Contexts

Infants are biologically prepared to express basic emotions and caregivers are biologically primed to respond, but cultural context is crucial

Primary intersubjectivity

organized, reciprocal face-to-face interaction between an infant and caregiver with the interaction itself as the focus

Attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Secure base

refers to the idea that the presence of a trusted caregiver provides an infant or toddler with a sense of security that makes it possible for the child to explore the environment

Separation anxiety

emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment

strange situation procedure

A procedure in which infants are exposed to a series of eight separation and reunion episodes to assess the quality of their attachment

Secure attachment

a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver

Avoidant attachment

infants who seem unresponsive to the parent when they are present, are usually not distressed when they leave, and avoid the parent when they return

Resistant attachment

relationship in which, after a brief separation, infants want to be held but are difficult to console

Disorganized attachment

characterized by the child's odd behavior when faced with the parent; type of attachment seen most often with kids that are abused

Emic approach

perspective that emphasizes cultural aspects of human behavior and development

Emit approach

Emphasizes universal aspects of human behavior and development

developmental science

field of study that focuses on the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional changes that children undergo from the moment of conception onward

sources of development

nature vs nurture: intertwined, interact, influence each other

nature

the inherited biological predispositions of the individual

nurture

the influences of the social and cultural environment on the individual

plasticity

degree to which, and conditions under which, development is open to change and intervention

critical period

period during which specific biological/environmental events are required for normal development to occur

sensitive period

time in an organism's development when a particular experience has an especially profound effect

continuity

development consists of the gradual accumulation of small changes- emphasize quantitative changes

developmental stage

qualitatively distinctive, coherent pattern of behavior that emerges during the course of development

individual differences

sources of development, stability over time, stability of environment

theory

broad framework or set of principles that can be used to guide the collection/interpretation of a set of facts

"Grand" theories

psychodynamic, social learning, constructivist, sociocultural

Psychodynamic theories

theories, such as those of Freud and Erikson, exploring the influence on development and developmental stages of universal biological drives and the life experiences of individuals

Sigmund Freud

focus on ways children satisfy biological drives- psychosexual stages as form of sexual gratification changes and conflict occurs between desires and social prescriptions

ego development (Freud)

battle among id (biological drives), ego (rational component), and superego (morals)

Erik Erikson

focus on social and cultural factors as major force behind development; psychosocial stages with "crises" lead to identity development

Social Learning Theories

theories that focus on development as the result of learning, changes in behavior as a result of forming associations between behavior and its consequences

John B. Watson

primary role of learning in human development- said could use learning to train any infant

B.F. Skinner

everything is environment, rewards more effective than punishment

Albert Bandura

modeling (observation and imitation) and self-efficacy (beliefs about own abilities to deal effectively with environment)

Constructivist Theory

Piaget's theory in which cognitive development results from children's active construction of reality based on their experiences with the world

Jean Piaget

schema (mental structure providing model for understanding), adaption (assimilation and accommodation)

equilibration

main source of development, consisting of process of achieving a balance between present understanding (existing schema) and new experiences

Sociocultural Theory

theory associated with Lev Vygotsky that emphasizes influence of culture on development

zone of proximal development

Vygotsky- the gap between what children can do independently and what they can accomplish when interacting with others who are more competent

"Modern" theories

evolutionary, information-processing, systems theories (dynamic and ecological), critical theories

Evolutionary Theories

theories that explain human behavior in terms of how it contributes to the survival of the species and that look at how our evolutionary past influences individual development

ethology

interdisciplinary science that studies the biological and evolutionary foundations of behavior

Information-Processing Theories

theories that look at cognitive development in terms of how children come to process, store, organize, retrieve, and manipulate information in increasingly efficient ways

Systems Theories

theories that envision development in terms of complex wholes made up of parts and that explore how these wholes and their parts are organized and interact and change over time

Dynamic Systems Theory

theory that addresses how new complex systems of behavior develop from the interaction of less complex parts; theorists like Thelen interested in what sparks new systems/how they develop from disorganization and instability

Ecological Systems Theory

theory focusing on the organization and interactions of the multiple environmental contexts with which children develop

Uri Bronfenbrenner

model of four interacting systems/microsystem (daily settings), mesosystem (link microsystems), exosystem (settings affect but don't usually include child), macrosystem (larger culture)

Critical Theories

theories that address cultural biases that may be present in traditional developmental theories and that examine power relations between groups and the influence on development gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class

hypothesis

a possible explanation based on theory that is precise enough to be

reliability

the scientific requirement that when same behavior is measured on two or more occasions by the same or different observers, the measurements be consistent with each other

replicability

the scientific requirement that other researchers can use the same procedures as an initial investigator did and obtain the same results