Human Dev: Chapter 4

What is a norm

average from many individuals with a specific group 

how does birthweight change

Birthweight doubles by 4 months, then triples by a year 

What is a percentile

a point on a ranking scale of 0 to 100; 50 is the midpoint 

What is co-sleeping

a custom where parents and children sleep in the same room 

• Mostly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America 

• Bed sharing happens more here 

• Europeans and north Americans care more about privacy 

What is sudden infant death syndrome

a healthy infant between 2-6 months old dies unexpectedly while asleep 

• Bed sharing increases risk of SIDS 

What is head-sparing

happens to protect the brain when malnutrition disrupts growth, so that the brain is the last part to get damaged 

• Brain grows more rapidly than any other organ 

what is a neuron

nerve cells

what is an axon

sends electrochemical impulses 

what is a dendrite

receive electrochemical impulses 

what is a synapse

gap between the axon of one neuron and dendrite of another

what is a neurotransmitter

brain chemical that carries info and travels between neurons

what is the cortex

outer layers of the brain, used for thinking, feeling, and sensing

what is the prefrontal cortex

front of the brain; used in anticipation, planning and impulse control

what are the parts of the limbic system and what is it

parts of the brain that deals with emotion 

• Amygdala: registers fear and anxiety 

• Hypothalamus: produces hormones in response to the amygdala and hippocampus that activates other parts of the brain and body 

• Hippocampus: used for memory, esp for locations 

what is cortisol

stress hormone

what is the pituitary

gland in brain that responds to signals from hypothalamus by producing many hormones, like growth and controls other glands like adrenal and sex glands 

what is transient exuberance

temporary increase in the number of dendrites that develop in the first 2 years of an infant's life 

 

what is experience-expected growth

brain functions that need basic common experiences in order to develop properly

what is experience-dependent growth

brain functions that depend on particular experiences and may or may not develop in an infant

what is shaken baby syndrome

life-threatening injury due to forcefully shaking an infant, which ruptures the blood vessels in the brain and breaks neural connections

what is binocular vision

coordinating both eyes to see one image 

• Impossible in womb 

• Least mature sense at birth 

• Happens around 2-4 months 

when does hearing develop

develops during last trimester of pregnancy 

• Most advanced of the senses 

 

when does taste and smell develop

function at birth and rapidly adapt

touch

Some touch is experience-expectant  

What are the 3 processes of brain development

• synapse formation

• myelination

• pruning

gross vs fine motor skills

motor skill: physical abilities involving large body movements like walking and jumping 

 

Fine motor skill physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers 

implicit vs explicit memory

Implicit memory: nonverbal memory, unconscious. Motor and emotional memories are implicit 

 

Explicit memory: takes longer to emerge, memory that's recalled in the conscious mind and expressed with words 

Sensorimotor: Primary Circular Reactions Substages

 

Primary circular reactions: infant senses motion, sucking, noise, and other stimuli to try to understand it 

• Stage 1: reflexes 

• Stage 2: acquired adaptations: learned behaviors to interaact with the environment

 

Sensorimotor: Secondary Circular Reactions

Secondary circular reaction: involves infant and an object/another person 

• Stage 3: making interesting sights last: responding to people and objects

• Stage 4: new adaptation and anticipation: becoming more delibeate and purposeful in responding to people and objects

• Object permanence 

 

Sensorimotor: Tertiary Circular Reactions Substages

 Tertiary circular reactions: wider world info gained from experience 

• Stage 5: experimentation with things to foster creativity 

  • Also known as "little scientist" 

• Stage 6: new means through mental combinations: thinking befor doing 

During the sensorimotor stage, what concepts are learned?

• object permanence

• means-end behavior: going from relying on involuntary reflexes to engaging in deliberate, goal-directed actions

• deferred imitation: ability to observe and reproduce an action after a delay

Babbling: What + When does it begin

infant repetition of certain syllables, begins around 6-9 months  

 

• Sign language is crucial in 1^st year for deaf babies 

• Gestures can be taught around 6-12 months old 

what is a holophrase

single word used to express a complete meaningful thought 

• First words happen around a year old 

what is a naming explosion

sudden increase in infant's vocabulary, especially nouns, starting around 18 months 

 

what is grammar and when does it form

word order, verb forms, etc.  

• Happens around 18-24 months 

mean length of utterance

average number of words in a typical sentence used to measure language development 

• Starts at age 1 and continues throughout childhood 

Who believed infants needed to be taught

B.F Skinner 

• Babbling is usually reinforced 

• Repetition of words help 

• Well-taught infants become well-spoken children 

 

Social impulses fosters infant language: 

• Infants communicate because that's what humans were evolved to do 

• Screen time allows children to learn as well 

 

Who believed children teach themselves to learn

Noam Chomsky 

• Language is genetically programmed, from a certain gene (FOXP2) 

• Language acquisition device: term for hypothesized brain structure that allows humans to learn language, including vocabulary, grammar, and intonation