Child Development Exam 1

theory

causal explanation of some phenomena

quantitative

observations that constitute a continuous theory

qualitative

observations that constitute a staged theory

stage

a distinct and separate period of development

generalizability

the extent to which our findings are valid for individuals outside of the study

research question

the main factors that influence research methods

ethics

concerns about psychological harm, physical harm, or loss of confidentiality

natural observation

studying children in the context of normal interaction

structural observation

studying children in a laboratory setting

systematic observation

creating a consistent environment that can be controlled by researchers to elicit behaviors

experiment

highly controlled; manipulating one factor whilst everything else is controlled

repeated measures design

each subject serves as own control group (baseline —> intervention —> remove intervention)

preferential looking

developed in 1958 by Fantz, infants will spend more time looking at something they prefer

complex, move, or are novel

infants prefer to look at things that are…

cross-sectional study

look at 2 or more age groups at the same time (1st and 4th graders); should not overlap

cohort effects

Variations in the characteristics of an area of study over time among individuals who are defined by some shared temporal experience or common life experience

longitudinal design

tracking people over time; usually many people being tracked

subject attrition

the loss of participants from a study over time

accelerated longitudinal design

combines longitudinal and cross-sectional; the best design

microgenetic research design

good way to look at transitions; large number of observations over a short time interval; goal is to uncover the process that lends to both qualitative and quantitative aspects of a change

germinal

1st stage of prenatal development: starts at conception and ends at attachment to uterine wall (0-2 weeks); rapid cell division

embryo

second stage of prenatal development: starts at attachment to uterine wall and ends at formation of bone cells (2-8 weeks); growth, cell differentiation, major organs form, and first movement

teratogen

any agent that can disturb the development of the embryo or fetus

fetal

3rd and last stage of prenatal development: starts at formation of real bones and ends at birth (8-38 weeks); growth, movement felt by mother, hearing, and sensitivity to light

18 days

how many days after conception does the fetus’ heart start beating

cleft palate syndrome

common birth defect: occurs when an unborn baby's face and mouth are developing and the upper lip and palate don't close fully.

thalidomide

teratogen that prevents arm buds from forming at 4 weeks

vernix

the outside layer of fat that protects a fetus’ skin during birth

maternal factors influencing prenatal development

age, nutrition, health, emotional state, and stress

paternal factors influencing prenatal development

age and nutrition (drugs)

maternal nutrition

can result in permanent changes in structure, physiology, and metabolism of offspring

maternal stress

negatively influences long-term learning, motor development, and behavior (increased rates of ADHD, mood disorders, and anxiety)

paternal health

can also reflect in the newborn epigenetically (i.e. older age can increase chances of autism)

Apgar assessment

developed by Virginia _____ to assess functioning of a newborn (includes appearance, pulse, grimace, activity level, and respiration [all are on a scale of 0-1] and is administered twice [once at 1 min and once at 5 mins])

Brazelton neonatal behavioral assessment scale

designed to assess infant functioning over the first month of life; requires extensive training and takes ~45 min, looks at reflexes including feeding, locomotor, primitive, and postural

quiet sleep

a newborn state characterized by being nearly still, except for occasional startle. It is restorative and anabolic

active sleep

newborn state characterized by some body movement and REM. Also involves processing and storing information.

drowsy

a newborn state characterized by variable activity, heavy lidded eyes, and irregular breathing

quiet alert

a newborn state characterized by minimal body activity, but eyes are bright and wide. They are attentive to their environment

active alert

a newborn state characterized by variable activity level, and dull glazed eyes

crying

a newborn state characterized by increased motor activity, skin color darkening, and grimacing

Rosseau

thought that children are born good and are corrupted by society

epigenetics

study of how both the environment we live in and our personal experiences influence genetic activity without changing the actual genes

methylation

adding CH4 groups that turn off genes

biopsychosocial model

a way of thinking about human characteristics based off a combination of genetics, social interactions, and personal perceptions / mental state

Murphy Longitudinal Study

looked at 121 teenagers with asthma and examined the impact of targeted rejection. became an important study for the basis of gene-environment interaction. more targeted rejection worsened asthmatic symptoms. also asked about subjective social status. those that perceived highest social status saw even more asthmatic effects

moderating variable

a variable that affects the strength or direction of the association between an independent variable and a dependent variable.

reasonable expectations

not all children of the same age perform the same; variability across different ages as well

screening tools

focus on size and reflexes, used to make inferences about central nervous system

0-2 years

when is the period of most rapid growth

9

at what age to females roughly hit puberty

11

when do males roughly hit puberty

secular trend

each generation seems to be getting a bit taller

4-8 months

when can infants begin to sit alone momentarily

4-8 months

when can infants begins reaching for objects, generally?

9-16 months

when can infants begin to stand alone?

9-17 months

when can infants begin walking alone

preferential looking habituation

you show stimuli repeatedly, then change stimulus (infants have built in perceptions for things that are more complicated or have high contrast)

habituation

likes things they’ve seen before

conditioning

infant trained to look in one direction in response to a sound or particular event

eye movement

newborn does not have much control over this; difficulty making smooth pursuit movements as well as difficulty with convergence and divergence (focusing on an object)

6 months

when do infants gain full visual activity (are no longer considered legally blind)

contrastivity

plain gray vs striped images

binocular cues

depth perception that occurs at 4-6 months, merging of vision / mismatch pairing

monocular kinetic

depth perception that occurs at 2 months; if an object moves closer it expands

monocular pictoral

depth perception that occurs at 7 months; can identify relative sizes and interposition

campos study

took 9 mo and 2 mo and dangled them over a deep side; only 9 mo individuals showcased fear

touch

a sensory experience that we previously thought babies could not experience, but now we know it is REALLY important for them

taste

some preferences and aversions are innate; babies like sweets, important factor is what happened in-utero

smell

newborns are sensitive to odore

early cognition development

changes in thinking, reasoning, and problem solving

Jean Piaget

studied mollusks as a child and got his PhD in Switzerland; came up with the four stages of cognitive development

schema

children create their own perceptions of the world based off of observation (“what makes the wind”)

assimilation

process that uses acquired techniques; taking it in

accomodation

making an alteration of schema based off of new knowledge

sensorimotor

first stage of cognitive development: birth - 24 months; action, exploration, and interaction with physical/social environment, and modifies existing schema

preoperational

second stage of cognitive development: 2-6 years; formation of mental representations, language, rigidity of thought, egocentrism, and poor conservation

concrete operational

third stage of cognitive development: 7 - 11 years; can solve concrete problems, but not abstract

formal operational

fourth stage of development: 11+ years; logical thought, creative solutions, deductive reasoning, systematic planning, and messianic phase

messianic phase

stage of life when we try to make abstract answers about the world (keeping a diary)

information processing

includes facts such as processing speed, memory, knowledge, and meta-cognition

executive functioning

deliberate, top-down neurocognitive process involved in control of thought and impulses; driven by formation of frontal lobe, emerges around 12 months and develops into adulthood

stroop test

a test used to measure executive functioning: (say night when you see a sun), usually for children between 3-7 years

Erikson-Flanker Task

a test used to measure executive functioning: must press button opposite of the direction arrows are pointing to

limited capacity system

we can only hold about 7-8 units of information in mind for a brief period

sequencing task

a test for working memory: give information, hold information, and then must regurgitate information in a different order

Wisconsin card sort

a test for working memory: must match different card to stimulus cards, not given rules but told if right or wrong. Then changes rules part-way through and see how long it takes them to realize

metacognition

knowledge about thinking (thinking about studying)

theory-theory approach

infants are extremely curious, like little scientists

initial model

a model of observation development that arises from cognitive constraints of regularities (my pasta falls on the floor)

synthetic model

a model of observation development that is a mix of initial concepts with information (pasta falls because of gravity, but doesn’t really know what gravity is)

scientific model

a model of observation development that is alas coherent thoughts (the pasta falls on the floor because gravity exerts a downward force on it)

declarative memory

requires very conscious recollection of memory (who was the first president)

semantic memory

knowledge not associated with a specific time (words)

episodic memory

associated with a specific memory

infantile amnesia

inability to recall early memories

entity theory

the belief that intelligence is fixed at a certain level and is not subject to change

incremental theory

intelligence is malleable and be increased with practice and effort

epigenesis

the emergence of new structures and functions in the course of development.

false-belief task

is used to assess young children's theory of mind. Children who pass this task realize that other individuals may have different knowledge about an object or event than they do