Exam 1: Lifespan Growth and Development

Cephalocaudal

"Head to tail" Lower part of body grows later than the head

Proximodistal

"Near to far" Extremities grow later than head, chest, and trunk

differential susceptibility

People vary in how sensitive they are to any particular words, or drugs, or experiences, either because of the particular genes they have inherited or because of events years earlier.

Babinski reflex

When a newborn's feet are stroked, the toes fan upward.

Developmental Theory

a comprehensive statement of general principles that provides a framework for understanding how and why people change as they grow older -Theories produce hypotheses. -Theories generate discoveries. -Theories offer practical guidance.

zone of proximal development

an imaginary area surrounding the learner that contains the skills, knowledge, and concepts that are close (proximal) to being grasped but not yet reached

Eclectic perspective

choosing what they consider to be the best aspects of each theory. Rather than adopt any one of these theories exclusively, they make selective use of all of them

The Life-Span Perspective

considers all aspects of the entire life. That leads to the realization that human development is multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and plastic.

Sigmund Freud (psychoanalysis)

development in the first six years of life occurs in three stages. His theory is sometimes called a theory of psychosexualdevelopment, because each stage is characterized by sexual interest and pleasure arising from a particular part of the body In infancy, the erotic body part is the mouth (the oral stage) in early childhood, it is the anus (the anal stage) in the preschool years, it is the penis (the phallic stage), a source of pride and fear among boys and a reason for sorrow and envy among girls After a quiet, nonsexual period (latency) the genital stage arrives at puberty, lasting throughout adulthood.

Synaptogenesis

s the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system. Although it occurs throughout a healthy person's lifespan, an explosion of synapse formation occurs during early brain development

small for gestational age

small-for-dates

Age of Viability

the age at which a baby can survive in the event of a premature birth

Fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Reinforcement

the learning of operant conditioning uses reinforcers to teach what is good and bad

Guided Participation

the method used by parents, teachers, and entire societies to teach novices the skills and habits expected within their culture. Tutors engage learners (apprentices) in joint activities, offering "mutual involvement in several widespread cultural practices with great importance for learning: narratives, routines, and play"

Culture

the system of shared beliefs, conventions, norms, behaviors, expectations and symbolic representations that persist over time and prescribe social rules of conduct

Preterm

two or more weeks early; no longer called premature) are often LBW, because fetal weight normally doubles in the last trimester of pregnancy

ceasarean section

when the fetus is removed though incision in the mother's abdomen instead of being pushed by contractions through the vagina.

Doula

A caregiver who provides continuous physical, emotional, and educational support for the mother before, during, and after childbirth.

Couvade

Paternal experiences of pregnancy and birth are called couvade, expected in some cultures, a normal variation in many, and considered pathological in others.

Cohort

All persons born within a few years of one another are called a cohort, a group defined by its members' shared age. Cohorts travel through life together, experiencing at each age particular values, events, and technologies.

Parent-Infant Bond

It has been claimed that this bond develops when a mother touches her newborn, just as sheep and goats must immediately smell and nuzzle their newborns if they are to nurture them

Apgar Scale

Apgar developed a simple rating scale of five vital signs — color, heart rate, cry, muscle tone, and breathing.

5 Perspectives on Human Development

-Psychodynamic theories make us aware of the impact of earlychildhood experiences, remembered or not, on subsequent development. -Behaviorism shows the effect that immediate responses, associations, and examples have on learning, moment by moment and over time. -Cognitive theories bring an understanding of intellectual processes, that thoughts and beliefs affect every aspect of our development. -Sociocultural theories remind us that development is embedded in a rich and multifaceted cultural context, evident in every social interaction. -Evolutionary theories suggest that human impulses need to be recognized before they can be guided.

operant conditioning

-animals (including people) act and then something follows that action. -He focused instead on what happens after the response. If the consequence that follows is enjoyable, the creature (any living thing — a bird, a mouse, a child) tends to repeat the behavior; if the consequence is unpleasant, the creature does not do that action again

Cognitive equilibrium

A state of mental balance. The easiest way to achieve this balance is to interpret new experiences through the lens of preexisting ideas.

Immigrant Paradox

As already mentioned, low SES correlates with low birthweight, especially in the United States. Many immigrants have difficulty getting education and well-paid jobs; their socioeconomic status is low. Nonetheless, babies born to immigrants generally are heavier and healthier than newborns of native-born women of the same SES and ethnicity

critical vs sensitive periods

Critical- when something must occur to ensure normal development or the only time when an abnormality might occur Sensitive- a particular development occurs more easily — but not exclusively — at a certain time (example is language learning in ages 1-3)

Erik Erikson (psychosocial)

Erikson described eight developmental stages, each characterized by a particular challenge, or developmental crisis. Typically, development at each stage leads to neither extreme but to something in between. He understood that the people — family, friends, and the larger community — who nurture each person are crucial for that person's development. Those people follow the norms of their culture in raising their children

fetal alcohol syndrome

FAS distorts the facial features of a child (especially the eyes, ears, and upper lip). Later in pregnancy, behavior can be affected; fetal alcohol effects (FAE)occur, not FAS

Fetal Period

From the Ninth Week Until Birth The organism is called a fetus from the beginning of the ninth week after conception until birth. The fetal period encompasses dramatic change, from a tiny creature smaller than the final joint of your thumb to a newborn about 20 inches

embryonic period

From the Third Week Through the Eighth Week the mass of cells takes shape — not yet recognizably human but worthy of a new name, embryo About 20 percent of all embryos are aborted spontaneously. This is usually called an early miscarriage, a misleading term. The usual cause is a chromosomal abnormality.

John B. Watson

He argued that if psychology was to be a true science, psychologists should examine only what they could see and measure, not invisible impulses. In his words: "Why don't we make what we can observe the real field of psychology? Let us limit ourselves to things that can be observed, and formulate laws concerning only those things.... We can observe behavior — what the organism does or says."

Lev Vygotsky- Apprenticeship in thinking

In Vygotsky's view, everyone, schooled or not, develops with the guidance of more skilled members of their society

Developmental Stages

Infancy 0 to 2 years Early childhood 2 to 6 years Middle childhood 6 to 11 years Adolescence 11 to 18 years Emerging adulthood 18 to 25 years Adulthood 25 to 65 years Late adulthood 65 years and older

Information Processing Theory

Information processing is "a framework characterizing a large number of research programs". Instead of interpreting responsesby infants and children, as Piaget did, this cognitive theory focuses on the processes of thought — that is, when, why, and how neurons fire before a response.

Nature vs. Nurture Controversy

Nature refers to the influence of the genes that people inherit. Nurture refers to environmental influences, beginning with the health, diet, and stress of the future person's mother at conception and continuing lifelong, including experiences in the family, school, community, and nation. Neither belief is accurate. As one group of scholars explains, human characteristics are neither born nor made. Genes and the environment both affect every characteristic: Nature always affects nurture, and then nurture affects nature.

Assimilation

New experiences are reinterpreted to fit, or assimilate, into old ideas.

acommodation

Old ideas are restructured to include, or accommodate, new experiences.

Jean Piaget

Piaget maintained that cognitive development occurs in four age-related periods, or stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each period fosters certain cognitive processes: Infants think via their senses; preschoolers have language but not logic; school-age children have simple logic; adolescents and adults can use formal, abstract logic.

SES

SES is not solely about income. It also reflects education, occupation, and neighborhood. The combination affects development much more than money alone.

Modeling by Observation

That social interplay is the foundation of social learning theory, which holds that humans sometimes learn without personal reinforcement. This learning often occurs through modeling, when people copy what they see others do.

Germinal Period

The First 14 Days the one-celled zygote duplicates, divides, and multiplies. Soon after the 16-cell stage, a fourth crucial process, differentiation begins. About a week after conception, the developing mass of cells forms two distinct parts — a shell that will become the placenta and a nucleus that will become the embryo. An estimated 60 percent of all zygotes do not grow or implant properly and thus do not survive the germinal period.

Low Birth Weight

The World Health Organization defines low birthweight (LBW) as under 2,500 grams (5 ½ pounds)

Maintain oxygen supply

The breathing reflex begins even before the umbilical cord, with its supply of oxygen, is cut. Additional reflexes that maintain oxygen are reflexive hiccups and sneezes, as well as thrashing (moving the arms and legs about) to escape something that covers the face.

Palmer Grasp Reflex

When something touches newborns' palms, they grip it tightly.

Critical Time of Development

The first days and weeks after conception (the germinal and embryonic periods) are critical for body formation, but behavioral teratogens affect the fetus at any time.

prenatal development

The first two weeks are called the germinal period; the third week through the eighth week is the embryonic period; from then until birth is the fetal period.

Selective Adaptation

The idea is that both nature and nurture promote survival and reproduction. According to one version of selective adaptation, genes for traits that aid survival and reproduction have been selected over time.

Implantation

The process by which the zygote attaches to the uterine wall

Manage Feedings

The sucking reflex causes newborns to suck anything that touches their lips — fingers, toes, blankets, and rattles, as well as natural and artificial nipples of various textures and shapes. In the rooting reflex, babies turn their mouths toward anything that brushes against their cheeks — a reflexive search for a nipple — and start to suck. Swallowing also aids feeding, as does cryingwhen the stomach is empty and spitting up when too much is swallowed quickly.

Embryo

The word embryo is often used loosely, but each early stage has a particular name; here, embryo refers to day 14 to day 56

While many of the theorist who originally worked with Freud have modified &/or expanded his ideas, what is one point that they all agree on?

They agreed with Freud that early-childhood emotions affect everyone

Ecological Systems Approach

This approach recognizes three nested levels -microsystem (each person's immediate social contexts, such as family and peer group) -exosystem (local institutions such as school and church) -macrosystem (the larger social setting, including cultural values, economic policies, and political processes) Two more systems affect these three. -chronosystem (literally, "time system"), which is the historical context. -mesosystem, consisting of the connections among the other systems

postpartum depression

When birth hormones decrease, between 8 and 15 percent of women experience postpartum depression, a sense of inadequacy and sadness (called baby blues in the mild version and postpartum psychosis in the most severe form)

Swimming Reflex

When held horizontally on their stomachs, newborns stretch out their arms and legs.

maintain a constant body temperature

When infants are cold, they cry, shiver, and tuck their legs close to their bodies. When they are hot, they try to push away blankets and then stay still.

Stepping Reflex

When newborns are held upright, feet touching a flat surface, they move their legs as if to walk.

Moro Reflex

When someone bangs on the table they are lying on, newborns fling their arms outward and then bring them together on their chests, crying with wide-open eyes.

Threshold Effect

[the teratogens] are virtually harmless until exposure reaches a certain level, at which point they "cross the threshold" and become damaging.

classical conditioning

a person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a meaningful one, gradually responding to the neutral stimulus in the same way as to the meaningful one

types of teratogens

drugs, viruses, pollutants, malnutrition, stress, and more — that increases the risk of prenatal abnormalities and birth complications.

Sociocultural Theory

human development results from the dynamic interaction between developing persons and their surrounding society. Culture is not something external that impinges on developing persons but is internalized, integral to everyday attitudes and actions

Kangaroo Care

in which the newborn lies between the mother's breasts, skin-to-skin, listening to her heartbeat and feeling her body heat

Neurogenesis

is the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain. Neurogenesisis crucial when an embryo is developing, but also continues in certain brain regions after birth and throughout our lifespan.

Epigenetics

is the study of changes in the expression of genes that do not result from alterations in the sequence of the genetic code. Each person's DNA lays a groundwork for the development of physical and psychologicalcharacteristics, but the activity of genes can be modified by various factors.

anoxia

lack of oxygen in the womb

behavioral teratogens

might cause no visible harm but instead make a child hyperactive, antisocial, or intellectually disabled

Three Domains of Human Development

physical surroundings (including climate, noise, trees) family structures (marital status, family size, ages) community characteristics (urban, suburban, or rural; diverse or not)

Multidirectional

study of life-span development highlights how and why people change over time