first two years

marasmus

a disease of severe calorie malnutrition during early infancy, in which growth stops, body tissues waste away, and the infant eventually dies

attachment

according to ainsworth, an affectionate tie that an infant forms with a caregiver, a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time

fMRI

functional magnetic resonance imaging, a measuring technique in which the brain's electrical excitement indicates activation anywhere in the brain; this helps researchers locate neurological responses to stimuli

social referencing

seeking information about how to react to an unfamiliar or ambiguous object or event by observing someone else's expressions and reactions. that other person becomes a social reference

naming explosion

a sudden increase in an infants vocabulary, especially in the number of nouns, that begins at about 18 months of age

ethnotheory

a theory that values and practices of a culture but is not usually apparent to the people within the culture

disorganized attachment

a type of attachment that is marked by an infants inconsistent reactions to the caregivers departure and return

grammar

all the methods - word order, verb forms, and so on - that languages use to communicate meaning, apart from the words themselves

still face technique

an experimental practice in which an adult keeps his or her face unmoving and expressionless in face to face interaction with an infant

separation anxiety

an infants distress when a familiar caregiver leaves, most obvious between 9 and 14 months

stranger wariness

an infants expression of concern - a quiet stare, clinging to a familiar person, or sadness - when a stranger appears

babbling

an infants repetition of certain syllables, such as bababa that begins when babies are between 6 and 9 months old

trust v mistrust

eriksons first psychosocial crisis,. infants learn basic trust is their basic needs are met (food, comfort, doubt, attention)

autonomy v shame and doubt

eriksons second crisis of psychosocial development. toddlers either succeed or fail in gaining a sense of self rule over their own actions and bodies

social smile

a smile evoked by a human face, normally evident in infants about six weeks after birth

Head-sparing

a biological mechanism that protects the brain when malnutrition affects body growth. the brain is the last part of the body to be damaged by malnutrition

protein calorie malnutrition

a condition in which the person does not consume sufficient food of any kind. this deprivation can result in several illnesses, severe weight loss, and even death

synchrony

a coordinated, rapid, and smooth exchange of responses between caregiver and infant

co-sleeping

a custom in which parents and their children (usually infants) sleep together in the same room

kwashiorkor

a disease of chronic malnutrition during childhood in which a protein deficiency makes the child more vulnerable to other diseases, such as measles, diarrhea, and influenza

axon

a fiber that extends from a neuron and receives electrochemical impulses transmitted from other neurons via their axons

strange situation

a laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking infants reactions to stress in eight episodes of three minutes each

shaken baby syndrome

a life threatening injury that occurs when an infant is forcefully shaken back and forth, a motion that ruptures brain vessels in the brain and breaks neural connections

insecure avoidant attachment

a pattern in which an infant avoids connection with the caregiver, as when the infant seems not to care about the caregivers presence or departure or return

insecure resistant attachment

a pattern in which anxiety and uncertainty are evident as when an infant becomes very upset about the separation from the caregiver and both resists and seeks contact on return

reminder session

a perceptual experience that helps a person recollect an idea, a thing, or an experience

self-awareness

a persons realization that he or she is a distinct individual, whose body, mind, and actions are separated from those of other people

information processing theory

a perspective that compares human thinking processes, by analogy, to computer analysis of data, including sensory input, connections, stored memories, and output

percentile

a point on a ranking scale of zero to 100. the 50th percentile is the midpoint. half of the people rank higher and half rank lower.

secure attachment

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

deferred imitation

a sequence in which an infant first perceives something done by someone else and then performs the same action hours or even days later

goodness of fit

a similarity of temperament and values that produces a smooth interaction between an individual and his or her social context, including family, school, and community

affordance

an opportunity for perception and interaction that is offered by a person, place, or object in the environment

selective amnesia

as we grow older, we forget about spitting up, nursing, crying, and almost everything else from our early years. however, strong emotions, (love fear mistrust) may leave lifelong traces

ages when emotions emerge

birth; crying, contentment 6 weeks; social smile 3 months; laughter, curiosity 4 months; full, responsive smiles 4-8 months; anger 9-14 months;fear of social events (strangers, separation from caregiver) 12 months; fear of unexpected sights and sounds 18 months; self awareness, pride, shame, embarrassment

experience dependent brain functions

brain functions that depend on particular variable experiences and that therefore may or may not develop in a particular infant (something that develops in one culture, but not another)

experience expectant brain functions

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

distal parenting

caregiving practices involved in remaining distant from a baby, providing toys, food, and face to face communication with minimal holding and touching

proximal parenting

caregiving practices that involve being physically close to a baby, with frequent holding and touching

language acquisition device

chomsky's term for a hypothesized mental structure that enables humans to learn language, including the basic aspects of grammar, vocabulary, and intonation

working model

in cognitive theory, a set of assumptions that the individual uses to organize perceptions and experiences. ex a person might assume that other people are always trustworthy and be surprised when this working model of human behavior is proven inadequate

temperament

inborn differences between one person and another in emotions, activity, and self-regulation. temperament is epigenetic originating in genes but affected by child rearing practices

social learning

learning that is accomplished by watching others

explicit memory

memory that is easy to retrieve on demand (as in a specific test ) most explicit memory involves consciously learned words, data, and concepts

gross motor skills

physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping. (gross here means big)

fine motor skills

physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up a coin. (fine here means small)

sensorimotor intelligence

piagets term for the way infants think - by using their senses and motor skills - during the first period of cognitive development

REM sleep

rapid eye movement sleep, a stage of sleep characterized by flickering eyes behind closed lids, dreaming, and rapid brain waves.

at about this time

skill (when 50 percent of all babies master)(when 95 percent of all babies master) sit, head steady (3)(4) sit, unsupported (6)(7) pull to stand while holding on (9)(10) stand alone (12)(14) walk well(13)(15) walk backward(15)(17) run(18)(20) jump up(26)(29)

binocular vision

the ability to focus the two eyes in a coordinated manner in order to see one image. this ability is absent at birth.

prefrontal cortex

the area of the cortex at the front of the brain that specializes in anticipation, planning, and impulse control

neurons

the billions of nerve cells in the central nervous system, especially in the brain

stunting

the failure of children to grow to a normal height for their age due to severe and chronic malnutrition

primary circular reactions

the first of three types of feedback loops in sensorimotor intelligence, this one involving the infants own body. the infant senses motion, sucking, noise, and other stimuli and tries to understand them

big five

the five basic clusters of personality traits that remain quite stable throughout life, openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

transient exuberance

the great but temporary increase in the number of dendrites that develop in an infants brain during the first two years of life

child directed speech

the high pitched simplified and repetitive way adults speak to infants and children

self-righting

the inborn drive to remedy a developmental deficit; literally to return to sitting or standing upright after being tripped over. people of all ages have self righting impulses, for emotional as well as physical imbalance.

synapse

the intersection between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of other neurons

motor skills

the learned abilities to move move some part of the body, in actions ranging form a large leap to a flicker of the eyelid. (motor here refers to movement of the muscles)

perception

the mental processing of sensory information when the brain interprets a sensation. it occurs in the cortex

cortex

the outer layers of the brain in humans and other mammals. most thinking, feeling, and sensing involve the cortex.

habituation

the process of becoming accustomed to an object or event through repeated exposure to it, and thus becoming less interested

immunization

the process of protecting a person against a disease, via antibodies. immunization can happen naturally, when someone survives a disease, or medically, usually via a small dose of the virus that stimulates the production of antibodies and thus renders the person immune. (also called vaccination)

object permanence

the realization that objects, including people, still exist when they can no longer be seen, heard, or touched

sensation

the response of a sensory system (eyes, ears, tongue, nose, skin) when it detects a stimulus

secondary circular reactions

the second of three types of feedback loops in sensorimotor intelligence, this one involving people and objects. infants respond to other people, to toys, and to any other object they can touch or move

wasting

the tendency for children to be severely underweight for their age as a result of malnutrition

tertiary circular reactions

the third of three types of feedback loops in sensorimotor intelligence, this one involving active exploration and experimentation. infants explore a range of new activities, varying their responses as a way of learning about the world.

implicit memory

unconscious or automatic memory that is usually stored via habits, emotional responses, routine procedures, and various sensations

pruning

when applied to brain development, the process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die