Ch. 5 Child Development

intimacy

in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental tasks in late adolescence and early adulthood The young man experiences intimacy with his girlfriend as he prepares for marriage with her.

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict An example of theory of the mind would be in the case of the autistic boy who took the Sally and Anne test in the video said that Sally would look for her marble in Anne's box, rather than her basket. This shows that he doesn't understand theory of mind because he was unable to understand what Sally's perceptions were, that she wasn't there when Anne moved the marble.

puberty

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing An example of a female going through period is when she receives her first period signifying she is capable of reproducing.

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information A young child may first develop a schema for a horse. She knows that a horse is large, has four legs and a tail. When the girl encounters a cow for the first time she may initially call it a horse. After all, it fits in with her schema for the characteristics of a horse; it is a large animal that has hair and four legs and a tail. Once she is told this is a different animal called a cow, she will modify her schema for a horse and make a new schema for a cow.

autism

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, snd understanding of others' states of mind. While other children were laughing and playing hand games on the playground, the child who suffered from autism stayed off to the side coloring chalk by himself due to his deficiency in social interaction.

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another A cross-sectional study was used in determining faults in elderly people's memory as they progress in age in comparison to a teenager who's memory is sharper.

basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers From 0 to 2 years the child must be consistently held, fed and and changed in order to develop basic trust.

accommodation

adapting our current (understandings) schemas to incorporate new information A young boy raised in a home that presents a stereotyped schema about another social group. When the young man moves away to college, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by people from this group. Through experience and real interactions with members of this group, he realizes that his existing knowledge is completely wrong. This leads to a dramatic change, or accommodation, in his beliefs about members of this social group.

teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal developmental and cause harm An example of a teratogen would be alcohol. A woman who drinks alcohol during her pregnancy can have harmful effects on her child resulting in fetal alcohol syndrome in which the baby suffers from physical and cognitive abnormalities.

cognition

all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating An 8 year old can understand the analogy that an idea is like a having a light turn on in your head, while a toddler cannot. This is because the 8 year old is in an advanced stage of cognition that allows them to think abstractly because they can hypothesize items that aren't there.

attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by seeking their closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation The little boy shows an emotional attachment to his mother, considering the fact that she has always been around to take care of him since his father was not present.

critical period

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development A critical period in the child's life is from 0 to 2 years in which the child must be consistently held, fed and and changed in order to develop trust.

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. Infants experience rapid biological growth, from 3 to 4 months they begin to hold their heads up, 3 to 6 months they begin to roller over, 6 to 9 months they crawl and 9 to 12 months they crawl, which all display their changes in behavior.

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner. A class begins to habituate to notes as they continue to take them every day, so the teacher occasionally adds video or experiments to the lesson plans so that the class can deviate from the normal lesson plan of notes.

developmental psychology

examines how people are continually developing-physically,cognitively and socially-from infancy through old age. An example of developmental psychology would be studying a girl from infancy to old age and watching as she develops socially through friendships and physically through puberty.

emerging adulthood

for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to early twenties bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood Freshman college students are emerging adulthood due to the fact that they are learning to apply what they've learned in the past to college life as they prepare for independence and life on their own.

egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view An example of a child in egocentrism would be if you were to cover the child's eyes and ask if you could see them and they replied no, because they have difficulty grasping the concept that since they can't see you, you can still see them.

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic An example of the preoperational stage would be in the case Erin who is 5 years old, is at lunch with her friends. The teacher pours juice in a glass for all the kids. Abbey has a taller glass that makes it look like there is more milk in her glass than Erin's. Erin throws a fit because she does not understand despite the changes, quantity remains the same.

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 When playing peek-a-boo with a child that is between 0 to 2 years of age in the sensorimotor stage, the child believes that since they can't see you, you must not exist.

concrete operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events A child in the concrete operational stage will be able to figure out story problems, fractions, multiplication and division because they have gained the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

formal operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts High school students are able to write poems about freedom and use metaphors for description due to the fact that they are in the formal operational stage and are able to think logically about abstract concepts.

assimilation

interpreting our new experience in terms of our existing (understandings) schemas In order to interpret a new math problem we encounter we haven't learned how to solve, we try to solve it based on our existing schemas which are the methods we already know.

secondary sex characteristics

non-reproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality and body hair An example of a secondary sex characteristic is female breasts and hips and body hair which are non-reproductive sexual characteristics.

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood An example of fluid intelligence would be in the case of an 80 year old man would take longer to recall the name of a family friend compared to an 8 year old because he is younger and able to reason more speedily.

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age An example of crystallized intelligence is how our reading comprehension levels and vocabulary range expand as we age. We generally retain our knowledge of vocabulary and of reading over time as we accumulate more of it.

identity

our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles An example of identity would be discovering that you are a people person and enjoying working and helping others.

self-concept

our understanding and evaluation of who we are An example of self-concept is being able to understand that I learn better when I work and review by myself rather than working with groups because I often get distracted and talk.

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions. A child with a small head, flat midface, thin upperlip and low nasal bridge may have fetal alcohol syndrome resulting from a mother who drank alcohol excessively during her pregnancy.

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period An example of a longitudinal study is giving a set of cancer patients medicine and tracking their treatment methods over a long period of time to determine its effectiveness.

social identity

the "we" aspect our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived An example of object permanence would be before the age of 6 months, when a toy is covered, infants will act as if the toy ceased to exist. But, by 8 months, an infant will look for the toy because he knows it is still there.

primary sex characteristics

the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that makes sexual reproduction possible An example of the primary sex characteristics would be the ovaries and testes which make sexual production possible.

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement A woman is 40 years old and hasn't gotten married or had children and people often say that her time is running out due to the fact that the social clock states women at her age should be settled down by 40 years old.

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth During the gestation cycle of 9 weeks to birth, a baby's face begins to form.

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month At 9 weeks, the baby's eyelids cover their eyes and small earlobes are visible.

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age An child experiencing stranger anxiety may kick and scream uncontrollably when they are in the hands of an unfamiliar person.

zygote

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo Conception to 2 weeks is when a fertilized female egg divides over a period of time until embryo is formed is an example of a zygote.

menarche

the first menstrual period In junior high, most girls experience their first period or menarche.

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects. An example of conservation would be to have to glasses one wide and short and the other tall and narrow, both containing the same amount of water just appearing differently due to their glasses.

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life Sexual imprinting is the process by which animals learn to direct their sexual behavior at particular objects or stimuli. For example, birds such as mallards and zebra finches will imprint upon the birds they are raised with during the first few weeks of life.

menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines A woman in her 60's has more than likely experienced menpause therefore her chances of getting pregnant are slim.

adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence High schoolers are currently in their adolescence stage as they transition from childhood and dependence and on to independence as they prepare for college and deciding careers.