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Science of Human Development

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The science that seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time.

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Empirical

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Based on observations, repeated experiences, verifiable experiments; not theoretical.

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Scientific Method

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A way to answer questions using empirical research and data-based conclusions.

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Replication

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The repetition of a study using different participants.

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Nature

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A general term for the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his/her parents at the moment of conception.

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Nurture

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A general term for all the environmental influences that affect development after an individual is conceived.

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Critical Period

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A time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen if it is ever going to happen.

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Sensitive Period

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A time when a certain type of development is most likely although it may still happen later.

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Dynamic-Systems Theory

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A view of human development as an ongoing, ever changing interaction between the physical and emotional being and between the person and every aspect of his/her environment, including the family and society.

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Life-Span Perspective

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An approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood.

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Ecological-Systems Approach

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The view that in the study of human development, the person should be considered in all the contexts and interactions that constitute a life.

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Cohort

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A group defined by the shared age of its members; members were born at about the same time and move through life together experiencing the same historical events and cultural shifts.

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Socioeconomic Status (SES)

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A person's position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, and place of residence.

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Ethnic Group

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People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion.

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Race

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A group of people who are regarded by themselves or by others as distinct from other groups on the basis of physical appearance.

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Mirror Neurons

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Cells in an observer's brain that respond to an action performed by someone else in the same way they would if the observer had actually performed that action.

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Scientific Observation

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A method of testing a hypothesis by unobtrusively watching and recording participants' behavior in a systematic and objective manner- in a natural setting, in a lab, or in searches of archival data.

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Experiment

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A research method in which the researcher tries to determine the cause and effect relationship between two variables by manipulating one (called the independent variable) and then observing and recording the ensuing changes in the other (called the dependent variable).

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Independent Variable

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In an experiment, the variable that is introduced to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.

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Dependent Variable

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In an experiment, the variable that may change as a result of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds.

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Survey

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A research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by interviews, written questionnaires, or some other means.

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Cross-Sectional Research

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A research design that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics.

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Longitudinal Research

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A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed.

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Cross-Sequential Research

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A hybrid research design in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages and then follow those groups over the years.

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Correlation

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A number between +1 and -1 that indicates a degree of relationship between two variables expressed in terms of the likelihood that one variable will or will not occur when the other variable does or does not.

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Quantitative Research

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Research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.

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Qualitative Research

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Research that considers qualities instead of quantities; usually use descriptions of particular conditions and participants' expressed ideas.

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Code of Ethics

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A set of moral principles that members of a profession or group are expected to follow.

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Institutional Review Board (IRB)

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A group that exists within most educational and medical institutions whose purpose is to ensure that research follows established guidelines and remains ethical.

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Developmental Theory

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A group of ideas, assumptions, and generalizations that interpret and illuminate the thousands of observations that have been made about human growth; provides a framework for explaining the patterns and problems of development.

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Psychoanalytic Theory

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A grand theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior.

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Behaviorism (aka Learning Theory)

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A grand theory of human development that studies observable behavior; describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned.

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Conditioning

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According to behaviorism, the processes by which responses become linked to particular stimuli and learning takes place.

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Classical Conditioning

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The learning process in which a meaningful stimulus is connected with a neutral stimulus that has no special meaning before conditioning.

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Operant Conditioning

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The learning process by which a particular action is followed by something desired (which makes person/animal more likely to repeat the action) or by something unwanted (which makes the action less likely to be repeated).

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Reinforcement

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A technique for conditioning behavior in which that behavior is follows by something desired.

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Social-Learning Theory

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An extension of behaviorism that emphasizes the influence that other people have over a person's behavior. Even without specific reinforcement, every individual learns many things through observation and imitation of other people.

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Modeling

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The central process of social learning, by which a person observes the actions of others and then copies them.

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Self-Efficacy

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In social learning theory, the belief of some people that they are able to change themselves and effectively alter the social context.

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Cognitive Theory

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A grand theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time. According to this theory our thoughts shape our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

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Cognitive Equilibrium

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In cognitive theory, a state of mental balance in which people are not confused because they can use their existing thought processes to understand current experiences and ideas.

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Assimilation

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The reinterpretation of new experiences to fit into old ideas.

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Accommodation

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The restructuring of old ideas in include new experiences

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Affordance

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

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Sociocultural Theory

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An emergent theory that holds that development results from the dynamic interaction of each person with the surrounding social and cultural forces.

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Apprenticeship in Thinking

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Vygotsky's term for how cognition is stimulated and developed in people by older and more skilled members of society.

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Zone of Proximal Development

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In sociocultural theory, a metaphorical area surrounding a learner that includes all the skills, knowledge, and concepts that the person is close to acquiring but cannot yet master without help.

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Humanism

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A theory that stresses the potential of all humans for good and the belief that all people have the same basic needs, regardless of culture, gender, or background.

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Selective Adaptation

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The process by which living creatures (including people) adjust to their environment.

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Eclectic Perspective

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The approach taken by most developmentalists in which they apply aspects of each of the various theories of development rather than adhering exclusively to one theory.

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Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

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The chemical composition of the molecules that contain the genes, which are the chemical instructions for cells to manufacture various proteins.

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Chromosome

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One of the 46 molecules of DNA (in 23 pairs) that virtually each cell of the human body contains and that, together, contain all the genes.

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Allele

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A variation that makes a gene different in some way from other genes for the same characteristics.

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Genome

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The full set of genes that are the instructions to make an individual member of a certain species.

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Zygote

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The single cell formed from the union of two gametes, a sperm and an ovum.

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Gamete

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A reproductive cell; that is, a sperm or ovum that can produce a new individual if it combines with a gamete from the other sex to make a zygote.

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Genotype

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An organism's entire genetic inheritance, or genetic potential.

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Homozygous

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Referring to two genes of one pair that are exactly the same in every letter of their code.

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Heterozygous

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Referring to two genes of one pair that differ in some way.

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23rd Pair

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The chromosome pair that, in humans, determines sex.

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XX

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A 23rd chromosome pair that consists of 2 X-shaped chromosomes, one each from the mother and the father; XX zygotes become females.

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XY

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A 23rd chromosome pair that consists of an X-shaped chromosome from the mother and a Y-shaped chromosome from the father; XY zygotes become males.

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Stem Cells

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Cells from which any other specialized type of cell can form.

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Monozygotic (MZ) Twins

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Twins who originate from one zygote that splits apart very early in development.

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Dizygotic (DZ) Twins

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Twins who are formed when two separate ova are fertilized by two separate sperm at about the same time.

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Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

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A general term for the techniques designed to help infertile couples conceive and then sustain a pregnancy.

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In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

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Fertilization that takes place outside a woman's body (as in a glass laboratory dish). The procedure involves mixing sperm with ova that have been surgically removed from the woman's ovary. If a zygote is produced, it is inserted into the woman's uterus, where it may implant and develop into a baby.

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Phenotype

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The observable characteristics of a person, including appearance, personality, intelligence, and all other traits.

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Polygenic

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Referring to a trait that is influenced by many genes.

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Multifactorial

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Referring to a trait that is affected by many factors, both genetic and environmental expression; enhancing, halting, shaping, or altering the expression of genes, resulting in a phenotype that may differ markedly from the genotype.

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Epigenetic

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Referring to environmental factors that affect genes and genetic expression; enhancing, halting, shaping, or altering the expression of genes, resulting in a phenotype that may differ markedly from the genotype.

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Human Genome Project

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An international effort to map the complete human genetic code; essentially completed in 2001 though analysis is still ongoing.

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Dominant-Recessive Pattern

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The interaction of a heterozygous pair of alleles in such a way that the phenotype reveals the influence of one allele (the dominant gene) more than that of the other (the recessive gene).

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Carrier

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A person whose genotype includes a gene that is not expressed in the phenotype; generally, only when such a gene is inherited from both parents does the characteristic appear in the phenotype.

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X-Linked

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Referring to a gene carried on the X chromosome.

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Heritability

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A statistic that indicates what percentage of the variation in a particular trait in a particular population, in a particular context and era, can be traced to genes.

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Down Syndrome

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A condition in which a person has 47 chromosomes instead of 46, with three rather than two chromosomes at the 21st site; typically results in distinctive characteristics including unusual facial features, heart abnormalities, and language difficulties.

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Fragile X Syndrome

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A genetic disorder in which part of the X chromosome seems to be attached to the rest of it by a very thin string of molecules. The cause is a single gene that has more than 200 repetitions of one triplet.

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Genetic Counseling

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Consultation and testing by trained experts that enable individuals to learn about their genetic heritage, including harmful conditions that they might pass along to any children they may conceive.

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Phenylketonuria (PKU)

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A genetic disorder in which a child's body is unable to metabolize an amino acid called phenylalanine. Unless the infant immediately begins a special diet, the resulting buildup of phenylalanine in body fluids causes brain damage, progressive mental retardation, and other symptoms.

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Germinal Period

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The first 2 weeks of prenatal development after conception, characterized by rapid cell division and the beginning of cell differentiation.

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Fetal Period

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The stage of prenatal development from the ninth week after conception until birth, during which the organs grow in size and mature in functioning.

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Embryonic Period

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The stage of prenatal development from approximately the third through the eighth week after conception, during which the basic forms of all body structures, including internal organs, develop.

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Implantation

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The process, beginning about 10 days after conception, in which the developing organism burrows into the placenta that lines the uterus, where it can be nourished and protected as it continues to develop.

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Embryo

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The name for a developing human organism from about the third through the eighth week after conception.

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Fetus

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The name for a developing human organism from the start of the ninth week after conception until birth.

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Ultrasound (aka Sonogram)

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An image of a fetus (or an internal organ) produced by using high-frequency sound waves.

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Age of Viability

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The age (about 22 weeks after conception) at which a fetus may survive outside the mother's uterus if specialized medical care is available.

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Apgar Scale

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A quick assessment of a newborn's health. The baby's color, heart rate, reflexes, muscle tone, and respiratory effort are given a score of 0, 1, or 2 twice- at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth- and each time the total of all 5 scores is compared with the maximum score of 10.

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Cesarean Section

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A surgical birth, in which incisions through the mother's abdomen and uterus allow the fetus to be removed quickly, instead of being delivered through the vagina.

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Doula

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A woman who helps with the birth process.

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Teratogens

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Agents and conditions, including viruses, drugs, and chemicals, that can impair prenatal development and result in birth defects or even death.

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Behavioral Teratogens

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Agents and conditions that can harm the prenatal brain, impairing the future child's intellectual and emotional functioning.

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Threshold Effect

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A situation in which a certain teratogen is relatively harmless in small doses but becomes harmful once exposure reaches a certain level.

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

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A cluster of birth defects, including abnormal facial characteristics, slow physical growth, and retarded mental development, that mat occur in the child of a woman who drinks alcohol while pregnant.

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Low Birthweight (LBW)

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A body weight at birth of less than 5 1/2 pounds.

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Very Low Birthweight (VLBW)

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A body weight at birth of less than 3 pounds, 5 ounces (1,500 grams).

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Extremely Low Birthweight (ELBW)

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A body weight at birth of less than 2 pounds 3 ounces.

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Preterm

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A birth that occurs 3 or more weeks before the full 38 weeks of the typical pregnancy.

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Small for Gestational Age (SGA)

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A term for a baby whose birthweight is significantly lower than expected, given the time since conception.

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Cerebral Palsy

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A disorder that results from damage to the brain's motor centers; difficulty with muscle control causes impaired speech and body movements.

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Anoxia

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A lack of oxygen that, if prolonged, can cause brain damage or death.

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Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

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A test often administered to newborns that measures responsiveness and records 46 behaviors, including 20 reflexes.

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Parental Alliance

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Cooperation between a mother and a father based on their mutual commitment to their children.

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Couvade

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Symptoms of pregnancy and birth experienced by fathers.

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Postpartum Depression

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A new mother's feeling of inadequacy and sadness in the days and weeks after giving birth.

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Parent-Infant Bond

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The strong, loving connection that forms as parents hold, examine, and feed their newborn.

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Kangaroo Care

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A form of newborn care in which mothers (and sometimes fathers) rest the baby between their breasts.

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Head-Sparing

answer

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.

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Percentile

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A point on a ranking scale of 0 to 100. 50 is the midpoint- half the people in the population rank higher and half rank lower.

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REM Sleep

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

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Co-Sleeping

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

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Neurons

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

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Cortex

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

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Axon

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A fiber that extends from a neuron and transmits electrochemical impulses from that neuron to the dendrites of other neurons.

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Dendrite

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

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Synapse

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

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Transient Exuberance

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The great but temporary increase in the number of dendrites that occurs in an infant's brain during the first two years of life, followed by pruning based on experiences.

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Experience-Expectant Brain Functions

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

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Experience-Dependent Brain Functions

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Brain functions that depend on particular, variable experiences and that therefore may or may not develop in a particular infant.

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Prefrontal Cortex

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

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Shaken Baby Syndrome

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

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Self-Righting

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The inborn drive to remedy a developmental deficit; literally, to return to sitting or standing upright, after being tipped over.

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Sensation

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

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Perception

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

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Binocular Vision

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The ability to focus the two eyes in a coordinated manner in order to see one image.

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Motor Skills

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The learned abilities to move some part of the body in actions ranging from a large leap to a flicker of the eyelid.

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Gross Motor Skills

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Physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping.

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Fine Motor Skills

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Physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers such as drawing and picking up a coin.

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Protein-Calorie Malnutrition

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

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Stunting

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

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Wasting

answer

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

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Marasmus

answer

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

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Kwashiorkor

answer

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.

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Sensorimotor Intelligence

answer

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

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Primary Circular Reactions

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

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Secondary Circular Reactions

answer

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.

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Object Permanence

answer

The realization that objects (including people) still exist when they can no longer be seen, touched, or heard.

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Tertiary Circular Reactions

answer

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.

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"Little Scientist"

answer

The stage-five toddler (age 12-18 moths) who experiments without anticipating the results, using trial and error in active and creative exploration.

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Deferred Imitation

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A sequence in which an infant first perceives something that someone else does and then performs the same action a few hours or even days later.

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Habituation

answer

The process of getting used to an object or event through repeated exposure to it.

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fMRI

answer

A measuring technique in which the brain's electrical excitement indicates activation anywhere in the brain; help researchers locate neurological responses to stimuli.

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Information Processing Theory

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

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Visual Cliff

answer

An experimental apparatus that gives an illusion of a sudden drop between one horizontal surface and another.

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Dynamic Perception

answer

Perception that is primed to focus on movement and change.

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People Preference

answer

A universal principle of infant perception, consisting of an innate attraction to other humans, which is evident in visual, auditory, tactile, and other preferences.

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Reminder Session

answer

A perceptual experience that is intended to help a person recollect an idea, a thing, or an experience, without testing whether the person remembers it at the moment.

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Implicit Memory

answer

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

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Explicit Memory

answer

Memory that is easy to retrieve on demand (as in a specific test), usually with words.

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Child-Directed Speech

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The high-pitched, simplified, and repetitive way adults speak to infants. (Also called baby talk or motherese)

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Babbling

answer

The extended repetition of certain syllables, such as ba-ba-ba, that begins when babies are 6-9 months old.

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Holophrase

answer

A single word that is used to express a complete, meaningful thought.

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Naming Explosion

answer

A sudden increase in an infant's vocabulary, especially in the number of nouns, that begins at about 18 months of age.

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Grammar

answer

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

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Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

answer

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

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Social Smile

answer

A smile evoked by a human face, normally evident in infants about 6 weeks after birth.

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Stranger Wariness

answer

An infant's expression of concern—a quiet stare, clinging to a familiar person, or sadness—when a stranger appears.

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Separation Anxiety

answer

An infant's distress when a familiar caregiver leaves, most obvious between 9 and 14 months.

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Self-Awareness

answer

One's realization that he/she is a distinct individual, whose body, mind, and actions are separate from those of other people.

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Temperament

answer

Inborn differences between one person and another in emotions, activity, and self regulation.

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"Goodness of Fit"

answer

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

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Trust versus Mistrust

answer

Erikson's first psychosocial crisis. Infants learn basic trust if their basic needs (food, comfort, attention, etc) are met.

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Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt

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Erikson's second crisis of psychosocial development. Toddlers either succeed or fail in gaining a sense of self-rule over their own actions and bodies.

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Social Learning

answer

Learning that is accomplished by observing others- both what they do any how others react to that behavior.

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Working Model

answer

In cognitive theory, a set of assumptions that the individual uses to organize perceptions and experiences.

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Ethnotheory

answer

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

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Proximal Parenting

answer

Caregiving practices that involve being physically close to the baby, with frequent holding and touching.

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Distal Parenting

answer

Caregiving practices that involve remaining distant from the baby, providing toys, food, and face-to-face communication with minimal holding and touching.

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Synchrony

answer

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

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Still-Face Technique

answer

An experimental practice in which an adult keeps his/her face unmoving and expressionless in face-to-face interaction with an infant.

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Attachment

answer

According to Ainsworth, an affectional tie that an infant forms with a caregiver- a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time.

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Secure Attachment (Type B)

answer

A relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his/her caregiver.

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Insecure-Avoidant Attachment (Type A)

answer

A pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids connection with the caregiver, as when the infant seems not to care about the caregiver's presence, departure, or return.

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Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent Attachment (Type C)

answer

A pattern of attachment in which anxiety and uncertainty are evident, as when an infant becomes very upset at separation from the caregiver and both resists and seeks contact on reunion.

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Disorganized Attachment (Type D)

answer

A type of attachment that is marked by an infant's inconsistent reaction to the caregiver's departure and return.

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Strange Situation

answer

A laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking infants' reactions to stress in eight episodes, lasting three minutes each.

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Social Referencing

answer

Seeking information about how to react to an unfamiliar or ambiguous object or event by observing someone else's expressions and reactions.

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Family Day Care

answer

Child care that occurs in the home of someone to whom the child is not related and who usually cares for several children of various ages.

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Center Day Care

answer

Child care that occurs in a place especially designed for the purpose, where several paid adults care for many children. Usually, the children are grouped by age, the day-care center is licensed, and providers are trained and certified in child development.

Lifespan Development (Ch 1-7) – Flashcards

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