Dev Psych Test #1

Front 1

Phenotype

Back 1

: an individuals directly observable physical and behavioral characteristics, which are determined by both genetic and environmental factors

Front 2

Genotype

Back 2

an individuals genetic makeup

Front 3

Chromosomes

Back 3

rod like structures in the cell nucleus that store and transmit information

Front 4

Zygote

Back 4

: the newly fertilized cell formed by the union of sperm and ovum at conception

Front 5

Embryo

Back 5

the prenatal organism from 2-8 weeks after conception- the period when the groundwork is laid for all body structures and interal organs

Front 6

Fetus

Back 6

prenatal organism from 9th week to end of pregnancy- body structures are completed and dramatic growth occurs

Front 7

Teratogen

Back 7

an environmental agent that causes damage during the prenatal period

Front 8

Stages of childbirth

Back 8

1) dilation and effacement of the cervix 2) delivery of the baby 3) birth of the placenta

Front 9

Stress hormones

Back 9

help baby withstand oxygen deprivation by sending a rich supply of blood to the brain and heart during childbirth. They also prepare the baby to breathe by causing the lungs to absorb any remaining fluid. They also make them born ready to interact with the world.

Front 10

Apgar scale

Back 10

rating system used to assess a newborn babys physical condition immediately after birth on the basis of five characteristics- heart rate, respiratory effort, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and color

Front 11

Reflex

Back 11

an inborn, automatic response to a particular form of stimulation.

Front 12

State arousal

Back 12

- degrees of sleep and wakefulness

Front 13

Sudden infant death syndrome

Back 13

the unexpected death, usually during the night, of an infant younger than 1 year of age that remains unexplained after thorough investigation

Front 14

Unconditioned stimulus

Back 14

- must consistently produce a reflexive or UCR before learning takes place

Front 15

conditioned stimulus

Back 15

the neutral stimulus that alone produces a response similar to the reflexive response.

Front 16

UCR (unconditioned response)

Back 16

a reflexive that must be produced by a UCS before learning takes place

Front 17

Conditioned response

Back 17

the response elicited by a neutral stimulus called a CR

Front 18

Extinction

Back 18

- the outcome when the CS is presented alone enough times, without being paired with the UCS, and the CR will no longer occur.

Front 19

Operant conditioning

Back 19

- in this, infants act, or operate, on the environment, and stimuli, that follow their behavior change the probability that the behavior will occur again.

Front 20

reinforcer

Back 20

a stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response

Front 21

punishment

Back 21

removing a desirable stimulus or presenting an unpleasant one to decrease the occurrence of a response

Front 22

habituation

Back 22

refers to a gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation

Front 23

recovery

Back 23

- a new stimulus-a change in the environment- that causes the habitual response to return to a high level, a high increase called recovery

Front 24

cephalocaudal trend

Back 24

an organized pattern of physical growth and motor control in which the head develops ahead of the lower part of the body (“head to tail”)

Front 25

Proximaldistal trend

Back 25

growth proceeds from “near to far”-from the center of the body outward. In the prenatal period, the head, chest, and trunk grow first, then the arms and legs, finally the hands and feet. During infancy and childhood, the arms and legs continue to grow somewhat ahead of the hands and feet.

Front 26

dynamic systems theory of motor development

Back 26

- mastery of motor skills involves acquiring increasingly complex systems of action. When motor skills work as a system, separate abilities blend together, each cooperating with others to produce more effective ways of exploring and controlling the environment

Front 27

ulnar grasp

Back 27

a clumsy motion in which the baby’s fingers close against the palm

Front 28

pincer grasp

Back 28

well coordinated use of the thumb and index finger by the end of the first year in infants

Front 29

distance curve

Back 29

chart that plots the average size of a sample of children at each age, indicating typical yearly progress toward maturity

Front 30

velocity curve

Back 30

chart that plots the average amount of growth at each yearly interval, revealing the exact timing of growth spurts

Front 31

fontanels

Back 31

softs spots on head

Front 32

pituitary gland

Back 32

located at the base of the brain near the hypothalamus and responsible for releasing the most important hormones for human growth

Front 33

hypothalamus

Back 33

a structure that initiates and regulates pituitary secretions

Front 34

growth hormone

Back 34

the only pituitary secretion produced continuously throughout life, affects development of all tissues except the central nervous system and the genitals

Front 35

secular trends in physical growth

Back 35

changes in body size from our generation to the next

Front 36

neurons

Back 36

nerve cells that store and transmit information

Front 37

synapse

Back 37

where fibers from different neurons come close together, but do not touch.

Front 38

glial cells

Back 38

half of the brain’s volume is made up of these and cause dramatic increase in the brain size during infancy. They are also responsible for myelination

Front 39

myelination

Back 39

- the coating of neural fibers with an insulating fatty sheath (called myelin) that improves the efficiency of message transfer

Front 40

cerebral cortex

Back 40

surrounds the rest of the brain, resembling half of a shelled walnut. It is the largest brain structure-accounting for 85 percent of the brain’s weight and containing the greatest number of neurons and synapses

Front 41

lateralization

Back 41

the specialization of two hemispheres

Front 42

brain plasticity

Back 42

a highly plastic (flexible) cerebral cortex, in which many areas are not yet committed to specific functions, has a high capacity for learning. And if part of the cortex is damaged, other parts can take over the tasks it would have handled.

Front 43

reticular formation

Back 43

a structure in the brain stem that maintains alertness and consciousness

Front 44

corpus callosum

Back 44

a large bundle of fibers connecting two cerebral hemispheres