Developmental Psychology Terms From Chapter 5 Of Child Development

Front 1

neuron

Back 1

Nerve cell within the central nervous system that is electrochemically designed to transmit messages between cells.

Front 2

myelin

Back 2

Sheath of fatty cells that insulates and speeds nerual impulses by about tenfold

Front 3

glial cells

Back 3

Brain cells that provide the material from which myelin is created, nourish neurons, and provide a scaffolding for neuron migration.

Front 4

plasticity

Back 4

Capacity of immature systems, including regions of the brain and the individual neurons within those regions, to take on different functions as a result of experience.

Front 5

lateralization

Back 5

Process by which one hemisphere of the brain comes to dominate the other, for example, processing of language in the left hemisphere or of spatial information in the right hemisphere.

Front 6

reflex

Back 6

Involuntary movement in response to touch, light, sound, or other form of stimulation; controlled by subcortical neural mechanisms.

Front 7

sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Back 7

Sudden, unexplained death of an infant or a toddler as a result of cessation of breathing during sleep

Front 8

rhythmical stereotypies

Back 8

REpeated sequences of movements, such as leg kicking, hand waving, or head banging, that have no apparent goal.

Front 9

cephalocaudal development

Back 9

Pattern in which organs, systems, and motor movements near the head tend to develop earlier than those near the feet.

Front 10

norms

Back 10

Measures of average values and variations in some aspect of development, such as physical size and motor skill development, in relation to age.

Front 11

proximodistal development

Back 11

PAttern in which organs and systems of the body near the middle tend to develop earlier than those near the periphery

Front 12

catch-up growth

Back 12

Increase in growth rate after some factor, such as illness or poor nutrition, has disrupted the expected, normal growth rate.

Front 13

lagging-down growth

Back 13

Decrease in growth after some factor, such as congenital or hormonal disorder, has accelerated the expected, normal growth rate.

Front 14

hormones

Back 14

Chemicals produced by various glands that are secreted directly into the bloodstream and can therefore circulate to influence cells in other locations of the body.

Front 15

failure to thrive

Back 15

Label applied to any child whose growth in height or weight is below the third percentile for children of the same age.

Front 16

secular trend

Back 16

Consisten pattern of change over generations.

Front 17

skeletal maturity

Back 17

Extend to which cartilage has ossified to form bone; provides the most accurate estimate of how much additional growth will take place in the individual.

Front 18

puberty

Back 18

Developmental period during which a sequence of physical changes takes place that transforms the person from an immature individual to one capable of reproduction

Front 19

menarche

Back 19

First occurence of menstruation

Front 20

spermarche

Back 20

The first ejaculation of sperm by males entering puberty.