cephalocaudal principle
growth tends to begin at the top with the head, then proceed downward to the rest of the body
teething
discomfort and pain as the first teeth break through the skin of the gums
overproduction
dendritic connections between neurons multiply vastly by age 2
myelination
the axons become encased in a myelin sheath that increases the speed of communication between neurons
synaptic pruning
the connections that are unused wither away
hindbrain and midbrain
mature earliest, keep lungs breathing, heart beating, and bodily movements balanced
limbic system and cerebral cortex
2 parts of forebrain
hypothalamus and thalamus
parts of limbic system
hypothalamus
plays a key role in monitoring and regulating our basic animal functions, including hunger, thirst, body temp, sexual desire, and hormonal levels
hippocampus
transfer of short-term to long-term memory
cerebral cortex
outermost part of the brain. ability to speak and understand language, solve complex problems, and think in terms of concepts, ideas, and symbols
lateralization
the term for the specialization of the two hemispheres
left hemisphere
language and processing information in a sequential, step-by-step way
right hemisphere
spatial reasoning and processing information in a holistic, integrative way
occipital lobes
process visual information
temporal lobes
process auditory information
parietal lobes
process somatosensory information
frontal lobes
planning, decision making
plasticity
highly responsive to environmental circumstances
sudden infant death syndrome
don't have any apparent illness, but fall asleep and never wake up
sleeping stomach-down, low birth weight, mother who smoked during pregnancy, soft bedding, overheated room
risk factors for SIDS
cosleeping
the infant sleeps in the same bed as the parents
custom complex
a distinctive cultural patter of behavior that is based on underlying cultural beliefs
sharing a room, not sharing a bed, every time, someone needs to know
safe sleeping
marasmus
a disease in which the body wastes away from lack of nutrients
diarrhea
number one source of infant mortality beyond the first month but within the first year
oral rehydration therapy
having infants with diarrhea drink a solution of salt water and glucose mixed with clean water
gross motor development
balance and posture, whole-body movements such as crawling
fine motor development
grasping and manipulating objects
tummy time
encourages babies to learn to push up, roll over, sit up, or stand up
prereaching
neonates will extend their arms awkwardly toward an interesting object, stops at 2 months
reaching
starts at 3 months, continues to develop over the course over the first year
pincer grasp
learned by 9-12 months, allows them to hold a small object between their thumb and forefinger
depth perception
the ability to discern the relative distance of objects in the environment
binocular vision
the ability to combine the images of each eye into one image
intermodal perception
the integration and coordination of sensory information
mental structures
cognitive systems that organize thinking into coherent patterns so that all thinking takes place on the same level of cognitive functioning
cognitive-developmental approach
focus on how cognitive abilities change with age in stage sequence of development
maturation
a biologically driven program of development change
schemes
cognitive structures used for processing, organizing, and interpreting information
assimilation
occurs when new information is altered to fit an existing scheme
accommodation
changing the scheme to adapt to the new information
sensorimotor stage
cognitive development in the first 2 years of life
substage 1 (0-1 month)
simple reflexes. cognitive activity is based mainly on neonatal reflexes
substage 2 (1-4 months)
first habits and primary circular reactions. more purposeful behavior. learn to repeat bodily movements that occurred initially by change. primary because it focuses on the infant's own body, and circular because once it is discovered it is repeated inten
substage 3 (4-8 months)
secondary circular reactions. the repetition of movements that originally occurred by chance. involve activity in relation to the external world
substage 4 (8-12 months)
coordination of secondary schemes. baby's actions begin not as accidents but as intentional, goal-directed behavior. can now coordinate schemes
object permanence
the awareness that objects continue to exist even when we are not in direct sensory or motor contact with them. starts at 8-12 months
a-not-b error
infants will look for an object the first place they see it hidden, even if they see it hidden somewhere else
may have underestimated infants' cognitive abilities, cultural differences
issues with piaget
information processing approach
views cognitive change as continuous, involves breaking down the thinking process into its various components
habituation
the gradual decrease in attention to a stimulus after repeated presentations
dishabituation
the revival of attention when a new stimulus is presented following several presentations of a previous stimulus
joint attention
direct attention to what the people around them are attending to
long term memory
better in 6 month olds than 2 month olds
recognition memory
recognizing a clue and remembering what you forgot
recall memory
remembering something without being prompted
developmental quotient
an overall measure of infants' developmental progress
bayley scales of infant development
cognitive scale, language scale, and motor scale. assess development from 3 months to 3.5 years. hardly predict later development
cognitive scale
measures mental abilities such as attention and exploration. assesses whether the baby looks at pictures in a book or can match similar pictures
language scale
measures use and understanding of language. assesses whether the child can identify objects in a picture or name four colors
motor scale
measures fine and gross motor abilities. sitting alone for 30 seconds, hopping twice on one foot
things that move, things that the child can act on, things that the child needs, social cues
first words
temperament
qualities such as activity level, irritability, soothability, emotional reactivity, and sociability
goodness-of-fit
children develop best if there is a good fit between the temperament of the child and environmental demands
primary emotions
anger, fear, disgust, surprise, and happiness
secondary emotions
require social learning. embarrassment, shame, and guilt
social smile
an expression of happiness in response to interacting with others
emotional contagion
neonates who hear another neonate cry often begin crying themselves
still-face paradigm
infants quickly learn to expect certain emotional reactions from others, especially others who are familiar and important to them
social referencing
observe others' emotional responses to ambiguous stimuli and uncertain situations and use that information to shape their own emotional responses
infants are with their mothers almost constantly for the early months of life, after about 6 months, most daily care is done by older girls, infants are among many people in the course of a day, infants are held or carried almost constantly, fathers are u
cultural themes
attachment theory
the quality of the first important social relationship influences emotional and social development in later stages of life