Chapter 2: Biological Processes, Physical Development, and Health

Question 1

active genotype environment correlation

Answer 1

Correlations that exist when children seek out environments they find compatible and stimulating.

Question 2

adoption study

Answer 2

A study in which investigators seek to discover whether, in behavior and psychological characteristics, adopted children are more like their adoptive parents, who provided a home environment, or more like their biological parents, who contributed their heredity. Another form of the adoption study compares adoptive and biological siblings.

Question 3

Apgar scale

Answer 3

A widely used method to assess the health of newborns at one and five minutes after birth; it evaluates an infant’s heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, body color, and reflex irritability

Question 4

behavior genetics

Answer 4

The field that seeks to discover the influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human traits and development

Question 5

bonding

Answer 5

The formation of a close connection, especially a physical bond between parents and their newborn in the period shortly after birth

Question 6

chromosomes

Answer 6

Threadlike structures made up of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA

Question 7

DNA

Answer 7

A complex molecule that has a double helix shape and contains genetic information.

Question 8

doula

Answer 8

A caregiver who provides continuous physical, emotional, and educational support for the mother before, during, and after childbirth

Question 9

down syndrome

Answer 9

A chromosomally transmitted form of intellectual disability caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Question 10

embryonic period

Answer 10

The period of prenatal development that occurs from two to eight weeks after conception. During the embryonic period, the rate of cell differentiation intensifies, support systems for the cells form, and organs appear

Question 11

epigenetic view

Answer 11

Perspective emphasizing that development is the result of an ongoing, bidirectional interchange between heredity and environment

Question 12

evocative genotype-environment correlations

Answer 12

Correlations that exist when the child’s characteristics elicit certain types of environments.

Question 13

evolutionary psychology

Answer 13

A branch of psychology that emphasizes the importance of adaptation, reproduction, and “survival of the fittest” in shaping behavior

Question 14

fertilization

Answer 14

A stage in reproduction when an egg and a sperm fuse to create a single cell, called a zygote

Question 15

fetal alchohol spectrum disorders (FASD)

Answer 15

A cluster of abnormalities that may appear in the offspring of mothers who drink alcohol heavily during pregnancy.

Question 16

fetal period

Answer 16

The prenatal period of development that begins two months after conception and lasts for seven months, on average

Question 17

fragile X syndrome (FXS)

Answer 17

A chromosomal disorder involving an abnormality in the X chromosome, which becomes constricted and often breaks.

Question 18

gene x environment (GxE) interaction

Answer 18

The interaction of a specific measured variation in the DNA and a specific measured aspect of the environment.

Question 19

genes

Answer 19

Units of hereditary information composed of DNA. Genes help cells to reproduce themselves and assemble proteins that direct body processes.

Question 20

genotype

Answer 20

All of a person’s actual genetic material

Question 21

germinal period

Answer 21

The period of prenatal development that takes place during the first two weeks after conception; it includes the creation of the zygote, continued cell division, and the attachment of the zygote to the wall of the uterus.

Question 22

kangaroo care

Answer 22

A way of holding a preterm infant so that there is skin-to-skin contact.

Question 23

klinefelter syndrome

Answer 23

A chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome, making them XXY instead of XY

Question 24

low birth weight infants

Answer 24

Infants who weigh less than 5½ pounds at birth

Question 25

meiosis

Answer 25

A specialized form of cell division that occurs to form eggs and sperm (or gametes).

Question 26

mitosis

Answer 26

Cellular reproduction in which the cell’s nucleus duplicates itself; two new cells are formed, each containing the same DNA as the original cell, arranged in the same 23 pairs of chromosomes

Question 27

natural childbirth

Answer 27

A childbirth method that attempts to reduce the mother’s pain by decreasing her fear through education about childbirth stages and relaxation techniques during delivery.

Question 28

neurons

Answer 28

Nerve cells that handle information processing at the cellular level.

Question 29

organogenesis

Answer 29

Process of organ formation that takes place during the first two months of prenatal development

Question 30

passive genotype-environment correlations

Answer 30

Correlations that exist when the biological parents, who are genetically related to the child, provide a rearing environment for the child

Question 31

phenotype

Answer 31

Observable and measurable characteristics of an individual, such as height, hair color, and intelligence.

Question 32

phenylketonuria

Answer 32

A genetic disorder in which an individual cannot properly metabolize phenylalanine, an amino acid; PKU is now easily detected—but, if left untreated, results in intellectual disability and hyperactivity.

Question 33

postpartum depression

Answer 33

A major depressive episode that typically occurs about four weeks after delivery; women with this condition have such strong feelings of sadness, anxiety, or despair that they have trouble coping with daily tasks during the postpartum period.

Question 34

postpartum period

Answer 34

The period after childbirth when the mother adjusts, both physically and psychologically, to the process of childbirth. This period lasts for about six weeks or until her body has completed its adjustment and returned to a near prepregnant state.

Question 35

prepared childbirth

Answer 35

Developed by French obstetrician Ferdinand Lamaze, a childbirth strategy similar to natural childbirth but one that teaches a special breathing technique to control pushing in the final stages of labor and provides details about anatomy and physiology.

Question 36

preterm infants

Answer 36

Infants born three weeks or more before the pregnancy has reached its full term.

Question 37

sickle cell anemia

Answer 37

A genetic disorder that affects the red blood cells and occurs most often in African Americans.

Question 38

small for date infants

Answer 38

Infants whose birth weights are below normal when the length of pregnancy is considered; also called small for gestational age infants. Small for date infants may be preterm or full-term.

Question 39

teratogen

Answer 39

Any agent that can potentially cause a birth defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes.

Question 40

turner syndrome

Answer 40

A chromosomal disorder in females in which either an X chromosome is missing, making the person XO instead of XX, or part of one X chromosome is deleted

Question 41

twin study

Answer 41

A study in which the behavioral similarity of identical twins is compared with the behavioral similarity of fraternal twins

Question 42

XYY syndrome

Answer 42

A chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra Y chromosome.

Question 43

zygote

Answer 43

A single cell formed through fertilization.