Life span cht 3

Question 1

Rapid Physical development in infancy

Answer 1

Babies grow in a good pace and learn new skills

1. the brain doubles in size
2. their motor skills grow super fast (roll over, sitting up, crawling/walking)
   3.height and weight increases the first year
3. sense develop

Question 2

Cephalocaudal trend

Answer 2

refers to head-to-tail development in embryos and fetuses

development progresses from the head end down to the tail end . (e.g. brain forms before the spine, and arms develop before legs)

Question 3

Proximodistal trend

Answer 3

near to far growth patterns

This means parts closer to the center develop before those farther out. For example, in the arms the shoulders develop before the hands, and in the legs the hips develop before the feet

Question 4

what is neuron Development

Answer 4

neurons develop by forming synaptic connections to other cells, and these connections allow the neurons to take on their roles and functions. Receiving stimulation at the synapses is also critical for neuronal survival.

Question 5

synaptic pruning

Answer 5

Removes unused neuron connections to reopen space

occurs mainly during childhood and adolescence as the brain develops

Question 6

myelination

Answer 6

Myelination is the process where neural fibers in the central nervous system get coated with a fatty substance called myelin

myelin acts as an insulator that allows electrical signals to travel down axons much faster.

Question 7

Cerebral cortex

Answer 7

The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain

It surrounds the entire brain

It develops different regions that take on specialized functions

These regions and functions develop and change over time as the cerebral cortex matures

Question 8

Cortex lateralization

Answer 8

It’s all about how the two sides of our brain have different functions

the LEFT hemisphere is especially good at VERBAL tasks - things like speaking, reading, writing

The RIGHT hemisphere, on the other hand, is better at SPATIAL tasks that involve visual-spatial skills. This includes abilities like visual-motor coordination, visual & spatial problem-solving, facial recognition

Question 9

Sensitive periods

Answer 9

Appropriate stimulation vital for brain growth

Examples include language acquisition, visual development, motor skills like walking. 🗣️👀👣 The brain is primed for learning these things at certain ages.

Question 10

sleep-wake cycles

Answer 10

it’s our internal body clock that regulates when we feel sleepy and awake. Our sleep-wake cycles shift gradually over time from more daytime activity to more nighttime sleep.

Question 11

physical growth influences

Answer 11

Heredity and nutrition, especially breastfeeding

Question 12

classical conditioning

Answer 12

it’s about associating one stimulus with another stimulus to create a conditioned response

Pavlov would ring a bell each time he gave his dogs food. Over time, the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell with food.

Question 13

operant conditioning

Answer 13

Uses reinforcement to increase or decrease responses

if a rat presses a lever (the behavior) and gets a food pellet (the reward), it will learn to press the lever more often because pressing = food. On the flip side, if a behavior is punished, an organism is less likely to repeat it. For example, if a rat presses a lever but gets a shock (the punishment), it will stop pressing the lever to avoid the shock.

Question 14

Habituation and recovery

Answer 14

Habituation is a type of learning process where an organism stops responding to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

Recovery from habituation occurs when a new stimulus is presented 😮. Your response comes back because the stimulus has changed and become novel again 🔁.

For example, if you are in your clothes all day, you stop noticing the feeling (habituation). But then if you take your clothes off, you will notice the feeling again because it is now a new stimulus (recovery)!!

Question 15

imitation

Answer 15

we have special neurons in our brains called “mirror neurons” that help us imitate and learn from watching others.

babies learn to talk by imitating the sounds and words they hear from parents and caregivers.

Question 16

Schemas

Answer 16

Schemas are the way our brain organizes and interprets information.

Our schemas help us understand new experiences by connecting them to things we already know. So when you go to a new restaurant, your brain can go “aha, this fits my restaurant schema!

Question 17

Sensorimotor substages

Answer 17

from birth to 1 month, is all about reflexes. Babies can suck, grasp, blink - all involuntary responses to stimulation

From 1-4 months is when object permanence starts. Babies realize things still exist even when they can’t see them

From 4-8 months, babies can coordinate sensory inputs and motor outputs. They explore objects intentionally through mouthing, banging, throwing

From 8-12 months, symbolic thought emerges. Babies understand symbols represent something else, like waving “bye bye” or pretending to drink from an empty cup

Question 18

Hearing development

Answer 18

Milestones in music, speech, language

Question 19

when is taste smell touch developed

Answer 19

the senses of taste, smell and touch being well developed at birth is so important for infants

Question 20

Visual Development

Answer 20

Rapid maturation refers to how quickly babies and children grow and change during the early years. Their bodies and brains are developing at an incredible pace

Question 21

Face perception

Answer 21

Discriminate features, expressions, pairs

Question 22

Intermodal perception

Answer 22

This term refers to how our brain integrates information from multiple senses at the same time. For example, when you see an apple 🍎 and touch it, your brain processes both the visual input of the red color and shape, as well as the tactile input of the firm texture all at once.

Question 23

Piagets sensorimotor and preoperational stages

Answer 23

Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years): Babies start to learn about the world through their senses and motor skills. They learn object permanence and how to make things happen on purpose through actions like grasping, sucking, etc.

Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years): 🧒 During this stage, kids start using symbols and images to represent objects, but are still egocentric. They have trouble seeing things from another’s perspective. They also learn language skills.

Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years): 👦 At this stage, kids can think logically about concrete events but not abstract concepts. They can classify, sort, and group objects. Conservation skills emerge.

Formal Operational Stage (11 years to adulthood

Question 24

Motor milestones

Answer 24

Rolling over - Babies usually start rolling front to back around 6 months.

Crawling - Crawling comes in around 6-10 months for most.

Standing - Most babies can stand while holding onto furniture around 9 months

Walking - The average baby takes their first steps around 12 months old.

Question 25

Gross and fine motor skills

Answer 25

they refer to the timelines for when kids develop skills like grasping, sitting, scribbling, and jumping.

Question 26

insecure/Avoidant attachment style

Answer 26

These infants avoid or ignore their caregivers even when distressed. They learn caregivers are not responsive to their needs.

Question 27

Ambivalent/resistant attachment

Answer 27

Babies with this style can’t be soothed by caregivers and are often distressed/clingy. They seem unsure caregivers will meet their needs.

Question 28

secure attachment

Answer 28

This is the ideal style where infants use their caregiver as a secure base to explore from. They are distressed when separated but find comfort upon reunion

Question 29

Disorganized attachment

Answer 29

results from frightening, inconsistent, or rejecting interactions with caregivers. These infants seem confused - their behaviors won’t match their emotional needs. For example, they may seek comfort from the caregiver that also frightens them. Or they may freeze and seem dazed when stressed.

Question 30

theory of mind

Answer 30

knowledge and beliefs about how the
mind works and how it affects behavior

Question 31

Stranger anxiety

Answer 31

the caution and wariness displayed by infants when encountering an
unfamiliar person

common after age 6

Question 32

Separation anxiety

Answer 32

he distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs
It usually begins at about age 7 or 8 months, peaks around 14 months, and then
decreases

Question 33

self awareness

Answer 33

On average, awareness begins from 17 to 24 months of age

Question 34

Social referencing

Answer 34

intentional search for information about others’ feelings to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances and events

It first occurs around age 8 or 9 months.

Question 35

smiling

Answer 35

6-9 weeks
Babies begin to smile reliably; smiles are first
relatively indiscriminate, then selective

Question 36

Fundamentals of Language

Answer 36

Once an infant starts to produce words, vocabulary increases at a rapid rate.

9 to 14 months: first words

15 months: 10 words

18 months: one-word stage ends

16 to 24 months: language explosion, vocabulary increases from 50 to 400 words
Babbling: making speech-like but meaningless sounds

Holophrases: one-word utterances that stand for a whole phrase, whose meaning
depends on the particular context in which they are used.

Telegraphic speech: speech in which words not critical to the message are left out
Fundamentals of Language

Question 37

Piaget’s Schemas

Answer 37

Adaptation: building schemes through direct interaction with environment
* Assimilation: using current schemes to interpret the world; adding new information to existing
schemas to for consolidation.
* Accommodation: using new information to create new schemas or to adjust old ones to better
fit the environment

Question 38

Sensorimotor stage

Answer 38

Substage 1: Simple reflexes (first month of life)
During this period, the various
reflexes that determine the infant’s
interactions with the world are at
the center of their cognitive life
examples:
The sucking reflex causes
the infant to suck at
anything placed against their
lips

Substage 2: First habits and
primary circular reactions (from 1 to 4 months)

At this age, infants begin to
coordinate what were separate
actions into single integrated
activities with emphasis on their
own bodies
Examples:
An infant might combine
grasping an object with
sucking on it or staring at
something with touching it.

Substage 3: Secondary circular
reactions (from 4 to 8 months)

During this period, infants take
major strides in shifting their
cognitive horizons beyond
themselves and begin to act on
the outside world

examples:
child who repeatedly picks
up a rattle and shakes it in
different ways to see how the
sound changes is
demonstrating
their ability to modify their
cognitive scheme about
shaking rattles

Substage 4: Coordination of
secondary circular reactions

(from 8 to 12 months)

in this stage, infants begin to use
more calculated approaches to
producing events, coordinating
several schemas to generate a
single act. They achieve object
permanence during this stage

An infant will push one toy
out of the way to reach
another toy that is lying,
partially exposed, under it

Substage 5: Tertiary circular
reactions (from 12 months to 18 months)

At this age, infants develop
what Piaget regards as the
deliberate variation of actions
that bring desirable
consequences. Rather than
just repeating enjoyable
activities, infants appear to
carry out miniature experiments
to observe the consequences.

examples:
A child will drop a toy
repeatedly, varying the position
from which they drop it, carefully
observing each time to see
where it falls.

Substage 6: Beginning of thought (from 18 months to 2 years)

the major achievement of
Substage 6 is the capacity for
mental representation, or
symbolic thought. Piaget
argued that only at this stage
can infants imagine where
objects that they cannot see
might be.
examples:
Children can plot in their heads
unseen trajectories of objects,
so that if a ball rolls under a
piece of furniture, they can
figure out where it is likely to
emerge on the other side.

Question 39

Jean piaget’s theory

Answer 39

Sensorimotor – Birth to 2 years
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operationa

Question 40

Nutrition and breastfeeding

Answer 40

Crucial for development in first two years
 Benefits of breastfeeding:
 Ensures nutritional completeness
 Provides correct fat–protein balance
 Helps ensure healthy physical growth
 Protects against disease
 Protects against faulty jaw and tooth
development
 Ensures digestibility
 Smooths transition to solid foods

Question 41

Experience-expectant brain growth

Answer 41

Occurs early and naturally
 Rapidly developing organization
 Depends on ordinary experiences
“expected” by brain for normal growth

Question 42

experience- dependent brain growth

Answer 42

Occurs throughout our lives
 Growth and refinement
 Results from specific, individual learning
experiences