Study Guide 6 - Human Development Flashcards
Nature v. Nurture
- development is affected by our genetics and the environment
- work together to make all people alike ex) all achieve physical development at about the same rate
- make each person unique ex) differences among athletics, personality etc.
- how much each one contributes varies with the trait
Maturation
- Gesell studied motor skills in children of all ages
- determined a fixed sequence not likely to be affected by the environment
- maturation refers to natural growth in a fixed sequence, pretty independent of the environment (ex: learning to walk)
Zygote
- new cell formed after fertilization
- fathers sperm and mothers ovum
Germinal Stage
-zygote divides into many cells
Embryo
-developing baby from the 14th day after fertilization until 2nd month
Embryonic Stage
- embryo develops organs: heart, Nervous System, stomach, ovaries/testes
- at the end of this stage the embryo has eyes, ears, a nose, jaw, mouth, lips etc.
- critical period: certain kinds of growth must occur if development will be normal, if organs don’t form or form incorrectly it is permanent
Fetus
-developing baby from 3rd month until birth
Fetal stage
- organs grow and mature
- end of third month: kick, turn head
- 6th month: taste buds, breathe if born prematurely
- by 8th and 9th months can respond to light and touch, and learn
Placenta
- spongy organ that is formed from the outside layer of the zygote
- sends nutrients from mom to baby, and carries away wastes
- attempts to screen out harmful substances, but not always successful
Teratogen
- harmful external substances that invade the womb and result in birth defects
- especially damaging during embryonic stage
Rubella
- German measles
- if mom has it during 3/4th week baby has 50% chance of being blind, deaf, or mentally retarded
- rubella later in pregnancy, likelihood of one of these defects is much lower
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
-pattern of defects including mental retardation and face malformations in babies whose mothers consume alcohol during pregnancy
Newborn Vision
- vision is very blurry
- small eyes
- eye movements are slow and jerky
- pathways connecting eyes to brain are inefficient
- can see large objects close up
- like to stare at human faces and eyes
- some degree of size constancy
Newborn Depth Perception
-do not experience depth perception until about 7 months old
Newborn Hearing
- hear poorly
- can hear soft voices, turn their heads toward sound
- especially like speech sounds
- like to hear “baby talk”
Newborn Scent
- sense of smell not fully developed
- like smell of flowers
- prefer odors of mom: helps identify caregiver, important for survival
Newborn Reflexes
- babies demonstrate involuntary, unlearned motor behaviors
- reflexes evolved because they were important for survival
- most reflexes disappear after the first 4 months, and motor skills become voluntary
Rooting Reflex
-infant to turn its head toward anything that touches its cheek
Suckling Reflex
-newborn sucks on anything that touches its lips
Newborn Maturation and Experience
- as maturation increases infants’ strength they experiment with motor patterns
- motor development from a combo of maturation and experience
- ex) took about a week of trial and error for babies to learn how to crawl
Continuity v. Discontinuity
- is development gradual or in stages?
- continuity: changes children undergo occur in small steps, not as structured
- discontinuity: we progress in stages
Universality
- globally do all children develop the same way?
- evidence that children progress through a series of stages of cognitive development
- but there are cultural differences in the ages children reach stages or if they reach them at all
Stability
- do traits persist or change as we grow?
- Freud argued that personalities are fixed by the time we are 6
- Eric Erickson said that personalities are shaped throughout one’s life
Longitudinal Study
-study the same ppl over time