Development

Question 1

Development

Answer 1

Changes and continuities that occur between conception and death

Question 2

Maturation

Answer 2

Biologically-timed unfolding of changes within the individual according to their genetic plan

Question 3

Learning

Answer 3

Relatively permanent changes in our thoughts, behaviours and feelings on a result of experiences.

Question 4

Interactionist Perspective

Answer 4

The view that holds that maturation and learning interact during development
(ex. babies can’t learn to walk until muscles have matured)

Question 5

Habituation Procedure

Answer 5

Tests for an infant’s ability to detect novel stimuli (Can the infant tell if the stimulus changes?)

Question 6

Habituate

Answer 6

A decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus following repeated presentation.

Question 7

Dishabituate

Answer 7

An increase in responsiveness to a stimulus that is somehow different from the habituated stimulus.

Question 8

Event-Related Potentials

Answer 8

A method of measuring brain activity evoked by the presentation of stimuli. An electrode cap is placed on an individual’s scalp to measure electrical activity across a population of neurons in the brain. (How does the brain react to this stimulus?)

Question 9

High-Amplitude Sucking Method

Answer 9

A technique used to asses what an infant likes or dislikes using the fact that an infant can control their sucking behaviour to influence the presentation of a stimulus. (Does the infant like this stimulus?)

Question 10

Preference Method

Answer 10

Level of attention towards one stimulus indicates preference. Infants prefer faces and high contrast images. (Which stimulus does the infant like more?)

Question 11

Competence-Performance Distinction

Answer 11

The fact that an individual may fail a task not because they lack those cognitive abilities, but because they are unable to demonstrate those abilities. (ex. a nonverbal infant may prefer a certain food, but cannot verbalize it; just because she can’t speak, does not mean she doesn’t have a preference)

Question 12

Longitudinal Design

Answer 12

A developmental research design in which the same individuals are studied repeatedly over a subset of their lifespan.
Advantages:
- accurate comparison
Disadvantages:
- costly
- time consuming
- selective attrition
- practice effects

Question 13

Cross-Sectional Design

Answer 13

A developmental research design in which different age groups are studied any the same point in time to observe age-related differences.
Advantages:
- faster
Disadvantages:
- indistinguishable between age effects and generational effects

Question 14

Cross-Sequential Design

Answer 14

A developmental research design that combines both longitudinal and cross-sectional designs. While it combine the strongest features of both designs, it is also the most costly and time consuming.

Question 15

Zygote

Answer 15

A cell made up of the sperm and ovum and contains 46 chromosomes.

Question 16

Chromosomes

Answer 16

A thread-like structure made up of DNA and consisting of many genes. A single human cell has 46 chromosome pairs, 23 from each parent.

Question 17

Autosomes

Answer 17

22 chromosome pairs, not including the sex chromosomes.

Question 18

Male sex chromosomes

Answer 18

XY

Question 19

Female sex chromosomes

Answer 19

XX

Question 20

Monozygotic Twins

Answer 20

Genetically identical individuals who originate from the same sperm and informed one zygote, then split into two separate zygotes in development in utero

Question 21

Dizygotic Twins

Answer 21

Twins that result from two different sperm and over and start off as two different zygotes from conception. They are no more genetically similar than any two biological siblings.

Question 22

Genotype

Answer 22

An individual’s inherited genes ( about 30,000-40,000)

Question 23

Phenotype

Answer 23

The expression of an individuals genotype in terms of observable characteristics

Question 24

Allele

Answer 24

A single pair of genes, one inherited from each parent

Question 25

Homozygous Condition

Answer 25

When two alleles at a locus have the same effect on the phenotype

Question 26

Heterozygous

Answer 26

When two alleles at a locus are different and the dominant allele is expressed over the recessive allele.

Question 27

Dominant allele

Answer 27

The dominant allele is always expressed in the phenotype over the recessive allele.

Question 28

Recessive allele

Answer 28

The allele that is not expressed in the phenotype, but remains inheritable.

Question 29

Simple Dominant-Recessive Inheritance

Answer 29

A pattern of inheritance in which the expression of a trait is determined by a single pair of alleles. A heterozygote and a homozygous-dominant individual will express a dominant phenotype, while a homozygous-recessive will expressed the recessive phenotype.

Question 30

Polygenic Inheritance

Answer 30

When the expression of a trait is determined by the interaction of multiple genes (ex. height and weight)

Question 31

Codominance

Answer 31

When the expression of a trait is determined equally by 2 dominant alleles (ex. AB blood type)

Question 32

Sex-Linked Inheritance

Answer 32

The pattern of inheritance that involves genes expressed on the X chromosome. This results in traits more often being expressed in males than in females. (ex. colour blindness or haemophilia)

Question 33

Behaviourist POV (nurture)

Answer 33

The view that nurture is all-important in development and that development is largely independent of genetics

Question 34

Genetic POV (nature)

Answer 34

The view that who a person becomes is largely predetermined by genetics with little to no environmental influence.

Question 35

Canalization

Answer 35

The ability to produce a consistent, stable phenotype despite environmental or genetic variations. It focuses on resistance to change; buffering against environmental extremes. (ex. all babies will bable regardless of their culture)

Question 36

Babbling Principle

Answer 36

An example of canalization principle, all infants babble the same speech sounds, regardless of which culture they are born into. Their external environment will later shape this babbling to produce different languages.

Question 37

Range of Reaction

Answer 37

Genotypes establish a range of possible phenotypes in response to different kinds of individual life experiences; how environment influences where within the genetic potential an individual lands. (ex. A person’s potential height range is determined by genetics, but nutrition determines the final height)

Question 38

Passive Correlations

Answer 38

The environment that parents choose to raise their children in was influenced by the parents own genes, and will likely compliment the child's genes. (ex. athletic parents will raise their children in athletic environments, and will probably have athletic genes)

Question 39

Evocative Correlations

Answer 39

Traits that we have inherited affect how others react to and behave towards us. (ex. children with bad temper with evoke negative responses from caregivers)

Question 40

Active Correlations

Answer 40

Our genotypes influence the kinds of environments that we seek. (ex. adventurous kids will seek adventurous settings)

Question 41

Correlations across lifespan

Answer 41

- passive decreases - evocative remains - active increases

Question 42

Critical Period

Answer 42

A window of time during development in which particular environmental stimulation is necessary to see permanent changes in developmental abilities. After this time, the same environmental stimulation will not will have the same developmental benefit.

Question 43

Experience-Expectant Growth

Answer 43

Brains have evolved to expect a certain amount of environmental input to develop normally

Question 44

Experience-Dependent Growth

Answer 44

Brains develop according to our own personal experiences.

Question 45

Sensitive Periods

Answer 45

Developmental periods during which a specific type of learning takes most easily. The brain maintains some residual capacity for change and growth into adulthood. There is greater flexibility in the timing and type of stimulation that are required for normal development.

Question 46

Cell Division

Answer 46

The process by which a cell reproduces, known as mitosis for autosomal cells and meiosis for sex cells. In mitosis, the resulting daughter cells will have 46 chromosomes. In meiosis, the resulting daughter cells will have 23 chromosomes.

Question 47

Genes

Answer 47

Segments of DNA that provide the chemical code for development.

Question 48

Normative questions

Answer 48

Descriptive questions that ask how behaviours or processes changes as a function of age. (ex. What specific behaviours can a child perform at the age of 3 months?)

Question 49

Analytic questions

Answer 49

Questions that ask about the underlying mechanisms, processes, or variables that cause changes in behaviours as a function of age. (ex. How is a child able to do this now, when he couldn’t 3 months ago?)

Question 50

Cohort effect

Answer 50

Differences between age groups may be due to generational differences and not actual differences in development.

Question 51

Androgen insensitivity syndrome

Answer 51

When an individual is biologically male but is resistant to male hormones (androgens); this can affect the development of male sex characteristics.

Question 52

Neural plate

Answer 52

A key developmental component of the nervous system composed of primitive neural tissue; it will eventually fold into a neural tube. (21 days after conception)

Question 53

Neural tube

Answer 53

A hollow structure made out of the folded neural plate.

Question 54

Synaptic Pruning

Answer 54

Changes in neural structures that results in a reduction of the number of synapses.

Question 55

Ocular dominance columns

Answer 55

Columns of neurons in the visual cortex that respond preferentially to information from one eye or the other.

Question 56

Amblyopia

Answer 56

Also known as 'lazy eye', the loss of visual acuity in an otherwise healthy eye.

Question 57

Neurogenesis

Answer 57

The development and growth of neurons

Question 58

Fluid Intelligence

Answer 58

Generally involves abstract thinking and quick reasoning; tends to decline with age.

Question 59

Crystallized Intelligence

Answer 59

An individual's accumulated knowledge; can increase with age.