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98 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
germinal period |
the first two weeks of prenatal development after conception, characterized by rapid cell division and the beginning of cell differentiation |
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embryonic period |
the stage of prenatal development from approximately the third through the eighth week after conception, during which the basic forms of all body structures, including internal organs, develop |
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fetal period |
the stage of prenatal development from the ninth week after conception until birth, during which the fetus gains about 7 pounds (more than 3000 grams) and organs become more mature, gradually able to function on their own. |
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implantation |
the process, beginning about 10 days after conception, in which the developing organism burrows into the placenta that lines the uterus, where it can be nourished and protected as it continues to develop |
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embryo |
the name for a developing human organism from about the third through the eighth week after conception |
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fetus |
the name for a developing human organism from the start of the ninth week after conception until birth |
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ultrasound |
an image of a fetus or an internal organ produced by using high-frequency sound waves |
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age of viability |
the age (about 22 weeks) at which a fetus might survive outside the mothers uterus if specialized medical care is availible |
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apgar scale |
a quick assessment of a newborns health. top score is 10, ranked by 2 for each vital sign |
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cesarean section (c-section) |
a surgical birth, in which incisions through the mother's abdomen and uterus allow the fetus to be removed quickly, instead of being delivered through the vagina |
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doula |
a woman who helps with the birth process. traditionally in latin america, a doula was the only professional who attended childbirth |
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teratogen |
an agent or condition, including viruses, drugs, and chemicals, that can impair prenatal development and result in birth defects or even death |
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behavioral teratogens |
agents and conditions that can harm the prenatal brain, impairing the future child's intellectual and emotional functioning |
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threshold effect |
in prenatal development, when a teratogen is relatively harmless in small doses but becomes harmful once exposure reaches a certain level (the threshold) |
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fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) |
a cluster of birth defects, including abnormal facial characteristics, slow physical growth, and reduced intellectual ability, that may occur in the fetus of a woman who drinks alcohol while pregnant |
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false positive |
the results of a laboratory test that reports something as true when it is in fact false. |
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Low birthweight, Very low birthweight, Extremely low birthweight |
low bodyweights of less than 5 1/2 pounds, 3 pounds, and 2 pounds respectively |
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preterm |
a birth that occurs 3 or more weeks before the full 38 weeks of the typical pregnancy- that is, at 35 or fewer weeks after conception |
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reflex |
an unlearned involuntary action or movement in response to a stimulus. a reflex occurs without conscious effort |
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couvade |
symptoms of pregnancy and birth experienced by fathers |
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postpartum depression |
a new mother's feelings of inadequacy and sadness in the days and weeks after giving birth |
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parental alliance |
cooperation between a mother and a father based on their mutual commitment to their children. in a parental alliance, the parents support each other in their shared parental roles |
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parent-infant bond |
the strong, loving bond that forms as parents hold, examine, and feed their newborn |
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kangaroo care |
a form of newborn care in which mothers and sometimes fathers rest their babies on their naked chests, like kangaroo mothers that carry their immature newborns in a pouch on their abdomen |
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percentile |
a point on a ranking scale of 0 to 100. the 50th percentile is the midpoint; half the people in population being studied rank higher and half rank lower |
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head-sparing |
a biological mechanism that protects the brain when malnutrition disrupts the body growth. the brain is the last part of the body to be damaged by malnutrition |
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neuron |
one of billions of nerve cells in the central nervous system, especially in the brain |
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cortex |
the outer layer of the brain in humans and other mammals. most thinking, feeling, and sensing involves the cortex |
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prefrontal cortex |
the area of the cortex at the very front of the brain and specializes in anticipation, planning and impulse control |
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axon |
a fiber that extends from a neuron and transmits electrochemical impulses from that neuron to the dendrites of other neurons |
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dendrite |
a fiber that extends from a neuron and receives electrochemical impulses transmitted from other neurons via their axons |
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synapses |
the intersection between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of other neurons |
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neurotransmitter |
a brain chemical that carries information from the axon of a sending neuron to the dendrites of a receiving neuron |
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synaptic gap |
the pathway across which neurotrasmitters carry information from the axon of the sending neuron to the dendrites of the receiving neuron |
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transient exuberance |
the great but temporary increase in the number of dendrites that develop in an infants brain during the first two years of life |
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pruning |
when applied to brain development, the term means process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die |
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experience dependant brain functions |
brain functions depend on particular, variable experiences and therefore may or may not develop in a particular infant |
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experience - expectant brain functions |
brain functions require certain basic common experiences (which an infant can be expected to have) in order to develop normaly |
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shaken baby syndrom |
a life threatning injury that occurs when an infant is forcefully shaken back and forth, a motion that ruptures blood vessels in the brain and breaks neural connections |
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self righting |
the inborn drive to remedy a developmental deficit; literally, to return to sitting or standing upright after being tipped over. people of all ages have self-righting impulses, for emotional as well as physical imbalances |
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REM (Rapid eye movement) |
a stage of sleep characterized by flickering eyes behind closed lids, dreaming and rapid brain waves |
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co-sleeping |
a custom in which parents and their children (usually infants [hopefully]) sleep together in the same room |
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sensation |
the response of a sensory system (eyes, ears skin tongue nose) when it detects a stimulus |
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perception |
the mental processing of sensory information when the brain interprets a sensation |
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binocular vision |
the ability to the two eyes in a coordinated manner in order to see one image |
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motor skill |
the learned abilities to move some part of the body, in actions ranging from a large leap to a flicker of the eyelid |
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gross motor skill |
physical abilites involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping (gross meaning "big") |
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fine motor skills |
phsyical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up a coin (the word fine meaning "small") |
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immunization |
a process that stimulates the body's immune system by causing production of antibodies to defend against attack by a particular contagious disease. creation of antibodies may be accomplished either naturally (by having the disease) or by injection, by drops that are swallowed, nasal spray |
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protein-calorie malnutrition |
a condition in which a person does not consume sufficient food of any kind. this deprivation can result in several illnesses, severe weight loss, and even death |
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stunting |
the failure of children to grow to a normal height for their age due to severe and chronic malnutrition |
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wasting |
the tendency for children to be severely underweight for their age as a result of malnutrition |
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maramus |
a disease of severe protien-calorie malnutrition during early infancy, in which growth stops, body tissues waste away, and the infant eventually dies. |
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kwashiorkor |
a disease of chronic manutrition during childhood, in which a protein deficiency makes the child more vulnerable to other diseases, such as measles, diarrhea, and influenza |
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SIDS |
a situation in which a seemingly healthy infant usually between 2-6 months, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep |
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sensorimotor intelligence |
Piaget's term for the way infants think- by using their sense and motor skills- during the first period of cognitive development |
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primary circular reactions |
the first of three types of feedback loops in sensorimotor intelligence, this one involving the infant's own body. the infant senses motion, sucking, noise, and other stimuli and tries to understand them |
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secondary circular reactions |
the second of three types of feedback loops in sensorimotor intelligence, this one involving people and objects. infants respond to other people to toys, and to any other object they can touch or move. |
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object permanence |
the realization that objects (including people) still exsist when they no longer can be seen, touched, or heard |
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tertiary circular reactions |
the third of three types of feedback loops in sensorimotor intelligence, this one involving active exploration and experimentation. infants explore a range of new activities, varying their responses as a way of learning about the world |
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deferred imitation |
a sequence in which an infant first perceives something done by someone else and then performs the same action hours or even days later |
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habituation |
the process of becoming accustomed to an object or even through repeated exposure to it, and thus becoming less interested in it |
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FMRI |
fuctional-magnetic-resonance-imaging, a measuring technique in which the brains electrical excitement indicates activation anywhere in the brain. |
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mirror neurons |
cells in an observer's brain that respond to an action performed by someone else in the same way they would if the observer were actually performing that action |
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affordance |
an opportunity for perception and interaction that is offered by a person place or object in the environment |
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visual cliff |
an experimental apparatus that gives the illusion of a sudden drop-off between one horizontal surface to another |
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reminder session |
a perceptual experience that helps a person recollect an idea, a thing, or an experience |
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implicit memory |
unconscious or automatic memory that is usually stored via habits, emotional responses, routine procedures, and various sensations. |
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explicit memory |
memory that is easy to retrieve on demand (as in a specific test) most explicit memory involves consciously learned words, data, and concepts |
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child-directed speech |
the high-pitched simplified and repetitive way adults speak to infants and children (also called baby-talk) |
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babbyling |
an infants repetition of certain syllables, such as ba-ba-ba that begins when babies are between 6 and 9 months old |
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holophrase |
a single word that is used to express a complete, meaningfl thought |
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naming explosion |
a sudden increased in an infants vocabulary, especially in the number of nouns, that begins at about 18 months of age |
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grammar |
al the methods, word order, very forms, and so on- that languages use to communicate meaning, apart from the words themselves |
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mean length of utterance (MLU) |
the average number of words in a typical sentence (called utterance, because children may not talk in complete sentences) MLU is often used to indicate how advanced a childs language development is |
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Language acquisition device (LAD) |
Chromsky's term for a hypothesized mental structure that enables humans to learn language, including the basic aspects of grammar, vocabulary, and intonation |
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social smile |
a smile evoked by a human face, normally first evident in infants about 6 weeks after birth |
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cortisol |
the primary stress hormone; fluctuations in the bodys cortisol level affect human emotion |
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separation anxiety |
an infant's distress when a familiar caregiver leaves; most obvious between 9-14 motnhs |
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stranger wariness |
an infants expression of concern - a quiet stare while clinging to a familiar person, or a look of fear- when a stranger appears |
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self-awareness |
a person's realization that he or she is a distinct individual whose body, mind, and actions are separate from those of other people |
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temperament |
inborn differences between one person and another in emotions, activity, and self-regulation. it is measured by the persons typical responses tot he environment |
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synchronmy |
a coordinated, rapid, and smooth exchange of responses between a caregiver and an infant |
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still-face technique |
an experimental practice in which an adult keeps his or her face unmoving and expressionless in face-to-face interaction with an infant |
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attachment |
according to ainsworth, "an affectional tie" that an infant forms with a caregiver- a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time |
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secure attachment |
a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver |
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insecure -avoidant attachment |
a pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids connection with the caregiver, as when the infant seems to not care about the caregivers presence, departure, or return |
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insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment |
a pattern of attachment in which an infant's anxiety and uncertainty are evident, as when the infant becomes very upset at seperation from the caregiver and both resists and seeks contact on reunion |
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disorganized attachment |
a type of attachment that is marked by an infant's inconsistent reactions to the caregiver's departure and return |
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Patterns of infant attachment |
1. Insecure-avoidant 2. Secure 3. Insecure-resistant/ ambivalent 4. Disorganized |
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strange situation |
a laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking infants' reaction to the stress of various adults' comings and goings in an unfamiliar playroom |
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social referencing |
seeking information about how to react to an unfamiliar or ambigious object or even by observing someone elses expressions and reactions. that other person becomes a social reference |
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trust vs mistrust |
Erikson's first crisis of psychosocial development. nfants learn basic trust if the world is a secure place where their basic needs are met |
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autonomy versus shame and doubt |
Erikson's second crisis; toddlers either succeed or fail in gaining a sense of self-rule over their actions and their bodies |
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proximal parenting |
caregiving practices that involve being physically close to the baby, with frequent holding and touching |
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distal parenting |
caregiving practices that involve remaining distant from the baby, providing toys, food and face-to-face communication with minimal holding and touching |
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working model |
in cognitive theory, a set of assumptions that the individual uses to organize perceptions and experiences. for example a person might assume that other people are trustworthy and be surprised by an incident in which this working model of human behavior is erroneous |
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allocare |
the care of children by people other than their biological parents |