| A | B |
|---|
| Reactive attachment disorder | A psychiatric illness characterized by serious problems in emotional attachments to others beginning before the age 5; symptoms: resisting comfort and affection, being superficially engaged and overly friendly with strangers, having poor peer relationships, and engaging in destructive behavior to themselves and to others |
| nature-nurture question | How much nature (genetic factors) and how much nurture (environmental factors) contributes to a person's biological, emotional, cognitive, personal, and social development |
| developmental psychologists | Psychologists who study a person's biological, emotional, cognitive, personal, and social development across the life span, from infancy through late adulthood |
| prodigy | A child who shows a highly unusual talent, ability, or genius at a very age and does not have mental retardation |
| prenatal period | Three successive phases: the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages; lasts from conception to birth |
| germinal stage | The first stage of prenatal development and refers to the two-week period following conception |
| ovulation | The release of an ovum or egg cell from a woman's ovaries |
| conception | Occurs if one of the millions of sperm penetrates the ovum's outer membrane |
| Embryonic stage | The second stage of the prenatal period and spans the 2-8 weeks that follow conception; cells divide and begin to differentiate in to bone, muscle, and body organs |
| fetal stage | Third stage in prenatal development; begins two months after conception and last until birth |
| placenta | An organ that connects the blood supply of the mother to that of the fetus; acts like a filter, allowing oxygen and nutrients to pass through while keeping out some toxic or harmful substances |
| teratogen | Any agent that can harm a developing fetus, such as a disease, drug, or another environmental agent |
| amniocentesis | A medical test that involves inserting a long needle through the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus; withdrawal of fluid can disclose any genetic problems |
| Down syndrome | Results from an extra 21st chromosome and causes abnormal physical traits and abnormal brain development, resulting in degrees of mental retardation |
| Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) | Results from a mother drinking heavily during pregnancy, especially in the first 12 weeks; causes physical changes (short stature, flattened nose, and short eye openings); neurological changes (fewer brain connections within brain); and psychological and behavioral problems (hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, deficits in information processing and memory, alcohol and drug use, and poor socialization) |
| visual cliff | A glass tabletop with a checkerboard pattern over part of its surface; the remaining surface consists of clear glass with a checkerboard pattern several feet below, creating the illusion of a clifflike drop to the floor |
| proximodistal principle | Parts closer to the center of the infant's body develop before parts farther away |
| cephalocaudal principle | Parts of the body closer to the head develop before parts closer to the feet |
| maturation | Developmental changes that are genetically or biologically programmed rather than acquired through learning or life experiences |
| motor development | The stages of motor skills that all infants pass through as they acquire the muscular control necessary for making coordinated movements |
| developmental norms | The average ages at which children perform various kinds of skills or exhibit abilities or behaviors |
| emotional development | The influence and interaction of genetic factors, brain changes, cognitive factors, coping abilities, and cultural factors in the development of emotional behaviors, expressions, thoughts, and feelings |
| temperament | Relatively stable and longlasting individual differences in mood and emotional behavior, which emerge early in childhood because these differences are largely influenced by genetic factors |
