INF Glossary

Autonomy versus shame and doubt: In Erikson’s theory, the psychological conflict of toddlerhood, which is resolved positively if parents provide young children with suitable guidance and reasonable choices.

Basic emotions: Emotions that can be directly inferred from facial expressions, such as happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust.

Basic trust versus mistrust: In Erikson’s theory, the psychological conflict of infancy, which is resolved positively if caregiving, especially during feeding, is sympathetic and loving.

Cephalocaudal trend: An organized pattern of physical growth and motor control that proceeds from head to tail.

Child development: A field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from conception through adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Child-directed-speech (CDS): A form of language adults use to speak to young children that consists of short sentences with a high-pitched, exaggerated expression, clear pronunciation, distinct pauses between speech segments, and repetition of new words in a variety of contexts.

Depth perception: The ability to judge the distance of objects from one another and from ourselves.

Emotional Self-regulation: Strategies for adjusting our emotional state to a comfortable level of intensity so that we can accomplish our goals.

Glial cells: Cells that are responsible for myeliniation.

Habituation: A gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation.

Imitation: Learning by copying the behavior of another person.

I-Self: A sense of self as agent, who is separate from the surrounding world and can control its own thoughts and actions.

Me-Self: A sense of self as an object of knowledge and evaluation. Consists of all qualities that make the self unique, including physical characteristics. Possessions, attitudes, beliefs, and personality traits.

Myelination: A process in which neural fibers are coated; it improves the efficiency of message transfer.

Neurons: Nerve cells that store and transmit information.

Nonorganic failure to thrive: A growth disorder usually present by 18 months of age that is caused by lack of affection and stimulation.

Perceptual Development: The organizing and interpretation of  “what we see through touch, taste, smell and vision.”

Preoperational stage: Piaget’s second stage, in which rapid growth in representation takes place but thought is not yet logical. 2-7 yrs.

Proximodistal trend: An organized pattern of physical growth and motor control that proceeds from the center of the body outwards.

Psychosocial theory: Erikson’s theory, which emphasizes that at each Freudian stage, individuals not only develop a unique personality, but also acquire attitudes and skills that help them become active, contributing members of their society.

Reflex: An inborn, automatic response to a particular form of stimulation.

Scaffolding: A changing quality of social support over the course of a teaching session, in which the adult adjusts the assistance provided to fit the child’s current level of performance.

Self-conscious emotions: Emotions that involve injury to or enhancement of a sense of self. Examples are shame, embarrassment, guilt, envy, and pride.

Sensorimotor stage: Piaget’s first stage, during which infants and toddlers “think” with their eyes, ears, hands, and other sensorimotor equipment. 0-2 yrs.

Social Referencing: Relying on a trusted person’s emotional reaction to decide how to respond in an uncertain situation.

Sociocultural theory: Vygotsky’s theory, in which children are assumed to acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that make up a community’s culture through cooperative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society.

States of arousal: Different degrees of sleep and wakefulness.

Stranger anxiety: The infant’s expression of fear in response to unfamiliar adults. Appears in many babies after 6 months of age.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): The unexpected death, usually during the night, of an infant younger than 1 year of age that remains unexplained after thorough investigation.

Synaptic pruning: Loss of connective fibers by seldom-stimulated neurons, which returns them to an uncommitted state so they can support the development of future skills.

Telegraphic speech: Toddlers’ two-word utterances that, like a telegram, leave out smaller, less important words.

Zone of proximal development: In Vygotsky’s theory, a range of tasks that the child cannot yet handle alone but can accomplish with the help of more skilled partners.