Human Behavior and the Environment

The process by which an infant forms a strong emotional tie to a caregiver.

Early communication in which a baby puts vowel and consonant sounds together and repeats them over and over.

The ability to place objects into groups on the basis of their similarities.

Development that progresses from the head to the fee

Process by which family
interactions affect interactions with the infant and affect the infant’s
interactions with the caregivers, which then affect family
interactions.

Uncontrollable, extended crying in a baby who is otherwise healthy and well fed.

The ability to transfer
information gained from one sense to another sense. An example would be
picking out a picture of something you had only felt with your hands.

A baby characterized by unpredictable daily habits, negative, intense mood, and slow adaptability.

The process by which an individual attends to a new stimulus after habituating to a previous stimulus.

A baby characterized by
regular, positive responses to new stimuli, high adaptability to change,
and mild or moderately intense mood, which is usually positive.

Condition in which a child’s weight falls below the 5th percentile for the child’s age.

A series of actions put together to achieve a desired result.

How well the demands of the environment match the child’s behavioral style. Grief The normal, emotional reaction to loss.

The process by which an individual stops responding to a stimulus.

The use of one word to express the meaning of a whole sentence.

The process by which a child takes several random activities and puts them together to achieve a goal.

Child abuse in which the caregiver induces symptoms of illness in the child.

The ability to hold an image of an object or person in one’s mind.

Babies’ attention to something they fi nd interesting, without being distracted from it.

Adoption in which the birth
mother and sometimes birth father participate in choosing the adoptive
family, and often remain in contact with the child after adoption

Use of one word to include a larger category. An example is referring to all furry creatures as a dog.

Development that progresses from the spine outward to the extremities.

The first stages of sleep, characterized by non-rapid eye movement.

Distress displayed by an infant in the absence of the primary caregiver. Usually begins around 8–10 months.

Developmental process proposed
by Margaret Mahler in which the infant grows from having no sense of
self as separate from the caregiver to being an autonomous, independent
individual.

Infant abuse in which an adult shakes the infant, causing brain damage.

A child who exhibits a sedate,
less exuberant orientation to life. These babies are slow to adapt to
new situations and many times have negative responses.

The process by which an infant
looks to others for emotional information about how to respond in an
unfamiliar situation or to an unfamiliar person or object.

Distress displayed by an infant at the sight of an unfamiliar face. Usually begins around 5–6 months.

The use of only words that are absolutely necessary to convey a message.

The characteristic pattern by which an infant responds to and interacts with the environment.

During infant brain development, the period of rapid growth of dendrites.

Something (a blanket, toy, or teddy bear) the infant uses for comfort in the absence of the primary caregiver.

Adoption in which the child is of a different race than the adoptive parents.