The sequence in which the earliest growth always overs at the top-the head- with physical growth in size, weight, and feature differentiation gradually working from top to bottom

The sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body and moves toward the extremities

A condition that occurs when and infant stops breathing, usually during the night, and suddenly dies without an apparent cause

Motor skills that involve large-muscle activities, such as walking

Motor skills that involve more finely tuned movements, such as finger dexterity

The product of the interaction between information and the sensory receptors-the eyes, eats, tongue, nostrils, and skin

The interpretation of what is sensed

A method developed by Fanta to determine whether infants can distinguish one stimulus from another by measuring the length of time they attend to different stimuli

Decreased responsiveness t a stimulus after repeated presentations of the stimulus

Recovery of a habituated response after a change in stimulation

The first of Piaget's stages, which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age; during this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with motor actions

This term is used to describe the tendency of infants to reach where an object was located earlier rather than where the object was last hidden

The focusing of mental resources on select information

Process that occurs when (1) individuals focus on the same object and track each other's behavior, (2) one individual directs another's attention, and (3) reciprocal interaction takes place

Imitation that occurs after a delay of hours or days

A central feature of cognitive development, pertaining to all situations in which an individual retains information over time

Memory without conscious recollection; involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed

Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state

Cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas

A form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols. Language consists of the words used by a community and the rules for varying and combining them

The ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules

The use of short and precise words without grammatical markers such as articles, auxiliary verbs, and other connectives

Chomsky's term that describes a biological endowment enabling the child to detect the features and rules of language, including phonology, syntax, and semantics

Also called parents, language spoken in a higher pitch, slower tempo, and exaggerated intonation than normal with simple words and sentences