This document outlines the key learning goals and topics for a developmental psychology chapter on human development. It covers: 1) an evolutionary perspective on development across the lifespan, 2) how genes influence development, 3) how heredity and environment interact to produce individual differences, 4) prenatal development and hazards, and 5) the process of birth and measures of neonatal health. Key terms and people relevant to these topics are also listed.

1. Chpt 2 Study Info – Developmental Psych
Learning Goals
1. Discuss the evolutionary perspective on life-span development.
• How can natural selection and adaptive behavior be defined?
• What is evolutionary psychology?
• What are some basic ideas about human development proposed by evolutionary
psychologists?
• How might evolutionary influences have different effects at different points in the life
span?
• How can evolutionary psychology be evaluated?
2. Describe what genes are and how they influence human development.
• What are genes?
• How are genes passed on?
• What basic principles describe how genes interact?
• What are some chromosome and gene-linked abnormalities?
3. Explain some of the ways that heredity and environment interact to produce individual
differences in development.
• What is behavior genetics?
• What are three types of heredity-environment correlations?
• What is meant by the concepts of shared and nonshared environmental experiences?
• What is the epigenetic view of development?
• What conclusions can be reached about heredity-environment interaction?
4. Characterize the course of prenatal development and its hazards.
• What is the course of prenatal development?
• How does the brain develop in the prenatal period?
• What are some prenatal diagnostic tests?
• What are some of the main hazards to prenatal development?
• What do prenatal care programs provide?
5. Summarize how birth takes place.
• What are the three main stages of birth?
• What are some different birth strategies?
• What is the transition from fetus to newborn like for the infant?
• What are three measures of neonatal health and responsiveness?
• What are the outcomes for children if they are born preterm or with a low birth weight?
• What is bonding? How is it linked to child outcomes?
Key Terms
Active genotype-environment correlations Klinefelter syndrome
Adoption study Low-birth-weight infants
Apgar Scale Meiosis
Behavior genetics Mitosis

2. Bonding Natural childbirth
Brazelton Neonatal Scale Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Chromosomes Neurons
DNA Nonshared environmental experiences
Down syndrome Organogenesis
Embryonic period Passive genotype-environment correlations
Epigenetic view Phenotype
Evocative genotype-environment correlations Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Evolutionary psychology Prepared childbirth
Fertilization Preterm infant
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder Shared environmental experiences
Fetal period Sickle-cell anemia
Fragile X syndrome Small-for-date infants
Genes Teratogen
Genotype Turner syndrome
Germinal period Twin study
Kangaroo care XYZ syndrome
Zygote
Key People
Paul Baltes Ferdinand Lamaze
Albert Bandura Barry Lester
T. Berry Brazelton David Moore
David Buss Robert Plomin
Charles Darwin Sandra Scarr
Tiffany Field Edward Tronick
Gilbert Gottlieb