A term applied, originally by Joachim Wohlwill (1928-1987), to the form or mode of the relationship between the chronological age of an individual and the changes occurring in that person on some specified dimension of behavior. By ‘form or mode’ is meant either qualitative change (e.g., in terms of a sequence of stages) or quantitative …
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Developmental epistemology
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the theory of knowledge. Its standard questions (e.g., what is knowledge? how does knowledge differ from true belief?) are normative and non-empirical. Developmental epistemology (i.e., Piaget‘s genetic epistemology) deals with the genesis or development of knowledge in two respects: 1. its initial formation and 2. its valid …
Developmental dyspraxia
Difficulties with movement planning resulting in impairments of gesture and sequencing of movements in an action. Often used synonymously with developmental coordination disorder by groups interested in raising public awareness of coordination disorders. See Action, Apraxia, Development Coordination Disorder (DCD), Dysgraphia, Impairment, Praxis
Developmental emergence
The appearance of new abilities and structures in the child as a result of dynamical interactions involving the brain, body, and society. For example, the emergence of babbling can occur as the coupling of the oscillatory movements of the jaw with those of the vocal cords. See Babbling, Complex system, Developmental bootstrapping, Developmental (or ontogenetic) …
Developmental disorders
Disorders, often caused by genetic or chromosomal defects, but also by perinatal brain damage as in the case of cerebral palsy, that lead to abnormal development. The resulting disorder can be general or affect different aspects of behaviour to different degrees. Well-known developmental disorders are Asperger’s syndrome, autism, Down’s syndrome, the fragile X syndrome and …
Developmental differentiation
In contrast to developmental integration, an account of multisensorydevelopment that posits that the senses are initially fused, and thatdevelopment is a process of differentiation of those initially fused percepts. This account owes a great deal to the work of Eleanor J. Gibson (1910-2002) that started with the publication of her first book in 1969. See Developmental integration, …
Developmental delay
Describes the development in a child who is slower than the accepted norms. For example, walking independently is usually achieved by most infants by 18 months of age and the acquisition of walking after that time would be described as delayed, although it might not necessarily be an indication of something wrong with the child. …
Developmental cognitive neuroscience
The study of how the development and growth of the brain relates to the emergence of new cognitive abilities, which is increasingly using brain imaging techniques and connectionist models to test its theories, ideally moving from one to the other in an ongoing circular process. See Brain (neuro-) imaging, Child development, Cognitive development, Cognitive neuroscience, …
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
As defined by the American Psychiatric Association in DSM-IV (1994), it is a generic term encompassing a range of developmental motor impairments of less severity than recognized syndromes such as cerebral palsy, and sometimes referred to as ‘clumsiness’. Some researchers now consider DCD to share some of the same dysfunctional mechanisms as cerebral palsy, although …
Continue reading “Developmental coordination disorder (DCD)”
Developmental bootstrapping
A term used in developmental psychology to indicate that one ability provides leverage for acquiring a second, different ability. The prior ability sets conditions under which the latter can be more easily acquired. Thus, achievement of later stages is facilitated by what the developing child already knows. Put another way bootstrapping is a mechanism of …