Human

A human is a member of Homo sapiens, the living species of Homo. Our anatomy combines inherited vertebrate organization with derived features such as habitual bipedalism. Variation among individuals and populations is part of the biology of one species.

A developmental period spanning changes in physical maturation, social roles and increasing autonomy. Clinical research should specify sampled ages and relevant developmental characteristics rather than treating an age label as a complete explanation of treatment response.

A person during adolescence. Sampled age range, developmental characteristics and social context constrain how findings apply to other young people.

A human during childhood. Developmental studies must specify their sampled age range rather than treating all children as one population; recruitment and task accessibility affect the scope of an inference.

A human in the earliest postnatal period. Research reports should specify chronological age and, where relevant, gestational or corrected age; an infant sample does not establish performance across the whole period.