211: CH. 7 Flashcards
Developmental Psychology Chapter 7
what is physical and cognitive development between ages 2-6 called?
the “play years”
what happens during skeletal growth?
- new epiphyses emerge
- start to lose baby teeth
what happens during brain development?
- rapid growth of the prefrontal cortex
- hemispheres continue to lateralize
what is the left hemisphere of the brain especially active in?
- language skills
- handedness
links among parts of the brain increase what?
- cerebellum
- reticular formation
- hippocampus
- corpus callosum
what does handedness reflect?
the dominant cerebral hemisphere
what hemisphere of the brain do right handed people use?
left hemisphere (90%)
what hemisphere of the brain do left handed people use?
both hemispheres (10%)
what is handedness jointly influenced by in nature and nurture?
position in uterus and practice
what are the two motor skills that can develop in early childhood?
gross motor-skills and fine motor-skills
what are gross motor skills?
- balance improvement
- gait smooth and rhythmic by age 2
- greater speed and endurance
what gross motor skills combine into more refined actions by age 5?
upper and lower body skills
what are fine motor skills?
- self help: dressing, eating
- drawing and printing
what are the first representational forms of drawing in early childhood?
- first drawing recognizable pictures at age 3 yrs
- draws boundaries and tadpole people at 3-4 yrs
when do more complex drawings begin to develop?
between ages 5-6 years old
at what age does early printing begin?
ages 4-6 years old
what is the individual gender difference in motor skills?
boys excel using force and power (sports for example) while girls excel in skills using balance and agility
what are some factors to individual differences in motor skills?
adult encouragement and how practice can embellish
who created the pre-operational stage?
piaget
what is the pre-operational stage?
it happens between ages 2-7 and has gains in mental representation but also has limitations in thinking
what are the gains in mental representation during the pre-operational stage?
make believe play and symbol - real world relations
what are the limitations in thinking during the pre-operational stage?
egocentrism, lack of conservation, and lack of hierarchical classification
what is a lack of conservation?
when a child doesn’t understand that an object’s properties remain the same even if its shape or appearance changes.
what is hierarchical classification?
Hierarchical classification is a system of grouping things according to a hierarchy. it is the organization of objects into classes and subclasses, on the basis of similarities and differences.
what is egocentrism
Egocentrism refers to an inability to take others’ points of view physically and mentally.
what is symbol to real world relations?
the ability to understand and connect a symbolic representation (like a word, image, or gesture) to its corresponding real-world object, concept, or experience; essentially, it’s the cognitive process of interpreting symbols as meaningful representations of something else
how does early childhood make believe play develop?
with age make believe play will gradually detach from real life conditions and become less self centered
what is sociodramatic play?
a type of pretend play where children act out imaginary scenarios and stories by taking on different roles and interacting with each other
what does make believe play contribute to?
it benefits cognitive and social skills
how does make believe play strengthen mental abilities?
- sustained attention
- memory
- language and literacy
- creativity
- regulation of emotion
- perspective taking
what is dual representation?
viewing a symbolic object as both a object and a symbol. for example: when presented with a picture of a shoe, a toddler might try to fit his foot into the shoe depicted in the photograph
around what age does dual representation strengthen?
around age 3
how can adult teaching help dual representation?
- experiences with maps, photos,
drawings, and make-believe play - pointing out similarities of symbols to the real world
what is animistic thinking?
belief that inanimate object have lifelike qualities.
for example: a child believing that the sidewalk was mad and made them fall down, or that the stars twinkle in the sky because they are happy.
what is conservation?
understanding that physical characteristics remain the same when appearance changes
Example: if you pour water from a short, wide glass into a tall, thin glass, the amount of water stays the same
what is centration:
focus on one aspect to neglect of others
example: a child focusing on the number of pieces of cake that each person has, regardless of the size of the pieces.
what is irreversibility?
inability to mentally reverse a series of steps
example: a young child believing that once clay is rolled into a snake, it cannot be reshaped back into a ball, demonstrating their difficulty in mentally reversing the process.
what are examples of Piagetian conservation tasks?
During the task, the experimenter changes the appearance of an object by, for example, moving it and asks children whether that affected the object’s volume, length or number.
what is Piaget’s class inclusion problem?
Piaget’s class inclusion test used wooden beads, some white some brown. He found that children in the preoperational stage were unable to give the right answer to the question, “Are there more brown beads or more wooden beads?”
follow up research on pre-operational thought shows that:
- categorization of Hierarchical classification is evident in everyday knowledge
- logical thought shows Conservation is evident on simplified tasks and there are reasons by analogy about
physical changes - animistic thinking results from incomplete knowledge of objects
what are the three points when evaluating piaget?
- Development of logical operations is
gradual - Highlights individual differences
- Disagreement over whether a
preoperational stage really exists
what are challenges to Piaget’s approach?
some deny the stage approach, other support a flexible stage notion – a related set of competencies develops over an extended period
what is recognition?
noticing that a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced
example: Recognizing a familiar face without being able to recall the person’s name
what is recall?
generating a mental representation of an absent stimulus, (more difficult than recognition)
example: the title of a book read last week, the temperature of boiling water, the location of a particular item in a grocery store, or the names of elementary school friends.
what are the two kinds of episodic memory?
scripts and autobiographical memory
what are scripts?
memory for familiar everyday events
example: a common example would be the “restaurant script” where you enter, find a table, order food, eat, pay the bill, and leave - following a predictable pattern of actions.
what is autobiographical memory?
memory for one time events
example: memories for experiences that occurred in childhood, the first time learning to drive a car, or even one’s Social Security number or home address.
what are the two style influences of adult interaction on autobiographical memory?
elaborative style and repetitive style
what is elaborative style?
fosters organized and detailed personal stories
example: recalling a childhood birthday party, not just stating “I had a great birthday party,” but describing the specific details like the decorations, the cake design, the presents you received, who was there, the games played, and the emotions you felt during the event, effectively painting a vivid picture of the experience with rich details and context
what is repetitive style?
weak at promoting autobiographical recall
example: when someone, when recalling a past event, consistently focuses on the same general details or themes, rather than providing specific, unique information about a particular instance
who created the sociocultural theory?
vygotsky
what is sociocultural theory?
where language is fundamental to cognition with self and private speech (alina twerking private speech) and has the zone of proximal development. the sociocultural theory also believes in scaffolding.
what is scaffolding?
involved in the sociocultural theory and a branch of the zone of proximal development, Adults aid learning by adjusting support to child’s level of
performance; Effectiveness varies culturally
what is the zone of proximal development
mainly just scaffolding but where adults help children learn and grow
what does piaget call children’s private speech?
egocentric speech
who believes that language is the foundation for all higher cognitive processes?
vygotsky
what is childrens private speech
it Serves a self-guiding function and increases during challenging tasks. it is also Gradually internalized as silent, inner
speech
what does vygotskys theory focus on
Focuses on language, deemphasizes other routes to cognitive development
what does vygotskys theory overlook?
Says little about how basic elementary capacities (motor, perceptual, attention, memory, and problem-solving skills)
contribute to higher cognitive processes
what does vygotskys theory bring insight on?
it helps us understand cultural variation in cognition
what are the educational principles derived from Piaget’s theory?
- discovery learning
- sensitivity to children’s readiness to learn
- acceptance of individual differences
what was vygotskys discovery of teachers and their impact on childrens development?
- guides learning
- tailors assistance to each childs zone of proximal development
what did vygotskys discover about peer collaboration that helps childrens development?
that both cooperative and make believe play help influence a childs development
what are factors that contribute to individual differences in children?
- home environment
- quality of childcare, preschool, or kindergarten
- child centered vs academic centered
- early intervention programs
- educational media
are IQ tests good predictors of later IQ in preschool?
NOOOOOOOO
what are the features of a high quality home environment?
- stimulation
- physical organization
- emotional support
- modeling and encouragement
- variety in stimulation
- appropriate use of physical punishment
what are some examples of stimulation?
toys, games, reading, language, academics
what are the two types of preschool?
child centered and academic centered
what is child centered preschool?
where children select from a wide variety of activities and learn through play
what is academic centered preschool?
where teachers structure learning with formal lessons involving: letters, numbers, colors, shapes repetition and drill
what is the most common form of educational media?
television/video
what is the most effective form of educational media?
slow paced narrative programs
what are the benefits of slow paced narrative programs?
- gains in early literacy, and math skills
- more elaborate make believe play
- higher academic achievement
what kind of TV can be harmful in excessive amounts?
entertainment TV
what are the benefits of learning with computers?
- improves problem solving and metacognition
2.can support writing skills
can computers be harmful to children?
yes, Excessive use
for entertainment
can be harmful leading
to isolation, anxiety
and depression
true or false, Preschoolers who develop well intellectually have homes rich in educational toys
and books.
true
true or false, By age 4, intelligence tests are good
predictors of later IQ and academic achievement.
false
true or false, Both preschool and high-quality child-care
programs have planned educational experiences
aimed at enhancing the development of 2- to 5-
year-olds.
true
true or false, In academic preschools, teachers
provide activities from which children select, and
most of the day is devoted to play.
false
true or false, Although Montessori children outperform controls on tests of early literacy and math skills,
they tend to be aggressive and socially awkward
false
true or false, One weakness of Project Head Start is that parents are rarely involved in program planning or policy councils.
true
what is project headstart?
Project Head Start was an eight-week summer program that began in 1965 to help low-income families break the cycle of poverty. It was designed to provide a comprehensive program for preschool children to meet their needs in the areas of health, nutrition, education, social, emotional, and psychological development.
true or false, Head Start and similar interventions are
highly cost-effective when compared with the cost
of providing special education, treating criminal behavior and delinquency, and supporting
unemployed adults.
true
true or false, Good childcare enhances cognitive,
language, and social development, especially for
low-SES children.
true
true or false, About 90 percent of U.S. children live in
homes with one or more computers, 80 percent of
which have an Internet connection.
true
true or false, Viewing educational television is
harmful and detracts from children’s school
success and social experiences.
false
