3.4-3.6 Flashcards
What is the sensorimotor stage of development?
From approximately birth to 2 years of age, where babies take in the world through their senses.
This stage includes learning through looking, hearing, touching, tasting, and grasping.
What is object permanence?
The awareness of an object even when it’s hidden, which unfolds gradually.
Before object permanence, what is out of sight is considered gone.
What is scale error in children?
Kids think they can get into things smaller than themselves.
What characterizes the preoperational stage of development?
From approximately 2 to 7 years of age, children develop the ability to use symbols and are egocentric.
Egocentrism is the inability to take on another’s point of view.
What is the theory of mind, and at what age does it typically develop?
Around age 5, it involves understanding one’s own and others’ mental states, feelings, perceptions, and thoughts.
What is the concrete operational stage?
From 7 to 11 years old, children understand the concept of conservation and can think logically but lack abstract thinking.
What is the formal operational stage?
The stage where individuals can reason abstractly, expanding reasoning from concrete to abstract thinking.
What does Chomsky’s theory suggest about language acquisition?
Humans have a predisposition to learn and understand language, involving specific brain areas.
This includes Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.
Define phonemes.
The smallest distinctive sound unit in a spoken language.
English has 40 phonemes.
Define morphemes.
The smallest unit in a language that carries meaning, which can be a word or part of a word.
What is grammar?
A system of rules in a language that enables communication and understanding.
What is syntax?
The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.
What is semantics?
The set of rules by which we derive meaning in a language.
Fill in the blank: The timing of language development varies, but all children follow the same _______.
sequence.
What are the stages of language development?
Crying, cooing, babbling, one-word stage, two-word stage, full sentences.
Each stage represents a different level of language capability.
What is stranger anxiety?
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning around 8 months of age.
Define attachment in the context of child development.
An emotional tie with another person, shown by seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress upon separation.
What is imprinting in animals?
A critical period of attachment that occurs in animals, similar to the sensitive period in humans.
What are the four styles of parenting?
Authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, neglectful.
What is learning?
Permanent changes in behavior that occur as a result of practice or past experiences.
Define stimulus.
Anything that produces change or sensation in humans or animals.
What is classical conditioning?
A type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.
What is the unconditioned stimulus (US)?
A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
What is spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?
The reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a rest period.
What is generalization in classical conditioning?
The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.
What is operant conditioning?
A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.
What is the law of effect according to Edward Thorndike?
Behaviors followed by positive consequences are strengthened, while behaviors followed by negative consequences are weakened.
What is shaping in operant conditioning?
A procedure where reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer to a desired goal.
What is a reinforcer?
A consequence that increases the chance that a behavior will occur again.
What are the two main types of reinforcers?
Positive and negative reinforcers.
What is continuous reinforcement?
Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs, leading to quick acquisition but also quick extinction.
What is the difference between fixed ratio and variable ratio schedules?
Fixed ratio reinforces a response after a specified number of responses, while variable ratio reinforces after an unpredictable number of responses.
What is punishment in the context of behavior?
An event that decreases the behavior that it follows.
What are the criticisms of B.F. Skinner’s theories?
Critics argue he dehumanized people, overemphasized external influences, and did not consider intrinsic motivation.
