Chapter 15: Intellectual Development of Preschoolers Flashcards
What allows for many new abilities in brain development?
Specialization
Pruning makes connections more efficient.
What is symbolic thought?
The ability to use symbols (words, sounds, images, etc.) to represent concrete things.
What is pretend play an extension of?
Deferred imitation.
List the areas where pretend play develops and changes during preschool years.
- Symbol realism
- Context
- Roles
- Number of actions
- Involvement of others
What are mental images?
Symbols of objects and past experiences stored in the mind.
How do mental images function in preschoolers’ thinking?
- Memories are stored as mental images
- Crucial to language meanings (semantics)
- Involved in spatial reasoning
- Important for inventive or creative thinking
What is a key development in preschoolers’ drawing abilities?
Attempt to draw objects realistically.
What is memory capacity in preschoolers related to?
What a person does with their memory, not how much is remembered.
Define working memory.
Improvements allow preschoolers to follow directions and connect events.
What is episodic memory?
The memory of personal experiences and events.
What is the preoperational stage according to Piaget?
The stage before children acquire logical thinking skills.
What are the two substages of the preoperational stage?
- Preconceptual substage
- Intuitive substage
Describe the preconceptual substage.
Children start to develop concepts, but many are incomplete or illogical.
What is a major development in the intuitive substage?
Children are able to grasp problems using mental imagery.
What is egocentrism?
The belief that everyone thinks in the same way as oneself.
What is centration?
Centering attention on only one part of an object or event.
What is transductive reasoning?
Mentally linking events without a logical reason.
What is overgeneralization?
The assumption that because something is true for one event, it is true for all similar events.
What are common misconceptions preschoolers have about cause-and-effect reasoning?
- Belief that any observable attribute can cause an effect
- Mistaken linking of events occurring close in time
- Belief that events must be recreated in the same way to get the same effect
What is animism?
Assigning living qualities to inanimate objects.
What is artificialism?
The belief that everything was made by a real or imaginary person.
What is finalism?
The belief that everything has an identifiable and understandable purpose.
At what age do preschoolers begin to sort and classify objects?
Around 4 years old.
What is seriation?
The ability to order by attributes.
What is the last concept to develop in childhood?
Time concepts.
What is egocentric speech?
Talking as though the listener understands in the same way.
What happens during the ‘sensitive period’ for language learning?
A child can learn a new language more easily before age 10.
What is overextension in grammar development?
Using a word too broadly, applying it to more objects than it should.
