chapter 2 Flashcards
accomodation
alter existing schemes or create new ones in response to new information
adaptation
in addition to the tendency to organize psychological structures, people also inherit the tendency to adapt to their environment
adolescent egocentrism
focused on own ideas
- sense of imaginary audience, of everyone watching, judging
cognitive development
gradual orderly changes in mental processes over time
concrete operations
around age 6 or 7 to 11 years
- organizes into categories, series; can reverse operations
conservation
the principle that the amount or number of something remains the same even if the arrangement or appearance is changed, as long as nothing is added and nothing is taken away
cultural tools
vygotsky believed that cultural tools, including technical tools (e.g., printing presses, plows, rulers, abacuses, graph paper—today, we would add mobile devices, computers, the Internet, real-time translators for mobile devices and chats, search engines, digital organizers and calendars, assistive technologies for students with learning challenges, etc.) and psychological tools (signs and symbol systems, e.g., numbers and mathematical systems, Braille and sign language, maps, works of art, codes, and language) play very important roles in cognitive development
example:nas long as the culture provides only Roman numerals for representing quantity, certain ways of thinking mathematically—from long division to calculus—are difficult or impossible. But if a number system has a zero, fractions, positive and negative values, and an infinite quantity of numbers, then much more is possible.
physical development
changes in the body structure over time
personal development
changes in individual’s personality
social development
changes over time in ways of relating to others
cognitive development
gradual orderly changes in mental processes over time
egocentric
assume others experience the world the way you do (your viewpoint is also their viewpoint); it simply means children often assume that everyone else shares their feelings, reactions, and perspectives.
example: if a little boy at this stage is afraid of dogs, he may assume that all children share this fear. The 2-year-old at the beginning of this chapter who brought his own mother to comfort a distressed friend—even though the friend’s mother was available—was simply seeing the situation through his own eyes.
formal operational
adolescence to adulthood
- think hypothetically, deductively, abstractly
- consider multiple perspectives
identity
person or object remains same over time
laterization
specialization of the two hemispheres of the brain
- left: language and logic
- right: spatial-visual, nonverbal information, emotions
maturation
genetically programmed biological changes, naturally occurring changes over time
neurons
store and transmit information
neurogenesis
production of new neurons
- continues into adulthood, especially in hippocampus
axons and dendrites
receives and transmits message
synapses
spaces between neurons
- neurons release chemicals, sending electrical signals across synapses
plasticity
brain’s dynamic tendency to remain adaptable/flexible
object permanence (sensorimotor stage)
objects have a separate, permanent existence
- beginning to construct mental representations
preoperational
around age 2 to 7 years
- develop language, think logically in one direction
private speech
talking quietly to self
- vygotsky saw it as guiding children’s thinking
- moving children in stages toward self-regulation
- verbalized or whispered until about age 9
- then becomes inner speech to gain self-control (directing attention, solving problems, planning)
reversible thinking
think through a series of steps, then mentally reverse the steps
schemes
the basic building blocks of thinking; they are organized systems of actions or thought that allow us to mentally represent or “think about” the objects and events in our world
example: sucking-through-a-straw-scheme
sensorimotor
age 0 to 2 years
- act on the environment, learn object permanence
- learn through reflexes, senses, movement
sociocultural theory
emphasis on interactions between children and more knowledgeable members of society
- knowledge is co-constructed during social interactions
zone of proximal development
phase at which a child can master a task if given appropriate help and support
- area between child’s current performance and what child could achieve with adult guidance
- area in which instruction can succeed– not too hard or too easy
