Chapter 2 Flashcards
Compared to children
better at thinking about what is possible, abstract things, thinking about thinking, multidimensional thinking, relative rather than absolute
Deductive reasoning
A type of logical reasoning in which one draws logically necessary conclusions from a general set of premises, or givens
Hypothetical thinking
related to deductive reasoning, “if-then” thinking
Abstract thinking
a notable aspect of cognitive development, the ability to think about things that can’t be experienced directly through the five senses
Metacognition
The process of thinking about thinking, can lead to increased introspection and self-consciousness
Imaginary audience
the belief, often brought on by the heightened self-consciousness of early adolescence, that everyone is watching and evaluating
Personal fable
An adolescent’s belief that they are unique and therefore not subject to the rules that govern other people’s behavior
Adolescent relativism
not seeing things as absolute or black and white bit on a more relative way
Cognitive developmental view
A perspective on development, based on the work of Piaget, that takes a qualitative, stage-theory approach, which is a fixed sequence
Sensorimotor period
The first stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period roughly between birth and age 2.
Preoperational period
The second stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning roughly ages 2-5
Concrete operations
The third stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period roughly between age 6 and early adolescence
Formal operations
The fourth stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period from early adolescence through adulthood
Information - processing perspective
A perspective on cognition that derives from the study of artificial intelligence and attempts to explain cognitive development in terms of the growth of specific components of the thinking process (such as memory)
Selective attention
The process by which we focus on one stimulus while tuning out another
Divided attention
The process of paying attention to to or more stimuli at the same time
Working Memory
That aspect of memory in which information is held for a shot time while a problem is being solved
Long-term memory
The ability to recall something from a long time ago
Autobiographical memory
The recall of personally meaningful past events
Reminiscence bump
The fact that experiences from adolescence are generally recalled more than experiences from other stages o life
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A technique used to produce images o the brain, often while the subject is performing some sort of mental task
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
A technique used to produce images of the brain that shows connections among different regions
Speed
Older adolescents process information at a higher __ than early and pre- adolescents
15
By this age, adolescents are just as proficient as adults in basic cognitive abilities. As well as working memory, attention, and logical reasoning abilities increase throughout childhood and early adolescence.
Brain Structure
The physical form and organization of the brain
Brain Function
Patterns of brain activity
Electroencephalography (EEG)
A technique for measuring electrical activity at a different locations on the scalp
Event-related potentials (ERPs)
Changes in electrical activity in areas of the brain in response to specific stimuli or events
neurons
nerve cells
Synapse
The gap in space between neurons, across which neurotransmitters carry electrical impulses
neurotransmitters
Specialized chemicals that carry electrical impulses between neurons
Synaptic pruning
The process through which unnecessary connections between neurons are eliminated, improving the efficiency of information processing
Myelination
The process through which brain circuits are insulated with myelin, which improves the efficiency of information processing
Gray matter
The paths in the brain that we don’t use
White matter
cells other than neurons also play a role in transmitting electrical impulses along brain circuits.
Plasticity
The capacity o the brain to change in response to experience
Developmental plasticity
Extensive remodeling of the brain’s circuitry in response to experiences during childhood and adolescence, while the brain is still maturing
adult plasticity
Relatively minor changes in brain circuits as results of experiences during adulthood, after the brain has matured
Prefrontal cortex
The region of the brain most important for sophisticated thinking abilities, such as planning, thinking ahead, weighing risks and rewards, and controlling impulses
limbic system
an area of the brain that plays an important role in the processing of emotional experience, social information, and reward and punishment. areas of the brain responsive to social rewards are highly activated in teens during emotionally charged conditions
Response inhibition
The suppression of a behavior that is inappropriate or no longer required
Executive function
More advanced thinking abilities, enabled chiefly by the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, especially in early adolescence
Functional connectivity
The extent to which multiple brain regions function at the same time, which improves during adolescence
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter especially important in the brain circuits that regulate the experience of reward
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter that is especially important for the experience of different moods
Social Brain
When the brain becomes more sensitive to social clues
Zone of proximal development
Vygotsky’s theory, the level of challenge that is still within the individual’s reach but that forces an individual to develop more advanced skills
Scaffolding
Structuring a learning situation so that it is withing the reach of the student
Vygotsky
Argued that children and adolescents learn best in everyday situations when they encounter tasks that are neither too simple nor too advanced
Social Cognition
The aspect of cognition that concerns thinking about other people, about interpersonal relations, and about social institutions
Mentalizing
The ability to understand someone else’s mental state
Theory of mind
The ability to understand that others have beliefs, intentions, and knowledge that may be different from one’s own
Four studied concepts of social cognition
- theory of mind 2. thinking about social relationships, 3. understanding social conventions, 4. conceptions of laws, civil liberties, and rights
Social conventions
the norms that govern everyday behavior in social situations
Behavior decision theory
An approach to understanding adolescent risk-taking, in which behaviors are seen as the outcome of systematic decision-making processes.
5 step process to analyzing decisions of behavior
- identifying alternative choices, 2. identifying the consequences that might follow from each choice. 3. evaluating the costs and benefits of each possible consequence, 4. assessing the likelihood of each possible consequence, and 5. combining all this information according to some decision rule
Sensation seeking
The pursuit of experiences that are novel or exciting
Compared to adults adolescents are
more susceptible to influence, less future-oriented, less risk averse, less able to manage their impulses and behaviors
