Chapter 2 Flashcards
Development
Orderly, adaptive changes that humans (or animals) go through from conception to death
Physical development
changes in body structure that take place as one grows
Personal development
Changes in personality that take place as one grows
Social development
Changes over time in the ways in which one relates to others
Cognitive development
gradual, overly changes by which mental processes become more complex and sophisticated
Maturation
Genetically programmed, naturally occurring changes over time
Coactions
Joints action of individual biology and environment– each shapes and influences the other
Sensitive periods
Times when a person is especially ready for or responsive to certain experiences
neurons
nerve cells that store and transfer information
neurogenesis
the production of new neurons
synapses
the tiny space between neurons; chemical messages are sent across these gaps
myelination
the process by which neural fibres are coated with a fatty sheath called myelin that makes message transfer more efficient
Lateralization
The specialization of the two hemispheres of the brain cortex
Plasticity
The brain’s tendency to remain somewhat adaptable or flexible
Organization
Ongoing process of arranging information and experience into mental systems or categories
Adaptation
adjustment to the environment
Schemes
Mental systems or categories of perception and experience
Assimilation
Fitting new information into existing schemes
Accomodation
Altering existing schemes or creating new ones in response to new information
Equilibration
Search for mental balance between cognitive schemes and information from the environment
Disequilibrium
In Piaget’s theory, the out-of-balance state that occurs when a person realizes that his or her current ways of thinking are not working to solve a problem or understand a situation
Sensorimotor
Involving the senses and motor activity
object permanence
the understanding that objects have a separate, permanent existence
Goal-directed actions
Deliberate actions toward a goal
Operations
Actions that a person carries out by thinking them through instead of literally performing them
Preoperational
The stage of development before a child masters logical mental operations
Semiotic function
The ability to use symbols–language, pictures, signs, or gestures–to represent actions or objects mentally
Reversible thinking
Thinking backward, from the end to the beginning
Conservation
Principle that some characteristics of an object remain the same despite changes in appearance
Decentring
Focusing on more than one aspect at a time
Egocentric
Assuming that others experience the world the way you do
Concrete operations
Mental tasks tied to concrete objects and situations
Identity
The principle that a person or object remains the same over time
Compensation
The principle that changes in one dimension can be offset by changes in another dimension
Reversibility
A characteristic of Piagetian logical operations–the ability to think through a series of steps, then mentally reverse the steps and return to the starting point; also called reversible thinking
classification
grouping objects into categories
Seriation
arrangement of objects in sequential order according to one aspect, such as size, weight, or volume
Formal operations
Mental tasks involving abstract thinking and coordination of a number of variables
Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
A formal-operations problem-solving strategy in which an individual begins by identifying all the factors that might affect a problem and then deduces and systematically evaluates specific solutions
Adolescent egocentrism
Assumption that everyone else is interested in one’s thoughts, feelings, and concerns
Neo-Piagetian theories
More recent theories that integrate findings about attention, memory, and strategy use with Piaget’s insights about children’s thinking and the construction of knowledge
Sociocultural theory
theory that emphasizes the role in development of cooperative dialogues between children and more knowledgable members of society; children learn the culture of their community through these interactions
Co-constructed
constructed through a social process in which people interact and negotiate to create an understanding or to solve a problem; the final product is shaped by all participants
Cultural tools
the real tools and symbol systems that allow people in a society to communicate, think, solve problems, and create knowledge
collective monologue
when kids all talk but don’t actually communicate
Private speech
children’s self talk, guides thinking and action. Eventually this becomes intenalized
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Phrase at which a child can master a task if given appropriate help and support
Scaffolding
Support for learning and problem solving; the support could be clues, reminders, encouragement, breaking the problem down into steps
Assisted learning
Learning by having strategic help provided in the initial stages; the help gradually diminishes as students gain independence
