Chapter 2: Cognitive and Linguistic Development

Question 1

cognitive development

Answer 1

Development of increasingly sophisticated thinking, reasoning, and language with age.

Question 2

developmental milestones

Answer 2

Appearance of a new, more advanced behavior that indicates significant progress in a child’s development.

Question 3

maturation

Answer 3

Gradual, genetically driven acquisition of more advanced physical and neurological capabilities over the course of childhood and adolescence.

Question 4

sensitive periods

Answer 4

Age range during which environmental conditions have an especially strong influence on an aspect of a child’s development (you may sometimes see the term critical period).

Question 5

biological systems theory

Answer 5

Theory proposing that a child’s everyday environments and the child’s broader social and cultural contexts interact in their influences on the child’s development.

Question 6

culture

Answer 6

Behaviors and belief systems that members of a long-standing social group share and pass along to successive generations.

Question 7

neurons

Answer 7

Cell in the brain or another part of the nervous system that transmits information to other cells.

Question 8

glial cells

Answer 8

Cell in the brain that supports neurons or general brain functioning.

Question 9

synapses

Answer 9

Junction between two neurons that allows transmission of messages from one to the other.

Question 10

neurotransmitters

Answer 10

Chemical substance through which one neuron sends a message to another neuron.

Question 11

cortex

Answer 11

Upper part of the brain; primary site of complex, conscious thinking processes.

Question 12

synaptogenesis

Answer 12

Universal process in brain development in which many new synapses form spontaneously.

Question 13

synaptic pruning

Answer 13

Universal process in brain development in which many previously formed but rarely used synapses gradually wither away.

Question 14

myelination

Answer 14

Growth of a fatty sheath (myelin) around the axons of neurons, enabling faster transmission of electrical impulses.

Question 15

plasticity

Answer 15

Ability to reorganize in order to adapt to changing circumstances; term often used in describing the human brain.

Question 16

cognitive tools

Answer 16

Concept, symbol, strategy, procedure, or other culturally constructed mechanism that helps people think about and respond to situations more effectively.

Question 17

appropriation

Answer 17

Process of internalizing but also adapting the cognitive tools of one’s culture for one’s own use.

Question 18

cognitive apprenticeship

Answer 18

Mentorship in which an expert and novice work together on challenging tasks, with the expert providing guidance regarding how to think about the tasks.

Question 19

schemes

Answer 19

Organized group of similar actions or thoughts that are used repeatedly in response to the environment.

Question 20

equilibrium

Answer 20

State of being able to address new events with existing schemes.

Question 21

equlibration

Answer 21

Movement from equilibrium to disequilibrium and back to equilibrium, a process that promotes development of more complex thought and understandings.

Question 22

formal operations stage

Answer 22

Piaget’s fourth and final stage of cognitive development, in which logical reasoning processes can be applied to abstract ideas as well as to concrete objects.

Question 23

formal operational egocentrism

Answer 23

Inability of adolescents in Piaget’s formal operations stage to separate their own abstract logic from the perspectives of others and from practical considerations.

Question 24

guided participation

Answer 24

Process in which a child gains new skills by working on a complex, meaningful task in close collaboration with an adult or more experienced peer.

Question 25

preoperational stage

Answer 25

Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development, in which children can think about objects and events beyond their immediate view but do not yet reason in logical, adultlike ways.

Question 26

preoperational egocentrism

Answer 26

Inability of children in Piaget’s preoperational stage to look at a situation from another person’s perspective; reflects a cognitive limitation, not a personality flaw.

Question 27

self-talk

Answer 27

Process of talking to oneself as a way of guiding oneself through a task.

Question 28

inner speech

Answer 28

Process of talking to and guiding oneself mentally rather than aloud.

Question 29

internalization

Answer 29

Process through which a learner gradually incorporates socially based activities into his or her internal cognitive processes.

Question 30

level of potential development

Answer 30

Upper limit of tasks that a learner can successfully perform with the assistance of a more competent individual.

Question 31

neo-piagetian theories

Answer 31

Theoretical perspective that combines elements of Piaget’s theory with more contemporary research and theories and suggests that development in specific content domains is often stagelike in nature.

Question 32

sociocognitive conflict

Answer 32

Situation in which one encounters and has to wrestle with ideas and viewpoints inconsistent with one’s own.

Question 33

sociocultural theory

Answer 33

Theoretical perspective emphasizing the importance of society and culture in promoting learning and development.

Question 34

phonological awareness

Answer 34

Ability to hear the distinct sounds of which spoken words are comprised.

Question 35

immersion

Answer 35

Second-language instruction in which students hear and speak that language almost exclusively in the classroom.

Question 36

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 36

Range of tasks that a learner can perform with the help and guidance of others but cannot yet perform independently.

Question 37

specific language impairment

Answer 37

Disability characterized by abnormalities in the production or comprehension of spoken language, to the point that special educational services are required.

Question 38

subtractive bilingualism

Answer 38

Phenomenon in which complete immersion in a new-language environment leads to deficits in a child’s native language.

Question 39

scaffolding

Answer 39

support mechanism that helps a learner successfully perform a challenging task (i.e. a task within the learner's zone of proximal development)

Question 40

guided participation

Answer 40

process in which a child gains new skills by working on complex, meaningful task in close collaboration with an adult or more experienced peer

Question 41

apprenticeship

Answer 41

mentorship in which a novice works with an expert for a lengthy time period to learn how to accomplish increasingly complex tasks within a particular domain

Question 42

metalinguistic awareness

Answer 42

ability to think consciously about the nature and functions of language

Question 43

disequilibrium

Answer 43

State of being unable to address new events with existing schemes; typically accompanied by some mental discomfort.

Question 44

class inclusion

Answer 44

the ability to classify objects as belonging to two categories simultaneously (acquired during concrete operational stage)

Question 45

object pemanence

Answer 45

Realization that objects continue to exist even when removed from view (acquired during sensorimotor stage)

Question 46

symbolic representation

Answer 46

representation of physical objects & events as mental entities (acquired during sensorimotor stage)

Question 47

egocentrism

Answer 47

in ability to take on the perspective of another person (characteristic of preoperational thought)

Question 48

centration

Answer 48

tendency to focus on one part of the situation (esp. inability to grasp conservation) (characteristic of preoperational thought)

Question 49

conservation

Answer 49

realization that the amount stays the same if nothing is added or taken away, regardless of alterations in shape or arrangement (acquired during concrete operational stage)

Question 50

seriation

Answer 50

the child's ability to order objects with respect to a common property (characteristic of concrete operational thought)

Question 51

hypothetico-deductive reasoning

Answer 51

deducing a hypotheses from a general theory

Question 52

transitive inference

Answer 52

ability to compare two objects via an intermediate object

Question 53

reciprocal teaching

Answer 53

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Question 54

cooperative learning

Answer 54

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Question 55

assisted discovery

Answer 55

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Question 56

immersion

Answer 56

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Question 57

dual immersion

Answer 57

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Question 58

bilingual education

Answer 58

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Question 59

subtractive bilingualism

Answer 59

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