Chapter 3 Flashcards
maturation
Process by which abilities develop through genetically based development with limited influence from the environment.
assimilation
the cognitive process that occurs when new information is altered to fit an existing scheme.
accommodation
The cognitive process that occurs when a scheme is changed to adapt to new information.
sensorimotor stage
Cognitive stage in first 2 years of life that involves learning how to coordinate the activities of the senses with motor activities.
preoperational stage
Cognitive stage from ages 2 to 7 during which the child becomes capable of representing the world symbolically - for example through the use of language- but is till very limited in ability to use mental operations.
concrete operations
Cognitive stage form ages 7 to 11 in which children learn to use mental operations but are limited to applying them to concrete, observable situations rather than hypothetical situations.
formal operations
Capable of THINKING LOGICALLY and abstractly, capable of formulating hypotheses and testing them systematically; thinking is more complex, and can think about thinking (metacognition).
Ages 11-15/20
metacognition
the capacity for “thinking about thinking” that allows adolescence and adults to reason about their thought process monitor them.
individual differences
Approach to research that focuses on how individuals differ within a group, for example, in performance on IQ tests.
postformal thinking
The type of thinking beyond formal operations, involving greater awareness of the complexity of real-life situations, such as in the use of pragmatism and reflective judgement.
pragmatism
Type of thinking that involves adapting logically thinking to the practical constraints of real-life situations.
reflective judgement
The capacity to evaluate the accuracy and logical coherence of evidence and arguments.
social cognition
How people think about other people, social relationships, and social institutions.
perspective talking
The ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others.
adolescence egocentrism
Type of egocentrism in which adolescence have difficulty distinguishing their thinking about their own thoughts from their thinking about the thoughts of others.
imaginary audience
Belief that others are acutely aware of and attentive to one’s appearance and behavior.
personal fable
A belief in one’s personal uniqueness, often including a sense of invulnerability to the consequences of taking risks.
“won’t happen to me”
optimistic bias
The tendency to assume that accidents, diseases, and other misfortunes are more likely to happen to other people than to one’s self.
Adolescence have a much stronger optimistic bias than adults.
hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Piaget’s term for the process by which the formal operational thinker systematically tests possible solutions to a problem and arrives at an answer that can be defined and explained.
egocentrism
EXTREME self consciousness.
Believe others are as interested in you as you are.
Profound sense of uniqueness.
pseudostupidity
“Over” reasoning.
Complicated reasoning for simple problems.
mutual perspective talking
Stage of perspective talking, often found in early adolescence, in which persons understand that their perspective talking interactions with others are mutual, in the sense that each side realizes that the other can take their perspective.
scaffolding
The degree of assistance provided to the learner in the zone of proximal development, gradually decreasing as the learners skills develop.
zone of proximal development
The gap between how competently a person performs a task alone and when guided by an adult or more competent peer.
guided participation
The teaching interaction between two people (often an adult and a child or adolescent) as they participate in a culturally valued activity.
hypocrisy
Ridicule others for “stupid” behavior.
Engage in the “stupid” behavior or endorse it.
