Chapter 3: Cognitive Development Flashcards
What are the FRONTAL LOBES?
part of the brain immediately behind the forehead; involved in higher brain functions like planning ahead and analyzing complex problems
What is SYNAPTIC PRUNING?
the overproduction of synapses is reduced, making brain functioning faster and more efficient, but less flexible
What is MYELINATION?
process by which myelin, a blanket of fat wrapped around the main part of the neuron, grows
What is EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING?
the ability to solve cognitive problems without becoming distracted and to adjust one’s strategy as the nature of a problem changes
What is the CEREBELLUM?
the lower part of the brain, beneath the cortex;
initially thought to only be involved with movement;
has been found to be important for math, music, decision-making, social skills, humor
What is GREY MATTER?
the outermost layer of the brain, composed mainly of neurons and unmyelinated axons
What is WHITE MATTER?
the part of the brain that consists of myelinated axons
What is the PREFRONTAL CORTEX?
the foremost part of the frontal lobe, involved in functions like planning and reasoning; also includes parts of the lower brain involved in emotions and motivation
new connections here in adolescence indicate growing emotional self-control
What is NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PLASTICITY?
the interaction bw the maturation of the brain and the environment
What are ASYNCHRONIES in the context of cognitive development?
the fact that not all parts of the brain mature at the same time; in adolescents, emotion-focused capacities of the brain have developed before the congitive and executive-focused capacities»_space; adolescents have difficulty integrating emotion and cognition effectively
Describe Paiget’s COGNITIVE STAGE MODEL.
sveral periods in which abilities are organized in a coherent, interrelated way
What is a MENTAL STRUCTURE in the context of Piaget’s development theory?
the organization of cognitive abilities into a single pattern, such that thinking in all aspects of life is a reflection of that structure
Describe the COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH.
approach to understanding cognition that emphasizes changes that take place at adifferent ages
What is MATURATION?
development due to genetically-based processes with limited influence from the environment «_space;accoding to Piaget, the driving force behind development from one stage to the next
What are SCHEMAS?
structures for organizing and interpreting information
What is ASSIMILATION?
when new information is altered to fit an existing scheme in a person’s mind
What is ACCOMODATION?
changing the scheme to adapt to the new information
Describe Piaget’s FORMAL OPERATIONS stage.
the stage of adolescence, from age 11-15/20; people learn to think systematically about possibilities and hypotheses - capacity to reason is increased
What is 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 defended and explained
What is ABSTRACT THINKING?
thinking in terms of symbols, ideas, and concepts
What is METACOGNITION?
the capacity to “think about thinking” that allows adolescents and adults to reason about their thought processes and monitor them
What is COMPLEX THINKING?
thinking that takes into account multiple connections and interpretations, such as the use of metaphor, satire, and sarcasm
In the context of research, what are INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES?
approach to research that focuses on how individuals differ within a group, such as performance on IQ tests
What is POSTFORMAL THINKING?
type of thinking beyond formal operations, involving greater awareness of the complexity of real life situations
What is PRAGMATISM?
type of thinking that involves adapting logical thinking to the practical constraints of real-life situations
What is DIALECTICAL THOUGHT?
type of thinking that develops in emerging adulthood, involving an awareness that most problem do not have a single solution and that problems must often be addressed with crucial pieces of information missing
What is REFLECTIVE JUDGEMENT?
the capacity of the emerging adult to evaluate the accuracy and logic of sometimes conflicting evidence and arguments
What is RELATIVISM?
considering the merits of competing views and trying to compare these
Describe DISCONTINUOUS vs CONTINUOUS cognitive development.
IPT approaches cognitive change as CONTINUOUS: gradual and steady, as opposed to DISCONTINUOUS: taking place in stages that are distinct from one another (Piaget)
What is SELECTIVE ATTENTION?
the ability to focus on relevant information while screening out information that is irrelevant
adolescents are better than young children at this, and emerging adults are better than adolescents
What is DIVIDED ATTENTION?
the ability to focus on more than one task at a time
adolescents are better than children, but divided attention might still result in less efficient learning than focused attention
What is SHORT TERM MEMORY?
memory for informatio that is currently the focus of your attention; retains info for 30 seconds or less
What is WORKING MEMORY?
an aspect of short term memory that refers to where informaton is stored as it is comprehended and analyzed
What is LONG-TERM MEMORY?
memory for information that is commited to longer term storage, so you can recall information after a period when your attention has not been focused on it
What are MNEOMIC DEVICES?
memory strategies, such as oragnizing information into coherent patterns; adolescents are more capable of using these strategies than young children
What is AUTOMATICITY?
the degree of cognitive effort a person needs to devote to processing a given set of information; adolescents show greater processing in a number of respects but automaticity depends more on experience than age alone
What is REDUCTIONISM?
breaking up a phenomenon into separate parts to such an extend that the meaning and coherence of the phenomenon as a whole becomes lost»_space; potential to do so with IPT and computer analogy
What is ENCODING?
the cognitive process whereby information is transferred from one form of memory to another, deeper form of memory; adolescents are able to encode more information, more relevant information, and in a more efficient way, as they age
What is MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL?
using repetition, usually verbal, to keep information active in short term memory for a longer among of time; increases the chance it will be transferred to long term memory
What is ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL?
a more effective technique that involves the connecting of new information in STM with information already stored in LTM
What is DEPTH PROCESSING?
an even more effective encoding strategy in wihch information is encoded via its meaning
What is CRITICAL THINKING?
thinking that involves not merely memorizing information but analyzing it
What is MEDIA LITERACY?
the ability to discern evidence-based and unibased information in media in order to make sound judgements
What is meant by ORGANIZATION CORE in terms of adolescent cognitive development?
cognitive development affects all areas of thinking, no matter the topic
What is SOCIAL COGNITION?
how people think about other people, social relationships, and social institutions
What is PERSPECTIVE TAKING?
the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others
What is PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?
promoting the well-being of others
What is THEORY OF MIND?
the ability to attribute mental states to one’s self and others
What is THE IMAGINARY AUDIENCE?
belief that others are acutely aware of and attentive to one’s appearance and bhaviour; an aspect of adolescent egocentrism
What is the PERSONAL FABLE?
belief in one’s personal uniqueness, often including a sense of invulnerability to the consequences of taking risk; an aspect of adolescent egocentrism
What is OPTIMISITC BIAS?
the tendency to assume that accidence, diseases and other misfortunes are more likely to happen to other people than to oneself; adolescents tend to have this stronger than older adults
What is the PSYCHOMETRIC APPROACH to intelligence testing?
an attempt to understand human cognition to evaluting cognitive abilities using intelligence tests
What is the WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN (WISC) and what are its components?
the most widely used intelligence test for children ages 6-16
- verbal comprehension index
- visual spatial index
- fluid reasoning index
- processing speed index
- working memory index
Whas is an INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT (IQ)?
a measure of a preson’s intellectual abilities based on a standardized test
In terms of IQ testing, what are AGE NORMS?
technique for developing a psychological test in which a typical score for each age is established by testing a large random sample of people from a vareity of geographical areas and social class backgrounds
In terms of IQ testing, what is RELATIVE PERFORMANCE?
an individual’s score compared to those of other people the same age
In terms of IQ testing, what is ABSOLUTE PERFORMANCE?
an individual’s score compared to those of other people, regardless of age
What is FLUID INTELLIGENCE?
mental abilities that involve speed of analyzing, processing, and reacting to information; peaks in emerging adulthood, then declines
What is CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE?
accumulated knowledge and enhanced judgement based on experience; tends to improve through the 20s and 30s
List the 9 types of intelligence highlighed by Howard Gardner.
Lingquistic
Logical-Mathematical
Musical
Spatial
Bodily-Kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturialist
Existential
What is CONVERGENT THINKING?
done to solve a problem with only one correct answer
What is DIVERGENT THINKING?
produces many answers to a single problem
What is the ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT?
the gap bw how competently a person performs a task alone and when guided by an adult or more competent peer
What is SCAFFOLDING?
the degree of assistance provided to the learner in the zone of proximal development, gradually decreasing as the learners’ skills develop
What is GUIDED PARTICIPATION?
the teaching interaction bw two people, often an adult and a child or adolescent, as they particiapte in a culturally valued activity
