Chapter 4 Flashcards
Why is early childhood an important period in lifespan development?
Early childhood represents a time period of continued rapid growth, especially in the areas of language and cognitive development
What is the overall physical growth rate during early childhood?
Grow about 3 inches in height and gain 4-5 lbs each year
True or False: unlike in infancy, growth occurs in spurts rather than continually during early childhood
False: just as in infancy, growth occurs in spurts rather than continually during early childhood
True or False: growth rate in early childhood is slower than that of infancy and is accompanied by a reduced appetite between the ages of 2 and 6
True
By age 3, the brain is at ~_______ its adult weight
75%
By age 6, the brain is at ________ its adult weight
95%
Corpus Callosum
A dense band of fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain
What happens with the corpus callosum during the ages 3-6?
The corpus callosum undergoes a growth spurt between ages 3 and 6, and this results in improved coordination between right and left hemisphere tasks
True or False: early childhood is the time period when most children acquire the basic skills for locomotion, such as running, jumping, and skipping, and object control skills, such as throwing, catching, and kicking
True
How does children’s art show progress during development?
Changes in a child’s drawing abilities are a function of improvement in motor skills, perceptual development, and cognitive understanding of the world
When does toilet training typically occur?
During the first two years of early childhood (24-36 months)
What are some elimination disorders that would need intervention by a child’s pediatrician?
- Enuresis
- Encopresis
Enuresis
Elimination disorder characterized by repeated voiding of urine into bed or clothes (involuntary or intentional)
Encopresis
Elimination disorder characterized by repeated passage of feces into inappropriate places (involuntary or intentional)
True or False: malnutrition by an imbalanced diet is an issue in the United States
True
What are some tips for establishing healthy eating habits in children?
- Recognize that appetite varies
- Keep it pleasant
- No short order chefs (don’t go off making different meals)
- Limit choices
- Serve balanced meals
- Do not bribe
Preoperational Stage
Piaget’s stage among 2-7 year olds where children use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas
Operational
Logical manipulation of information
What are the two stages of the preoperational period?
- Symbolic function substage
- Intuitive thought substage
Symbolic Function Substage
Occurs between 2 and 4 years of age and is characterized by the child being able to mentally represent an object that is not present and a dependence on perception in problem solving
Intuitive Thought Substage
Lasting from 4 to 7 years and is marked by greater dependence on intuitive thinking rather than just perception
Why Piaget thought that pretend play is important during the preoperational stage?
Piaget believed that children’s pretend play helped children solidify new schemata they were developing cognitively and this play, then, reflected changes in their conceptions or thoughts
Egocentrism
Tendency of young children not to be able to take the perspective of others, and instead the child thinks that everyone sees, thinks, and feels just as they do
Conservation
Ability to recognize that moving or rearranging matter does not change the quantity
Centration
Focused on only one characteristic of an object to the exclusion of others
Transductive Reasoning
Making faulty inferences from one specific example to another
Animism
Refers to attributing life-like qualities to objects
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Occurs when one can almost perform a task, but not quite on their own without assistance
Scaffolding
The temporary support that parents or teachers give a child to do a task
Egocentric Speech
Speech that is focused on the child and does not include another’s point of view
Private Speech
Inner speech
Divided Attention/Multi-Tasking
Ability to switch our focus between tasks or external stimuli
Selective Attention
Ability to focus on a single task or stimulus, while ignoring distracting information
Sustained Attention
Ability to stay on task for long periods of time
Sensory Memory
- First stage of the memory system
- Stores sensory input in its raw form for a very brief duration; essentially long enough for the brain to register and start processing the information
Short-Term/Working Memory
Component of memory in which current conscious mental activity occurs
Executive Function
Self-regulatory processes, such as the ability to inhibit a behavior or cognitive flexibility, that enable adaptive responses to new situations or to reach a specific goal
Clustering Rehearsal
Person rehearses previous material while adding in additional information
Long-Term Memory
Permanent memory
What are the two divisions of long-term memory?
- Declarative memories
- Non-declarative memories
Declarative/Explicit Memories
Memories for facts or events that we can consciously recollect
Non-Declarative/Implicit Memories
Typically automated skills that do not require conscious recollection
What are the two divisions of declarative memories?
- Semantic memories
- Episodic memories
Semantic Memories
Memories for facts and knowledge that are not tied to a timeline
Episodic Memories
Memories tied to specific events in time
Autobiographical Memory
Our personal narrative
Autographical memory is a component of _____________
Episodic memory
Neo-Piagetians
Theorists who provide “new” interpretations of Piaget’s theory
Constructivism
Children actively try to understand the world around them
Cognitive Constructivist
Focuses on independent learning
Social Constructivist
Relying on social interactions for learning
Theory-Theory
Tendency of children to generate theories to explain everything they encounter
Theory of Mind
Ability to think about other people’s thoughts
What are components of Theory of Mind?
- Diverse-desires
- Diverse-beliefs
- Knowledge access
- False belief
What does diverse-desires mean in Theory of Mind?
Understanding that two people may have different desires regarding the same object
What does diverse-beliefs mean in Theory of Mind?
Understanding that two people may hold different beliefs about an object
What does knowledge access mean in Theory of Mind?
Understanding that people may or may not have access to information
What does false beliefs mean in Theory of Mind?
Understanding that someone might hold a belief based on false information
Fast-Mapping
Words are easily learned by making connections between new words and concepts already known
Mutual-Exclusivity Bias
The assumption that an object has only a single name
Self-Concept
Our self-description according to various categories, such as our external and internal qualities
Self-Esteem
An evaluative judgment about who we are
Categorical Self
Focus on external qualities
