Chapter 5 Cognitive Development Flashcards
the first stage of Piagets cognitive development lasting from birth-2
Sensorimotor Stage
logical processes that allow for flexible thought
Mental Operations
the second stage of Piagets cognitive development from ages 2-7
Preoperational Stage
third stage of Piagets cognitive development from ages 7-11
Concrete Operational
the fourth stage of Piagets cognitive development from ages 12 and on during which people develop abstract thought independent of concrete objects
Formal Operational
proceeding from particular to particular in thought, without making generalizations
Transductive Reasoning
gathering individual items of information and putting them together to form hypotheses and conclusions
Inductive Reasoning
beginning with a hypothesis or premise and breaking it down to see if its true
Deductive Reasoning
the act of trying to link ideas
Syncretism
the preoperational belief that inanimate objects have humanlike porperties
Animism
the tendency of children to focus attention on one detail and their inability to shift attention to other aspects
Centering
the ability to divide objects into nested series of categories
Hierarchical Classification
understanding that objects can be fit into different levels of hierarchies
Class Inclusion Relationships
the ability to solve problems such as “Tom is taller than Fred, and Fred is taller than Marty. Is Tom taller than Marty?”
Transitive Inferences
the act of lining things up in order from large to small or small to large
Seriate
tests used by Piaget to determine whether children had mastered concrete operations, such as understanding that changing and object’s appearance does not alter its fundamental properties
Conservation Problems
a way to solve problems using the scientific method; only one factor at a time is varied while all else is held constant
Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning
insisting upon high standards of behavior
Idealistic
discrepancy between what people say and what they do
Hypocrisy
the tendency to approach problems at much too complex a level and to fail, not because the tasks are difficult, but because they are too simple
Pseudostupidity
the inability to take the perspective of another or to imagine the other persons point of view
Egocentricism
adolescent’s belief that other are constantly paying attention to them
Imaginary Audience
adolescents belief that they are invulnerable and that their feeling are special and unique
Personal Fable
thinking about one’s thoughts and feelings
Introspection
an advanced form of reasoning that allows one to create new and better insights by integrating conflicting data
Dialectics
an approach to studying cognition that focuses on the perception, attention, retrieval, and manipulation of information
Information-Processing Approach
the process by which information is received and transduced by the senses, usually in a fraction of a second
Sensory Storage
the process by which information is still in the conscious mind, being rehearsed and focused on (also called primary memory)
Short-Term Storage
the process by which information is perceived and processed deeply so it passes into the layers of memory below the conscious level (also called secondary memory)
Long-Term Storage
the pace at which the brain perceives and manipulates information
Processing Speed
to develop new thoughts from old information
Inference
the conscious, deliberate manipulation of information
Thinking
a strategy used to disprove
Negation
a strategy used to confirm
Affirmation
looking for evidence that disproves a hypothesis
Elimination Strategy
looking for examples that match a hypothesis
Confirmation Strategy
looking at the world in a way that favors one’s own opinion
Self-Serving Bias
logical, constrained, useful thinking
Reasoning
abstract, theoretical guidelines
Principles
the ability to think about one’s own thought process
Metacognition
the ability to monitor and direct one’s thoughts
Executive Control
rules of thumb, general strategies or principles
Heuristics
a theory of decision making that says that adolescents can logically and analytically make choices, but that they often rely upon intuition and short-term benefits instead
Dual Process Theory
one’s belief about knowledge
Epistemology
believing that there are absolutes, universal truths; creates difficulty in distinguishing fact from opinion
Naive Realists
believing that there are absolute and universal truths but people are biased; differentiates from fact and opinion
Defensive Realists
those who cling rigidly to one belief
Dogmatists
those who resist rationality
Skeptics
the belief that truth is constructed but that some beliefs are more valid than others
Post-Skeptical Rationalism
the largest part of the human brain
Cerebrum
the cerebral lobe that is the center for solving problems involving spatial relationships
Parietal Lobe
the cerebral lobe that is the center for higher-order thought processes, such as planning and impulse control
Frontal Lobe
the cerebral lobe that is the center for producing and understanding language
Temporal Lobe
the part of the brain involved with learning, memory, and motivation
Hippocampus
the part of the brain that creates primitive emotional responses to the environment
Amygdala
an approach to cognitive development that focuses on the measurement of knowledge and thinking ability
Psychometric Approach
calculated by dividing the mental age (MA) by the chronological age (CA) and multiplying by 100
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
tests designed to assess mastery of specific subject matter or skills
Achievement Tests
the ability to identify plants and animals
Naturalistic Intelligence
