Chapter 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

myelination

Answer 1

process by which the axons are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells, which increases the speed at which information travels through the nervous system

Question 2

preoperational stage

Answer 2

Piaget’s second stage from 2-7 years old, during which children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings, and symbolic thought goes beyond simple connections of sensory information and physical action; stable concepts are formed, mental reasoning emerges, egocentrism is present, and magical beliefs are constructed

Question 3

egocentrism

Answer 3

the inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s (salient feature of the first substage of preoperational thought)

Question 4

animism

Answer 4

the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action

Question 5

centration

Answer 5

the focusing of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others

Question 6

conservation

Answer 6

In Piaget’s theory, awareness that altering an object’s or a substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties

Question 7

social constructivist approach

Answer 7

an approach that emphasizes the social contexts of learning and that knowledge is mutually built and constructed (Vygotsky’s theory reflects this approach)

Question 8

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 8

Vygotsky’s term for tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone, but can be mastered with assistance

Question 9

Vygoysky’s scaffolding

Answer 9

changing the level of support to suite the cognitive level of the child

Question 10

executive attention

Answer 10

involves action planning, allocating attention to goals, error detection and compensation, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances

Question 11

sustained attention

Answer 11

focused and extended engagement with an object, task, event, or other aspect of the environment

Question 12

short-term memory

Answer 12

the memory component in which individuals retain information for up to 30 seconds, assuming there is no rehearsal of the information

Question 13

executive functioning

Answer 13

an umbrella-like concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain’s prefrontal cortex. Executive functioning involves managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and exercise self-control

Question 14

theory of mind

Answer 14

awareness of one’s own mental processes and the mental process of others

Question 15

phonology

Answer 15

the sound system of a language, including the sounds used and how they may be combined

Question 16

semantics

Answer 16

the meaning of words and sentences

Question 17

child centered kindergarten

Answer 17

education that involves the whole child by considering both the child’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development and the child’s needs, interests, and learning styles

Question 18

developmentally appropriate practice

Answer 18

education that focuses on the typical developmental pattern of children (age appropriateness) and the uniqueness of each child (individual appropriateness)

Question 19

project head start

Answer 19

government-funded program that is designed to provide children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences important for school success