Chapter 5 Terms, Summary &. Review Questions Flashcards
Accommodation
Piagets term for modifying an old schema to fit a new object or problem
Assimilation
Piagets term that means applying a schema to new objects or problems
Cohort
group of people born at a particular time or a group of people who enter an organization at a particular time
Conservation
concept that objects conserve such properties as number, length, volume, area, and mass after changes in the shape or arrangement of the objects
Cross-Sectional Study
procedure that compares groups of individuals of different ages at the same time
Dishabituation
increase in a previously habituated response as a result of a change in stimulation
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
condition marked by physical deformities or mental impairments, caused by alcohol consumed by the mother during pregnancy
Fetus
organism more developed than an embryo but not yet born (from about 8 weeks after conception until birth in humans)
Egocentric
seeing the world as centered around oneself, with difficulty taking another persons perspective
Equilibration
Establishment of Harmony or Balance Between Assimilation and Accommodation
Habituation
decreased response to a repeated stimulus
longitudinal Study
procedure that follows individuals as they develop
Object Permanence
idea that objects continue to exist even when we do not see or hear them
Operation
according to Piaget, a reversible mental process
Preoperational Stage
according to Piaget, the second stage of intellectual development, in which children lack operations
Schema (pl. schemata)
organized way of interacting with objects
Selective Attrition
tendency of certain kinds of people to drop out of a study
Sensorimotor Stage
period early in life when behavior is mostly simple motor responses to sensory stimuli
Sequential Design
procedure that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
Stage of Concrete Operations
according to Piaget, period when children perform mental operations on concrete objects but still have trouble with abstract or hypothetical ideas
Stage of Formal Operations
according to Piaget, period marked by logical, deductive reasoning and systematic planning
Theory of Mind
understanding that other people have a mind, too, and that each person knows some things that other people dont know
Zone of Proximal Development
distance between what a child can do alone and what is possible with help
Zygote
fertilized egg cell
Which of these characterizes a cross-sectional study of development?
A- Researchers compare people from several cultures.
B- Researchers compare one group of people at several times as they grow older.
C- Researchers compare people of different ages, at the same time.
D- Researchers examine many aspects of behavior, for one group of people at one point in time.
C- Researchers compare people of different ages, at the same time.
Suppose a survey reports different political leanings by older adults than younger adults. A possible explanation is that people change their views as they age. Another is that older people have different priorities from younger people. What is still another possibility?
A- Demand characteristics
B- A cohort effect
C- Zone of proximal development
D- Equilibration
B- A cohort effect
Theoretically, which of the following drugs should produce effects similar to those of fetal alcohol syndrome, if a mother takes them during pregnancy?
A- Cocaine (which increases activity at dopamine synapses)
B- Anti-anxiety drugs (which increase activity at inhibitory synapses)
C- Nicotine (which stimulates acetylcholine synapses)
D- Caffeine (which increases heart rate)
B- Anti-anxiety drugs (which increase activity at inhibitory synapses)
Suppose an infant habituates to the sound ba, but when we substitute the sound boo, the infant fails to increase the sucking rate. What interpretation would be likely?
A-The infant hears a difference between the two sounds.
B-The infant does not hear a difference between the two sounds.
C-The infant prefers the sound ba.
D-The infant prefers the sound boo.
B-The infant does not hear a difference between the two sounds.
Suppose a newborn sucks to turn on a tape recording of its fathers voice. Eventually the infant habituates and the sucking frequency decreases. Now the experimenters substitute the recording of a different mans voice. Which of the following results would indicate that the infant detects a difference between the two voices?
A- The sucking rate increases.
B- The sucking rate decreases.
C- The sucking rate remains the same.
A- The sucking rate increases.
What evidence suggests that even 6- to 8-month-old infants understand object permanence?
A-They reach around an opaque barrier to grasp an unseen toy.
B- They ask for toys that they do not currently see.
C- They stare longer at events that would be impossible if unseen objects continue to exist.
D-After they have repeatedly seen one toy and habituated to it, they dishabituate when they see a new toy.
C- They stare longer at events that would be impossible if unseen objects continue to exist.
To demonstrate theory of mind, what must a child understand?
A- That someone else can have a false belief
B- That human mental abilities are more advanced than those of other species
C- That mental activity is inseparable from brain activity
D- That all mental activity requires sensory input
A- That someone else can have a false belief
A child watches an experimenter hide a small toy in a small room, and then tries to find a larger version of the same toy hidden in the same place in a larger room. At what age can most children first succeed on this task?
A- 4 years old
B- 3 years old
C- It depends on how you ask the question.
D- It depends on the childs interest in the toy.
C- It depends on how you ask the question.
One year ago, Sarah did not seem to understand conservation of number, volume, or mass. Today she does. According to Piaget, Sarah has progressed from which stage to which other stage?
A- Preoperational stage to concrete operations stage
B- Sensorimotor stage to preoperational stage
C- Concrete operations stage to formal operations stage
D- Formal operations stage to concrete operations stage
A- Preoperational stage to concrete operations stage
Which of the following would be evidence in favor of Vygotskys zone of proximal development?
A- Most 3-year-olds can observe a toy hidden in a small room and use it to locate a larger toy in a larger room, but -year-olds cannot.
B- It is possible to teach conservation of volume to many 6-year-olds but not many 4-year-olds.
C- Children in the stage of concrete operations have trouble with abstract or hypothetical ideas.
D- Intellectual development varies from one culture to another.
B- It is possible to teach conservation of volume to many 6-year-olds but not many 4-year-olds.
Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
Cross-sectional studies examine people of different ages at the same time. Longitudinal studies monitor people as they grow older. A sequential design combines both methods.
Cohort effects.
Many differences between young people and old people are not due to age but to the era in which they grew up.
Prenatal development.
The brain begins to mature long before birth. Exposure to drugs such as alcohol decreases brain activity and releases neurons self-destruct programs. Some people manage to do well in life despite unpromising circumstances.
Inferring infant capacities.
We easily underestimate newborns capacities because they have so little control over their muscles. Careful testing demonstrates greater abilities than we might have supposed.
Infant vision and hearing.
Newborns stare at some visual patterns longer than others. They habituate to a repeated sound but dishabituate to a slightly different sound, indicating that they hear a difference.
Infant memory.
Newborns suck more vigorously to turn on a recording of their own mothers voice than some other womans voice, indicating that they recognize the sound of the mothers voice. Infants just 2 months old learn to kick and move a mobile, and they remember how to do it several days later.
Piagets view of childrens thinking.
According to Jean Piaget, childrens thought differs qualitatively from adults thought. He believed children grow intellectually through accommodation and assimilation.
Piagets stages of development.
Children in the sensorimotor stage respond to what they see, hear, or feel at the moment. In the preoperational stage, they lack reversible operations. In the concrete operations stage, children reason about concrete problems but not abstractions. Adults and older children are in the formal operations stage, in which they plan strategies and deal with hypothetical or abstract questions.
Egocentric thinking.
Young children often fail to understand other peoples point of view.
Theory of mind.
Children gradually develop their ability to assess other peoples knowledge and beliefs, including false beliefs.
Appearance and reality.
Young children sometimes seem not to distinguish between appearance and reality. However, with a simpler task, they do distinguish. Children may show a concept under some conditions and not others.
According to Lev Vygotsky, children must learn
new abilities from adults or older children, but only within their zone of proximal development.
Adults
Adults revert to childlike reasoning in certain situations.
