Chapter 6: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

early childhood

Answer 1

includes the period between ages 2 1/2 and 6

Question 2

during early childhood, the cortex, tends to become more

Answer 2

wrinkled

Question 3

the corpus callosum becomes ________________ during early childhood

Answer 3

myelinated

Question 4

motor-skill development

Answer 4

• gross motor skills
• fine motor skills

Question 5

gross motor skills

Answer 5

the physical abilities that use the body’s large muscles to perform everyday functions
examples:
- walking
- running
- jumping

Question 6

fine motor skills

Answer 6

the use of the hands and wrists to coordinate movements and manipulate objects

Question 7

preoperational thought

Answer 7

ranging from ages 2 to 7 in which young children are capable of symbolic but not quite logical thought

Question 8

children in the preoperational stage

Answer 8

• are capable of symbolic thought and play
• cannot perform logical operations
• may hold animistic beliefs
• focus on their own perspective
• often struggle with the idea of reversibility

Question 9

symbolic thought

Answer 9

children use objects to stand in for, or symbolize, another object

Question 10

intuitive thought

Answer 10

children begin to have a more logical sense of how the world works but still display some limitations

Question 11

centration

Answer 11

children focus on one feature of a problem to the exclusion of other features

Question 12

magical thinking

Answer 12

children often come up with illogical or magical explanations for events they do not fully understand

Question 13

piaget emphasized the importance of development of a

Answer 13

protected and play-rich early childhood

Question 14

Vygotsky proposed that

Answer 14

• children’s cognitive maturation results from social interaction
• learning is best when customized to meet the needs of the individual learner

Question 15

conservation tasks

Answer 15

each involves asking children what has happened to an object or a set of objects that is rearranged or manipulated in front of them to look different

Question 16

Piaget’s three mountains task

Answer 16

Piaget’s test of how well children can imagine how someone else would see the world

Question 17

egocentrism

Answer 17

children’s inability to see the world from other people’s point of view

Question 18

scaffolding

Answer 18

Vygotsky’s term for teaching that engages children by considering their interests and individual abilities

Question 19

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 19

Vygotsky’s term for the range of what students can learn with adult help

Question 20

private speech

Answer 20

Vygotsky’s term for the language children use when they talk to themselves

Question 21

episodic memory

Answer 21

long-term memory for specific events

Question 22

working memory

Answer 22

a type of short-term memory that is essential to learning and to problem solving

Question 23

executive function

Answer 23

a group of thinking skills that allow you to control your behavior, suppress impulsive actions and implement long-term plans

Question 24

theory of mind

Answer 24

the ability to understand that other people have different beliefs, ideas, and desires

Question 25

executive function

Answer 25

helps suppress impulsive actions and implement long-term plans

Question 26

intrinsic motivation

Answer 26

the drive to do something because it is its own reward and just doing it feels rewarding

Question 27

extrinsic motivation

Answer 27

the drive to do something because you are hoping for a reward

Question 28

animism

Answer 28

the tendency to describe nonliving things as if they are alive and have human feelings or motives