Chapter 7: Cognitive Development- An Information Processing Perspective Flashcards
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A childhood disorder involving inattention, impulsivity, and excessive motor activity, often leading to academic and social problems.
autobiographical memory
Representations of one-time events that are long- lasting because they are imbued with personal meaning.
automatic processes
In information processing, processes that are so well- learned that they require no space in working memory and, therefore, permit the individual to focus on other information while simultaneously performing them.
cardinality
The mathematical principle stating that the last word in a count- ing sequence indicates the quantity of items in the set.
central conceptual structures
In Case’s neo-Piagetian theory, networks of concepts and relations that permit children to think about a wide range of situations in more advanced ways. Generated once the schemes of a Piagetian stage become sufficiently automatic and brain development further increments processing speed, freeing enough space in working memory to consolidate schemes into an improved representational form.
central executive
In information processing, the conscious, reflective part of the mental system, which directs the flow of information by deciding what to attend to; coordinating incoming information with information already in the system; and selecting, applying, and monitoring strategies that facilitate memory storage, comprehension, reasoning, and problem solving.
cognitive self-regulation
The process of continuously monitoring and controlling progress toward a goal—planning, checking outcomes, and redirecting unsuccessful efforts.
control deficiency
Inability to control, or execute, a mental strategy effectively. Distinguished from production deficiency, utilization deficiency, and effective strategy use.
effective strategy use
Consistent use of a mental strategy, with correspond- ing improvement in performance. Distinguished from production defi- ciency, control deficiency, and utilization deficiency
elaboration
A memory strategy that involves creating a relationship, or shared meaning, between two or more pieces of information that do not belong to the same category.
emergent literacy
Children’s active efforts to construct literacy knowledge through informal experiences.
episodic memory
Recollections of specific personally experienced events.
executive function
In information processing, the set of cognitive operations and strategies necessary for self-initiated, purposeful behavior in relatively novel, challenging situations.
fuzzy-trace theory
A theory proposing that when we first encode information, we automatically reconstruct it into a vague, fuzzy version, or gist, which preserves essential meaning without details and is especially useful for reasoning.
gist
In fuzzy-trace theory, a vague, fuzzy representation of information that preserves essential meaning without details and is especially useful for reasoning
infantile amnesia
The inability of most people to retrieve events that happened to them before age 3.
inhibition
The ability to control internal and external distracting stimuli, which helps children remember, reason, solve problems, and manage their behavior in social situations.
long-term memory
In information processing,the largest storage area of the mental system, containing our permanent knowledge base.
metacognition
Awareness and understanding of various aspects of thought.
model of strategy choice
An attempt to apply an evolutionary metaphor, “natural selection,” to children’s mental strategies by analyzing how, when given challenging problems, children first generate and test a variety of strategies and then select the most accurate, efficient strategies, which “survive,” while others become less frequent and “die off.”
neo-Piagetian theory
A reinterpretation of Piaget’s stages within an information-processing framework. For example, Case’s theory attributes change within each stage, and movement from one stage to the next, to increases in the efficiency with which children use their limited working memory capacity.
ordinality
Order relationships (more than and less than) between quantities.
organization
In Piaget’s theory, the internal rearrangement and linking together of schemes so that they form a strongly interconnected cognitive system. In information processing, a memory strategy that involves group-
ing related information to improve recall.
phonics approach
An approach to beginning reading instruction that emphasizes coaching children on phonics—the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds—before exposing them to complex reading material.
Distinguished from whole-language approach.
phonological awareness
The ability to reflect on and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language, as indicated by sensitivity to changes in sounds within words, to rhyming, and to incorrect pronunciation—a strong predictor of emergent literacy knowledge.
planning
Thinking out a sequence of acts ahead of time and allocating attention accordingly to reach a goal.
production deficiency
Failure to produce a mental strategy when one could be helpful. Distinguished from control deficiency, utilization deficiency, and effective strategy use.
recall
The form of memory retrieval that involves generating a mental representation of an absent stimulus. Distinguished from recognition.
recognition
The simplest form of memory retrieval, which involves noticing that a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced. Distinguished from recall.
reconstruction
The type of memory that involves recoding information while it is in the mental system or being retrieved.
rehearsal
A memory strategy that involves repeating information to oneself.
scripts
General descriptions of what occurs and when it occurs in a particular situation, used to organize, interpret, and predict repeated events.
semantic memory
The vast, taxonomically organized and hierarchically structured general knowledge system, consisting of concepts, language meanings, facts, and rules
sensory register
The part of the information-processing system in which sights and sounds are represented directly but stored only momentarily before they either decay or are transferred to the short-term memory store.
short-term memory store
The part of the information-processing system in which attended-to information is briefly retained so we can actively “work” on it to reach our goals.
theory of mind
A coherent understanding of people as mental beings, which children revise as they encounter new evidence.
utilization deficiency
Failure to improve performance despite executing a mental strategy consistently. Distinguished from production deficiency, control deficiency, and effective strategy use.
whole-language approach
An approach to beginning reading instruction in which, from the start, children are exposed to text in its complete form, using reading materials that are whole and meaningful to promote appreciation of the communicative function of written language. Distinguished
from phonics approach.
working memory
The number of items that can be briefly held in mind
while also engaging in some effort to monitor or manipulate those items. A contemporary view of the short-term memory store.
