Childhood Flashcards
Definition
The standard intelligence test used in childhood, consisting of different scales composing a variety of subtests.
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
Definition
Any hostile or destructive act.
Aggression
The prevalence of obesity is _____ during preschool. (rising/leveling off/declining)
The prevalence of obesity is declining during preschool.
Definition
A hostile or destructive act initiated to achieve a goal.
Proactive aggression
What is theory of mind and when does it emerge?
The cognitive capacity to understand that others have different perspectives and beliefs from theirs that emerges around 4 years old
What aspects of egocentrism are developing during childhood?
The ability to take others’ perspectives
Understanding that others think
Definition
In Piaget’s conservation tasks, the preoperational child’s tendency to fix on the most visually striking feature of a substance and not take other dimensions into account.
Centering
Define
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
The standard intelligence test used in childhood, consisting of different scales composing a variety of subtests.
You are telling a friend about the deficiencies of relying on a child’s IQ score. Pick out the two arguments you might make.
a) The tests are not reliable; children’s scores typically change a lot during the elementary school years.
b) The tests are not valid predictors of school performance.
c) As people have different abilities, a single IQ score may not tell us much about a child’s unique gifts.
d) As poor children are at a disadvantage in taking the test, you should not use the IQ scores as an index of “genetic school-related talents” for low-income children.
c and d
In a sentence, explain the basic mental difference between an 8-year-old in the concrete operational stage and a preoperational 4-year-old.
Children in concrete operations can step back from their current perceptions and think conceptually, while preoperational children can’t go beyond how things immediately appear.
Define
Decentering
In Piaget’s conservation tasks, the concrete operational child’s ability to look at several dimensions of an object or substance.
What does language allow preschoolers to do?
- Represent actions symbolically
- Think beyond present to future
- Consider several possibilities at a time
Define
Learned helplessness
A state that develops when a person feels incapable of affecting the outcome of events, and gives up without trying.
Definition
Piagetian tasks that involve changing the shape of a substance to determine whether children can go beyond the way that substance’s visually appearance and understand that the volume is retained
Conservation tasks
Definition
Measures that evaluate a child’s knowledge in specific school-related areas.
Achievement tests
Define
Self-awareness
The ability to observe our actions from an outside frame of reference and to reflect on our inner state.
Definition
A learning strategy in which people repeat information to embed it in to memory.
Rehearsal
Define
Dyslexia
A learning disorder that is characterized by reading difficulties, lack of fluency, and poor word recognition that is often genetic in origin.
Define
Authoritative parents
In the parenting-styles framework, the best possible child-rearing style, in which parents rank high on both nurturance and discipline, providing both love and clear family rules.
A teacher wants to intervene with a student who has been teasing a classmate. Identify which statement is guilt-producing, which is shame-producing, and which involves the use of induction. Then, name which response(s) would promote prosocial behavior.
a) “Think of how bad Johnny must feel.”
b) “If that’s how you act, you can sit by yourself. You’re not nice enough to be with the other kids.”
c) “I’m disappointed in you. You are usually such a good kid.”
a = induction; good for promoting prosocial behavior; b = shame; bad strategy; and c = guilt; good for promoting prosocial behavior
What are the key concepts of language during childhood?
Syntax - ways in which children combine words and phrases to form sentences
Pragmatics - aspect of language relating to communicating effectively and appropriately
Private speech
Social speech
Definition
Evaluating oneself as either “good” or “bad” as a result of comparing the self to other people.
Self-esteem
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s belief that human beings make everything in nature.
Artificialism
What happens to inhibition across childhood?
It greatly increases
What are the two types of motivated aggression?
Proactive aggression
Reactive aggression
Definition
In Piaget’s framework, the type of cognition characteristic of children aged 8 to 11, marked by the ability to reason about the world in a more logical, adult way.
Concrete operational thinking
Definition
A hostile or destructive act designed to cause harm to a person’s relationships.
Relational aggression
Definition
In Piaget’s conservation tasks, the concrete operational child’s ability to look at several dimensions of an object or substance.
Decentering
Define
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
In Vygotsky’s theory, the gap between a child’s ability to solve a problem totally on his own and his potential knowledge if taught by a more accomplished person.
What are examples of motor skill milestones seen at age 4?
- Cuts paper, approximates circle
- Walks down stairs, alternating feet
- Catches and controls a large bounced ball across the body
Define
Preoperational thinking
In Piaget’s theory, the type of cognition characteristic of children aged 2 to 7, marked by an inability to step back from one’s immediate perceptions and think conceptually.
Melanie is a toddler. In predicting her chance of later weight struggles, you might look to (pick right alternative): Melanie’s mom’s weight; whether Melanie was born premature; Melanie’s weight again during the past year; all of these forces.
All of these forces predict later overweight.
Definition
In the parenting-styles framework, the best possible child-rearing style, in which parents rank high on both nurturance and discipline, providing both love and clear family rules.
Authoritative parents
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s inability to grasp that a person’s core “self” stays the same despite changes in external appearance.
Identity constacy
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s inability to understand that other people have different points of view from their own.
Egocentrism
Jessica has terrific gross motor skills but trouble with fine motor skills. Select the two sports from this list that Jessica would be most likely to excel at: long-distance running, tennis, water ballet, the high jump, bowling.
Long-distance running and the high jump would be ideal for Jessica, as these sports heavily tap into gross motor skills.
What happens to the corpus callosum during childhood?
It becomes thicker
Mario, a fourth grader, feels that everyone is out to get him. Give the name for Mario’s negative worldview.
Mario has a hostile attributional bias.
What are the applications of Vygotsky’s theory?
Children are seen as active participants in their education
You interviewed a 4-year-old and a fourth grader for your class project in lifespan development, but mixed up your interview notes. Which statement was made by the 4-year-old?
“My friend Megan is better at math than me.”
“Sometimes I get mad at my friends, but maybe it’s because I’m too stubborn.”
“I have a cat named Kit, and I’m the smartest girl in the world.”
“I have a cat named Kit, and I’m the smartest girl in the world.”
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the type of cognition characteristic of children aged 2 to 7, marked by an inability to step back from one’s immediate perceptions and think conceptually.
Preoperational thinking
The best age to intervene to prevent obesity is: (a) birth–age 1; (b) age 3–4; (c) the teenage years (choose a, b, or c).
The best age to intervene to prevent obesity is birth age 1.
Alyssa wants to replace Brianna as Chloe’s best friend, so she spreads horrible rumors about Brianna. Brianna overhears Alyssa dissing her and starts slapping Alyssa. Of the four types of aggression discussed in this section—direct, proactive, reactive, relational—which two describe Alyssa’s behavior, and which two fit Brianna’s actions?
Alyssa = proactive, relational. Brianna = direct, reactive
Cotonia tells you that children need to be taught to be caring and helpful. Calista disagrees, saying that the impulse to be prosocial is built into human nature. In a sentence or two explain why both statements are correct.
Calista is right that the impulse to be prosocial seems biologically built in, as toddlers get joy from spontaneously performing helpful acts. Cotonia is correct, however, that adults need to nurture this behavior by modeling caring acts, being sensitive to a child’s emotions, defining the child as good, and using induction.
What are the two personality styles regarding emotion regulation?
Externalising tendencies
Internalising tendencies
Define
Aggression
Any hostile or destructive act.
Define
Rejecting-neglecting parents
In the parenting-styles framework, the worst child-rearing approach, in which parents provide little discipline and little nurturing or love.
Definition
The label for any impairment in language or any deficit related to listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or understanding mathematics.
Specific learning disorder
Definition
The area at the uppermost front of the brain responsible for reasoning and planning our actions.
Frontal lobes
Define
Scaffolding
The process of teaching new skills by entering a child’s zone of proximal development and tailoring one’s efforts to that person’s competence level.
Definition
A personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
Internalising tendencies
If you learn that a colleague was in an accident and has frontal-lobe damage, what impairments might you expect?
This is a disaster! Your colleague might have trouble with everything from regulating his physical responses, to analyzing problems, to inhibiting his actions.
Define
Egocentrism
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s inability to understand that other people have different points of view from their own.
Define
Early childhood
The first phase of childhood, lasting from age 3 through kindergarten, or about age 5.
Definition
A learning strategy in which people manage their awareness so as to attend only to what is relevant and to filter out unneeded information.
Selective attention
Define
Working memory
In information-processing theory, the limited‑capacity gateway system containing all of the material that we can keep in awareness at a single moment. The material in this system is either processed for more permanent storage or lost.
Define
Reactive aggression
A hostile or destructive act carried out in response to being frustrated or hurt.
Definition
The process of teaching new skills by entering a child’s zone of proximal development and tailoring one’s efforts to that person’s competence level.
Scaffolding
What are the Pros and Cons of Vygotsky’s theory?
Pros
- Increasingly influential in the last decade
- Growing body of research on the importance of social interaction in promoting cognitive development
- Growing body of multicultural and cross-cultural research
Cons
- Lack of precision in conceptualization of cognitive growth
- Lack of detail on how attention and memory develop and how children’s natural cognitive capabilities unfold
Define
Executive functions
Any frontal-lobe ability that allows us to inhibit our responses and to plan and direct our thinking.
Definition
The label for significantly impaired cognitive functioning, measured by deficits in behavior accompanied by having an IQ of 70 or below.
Intellectual disability
Define
Gifted
The label for superior intellectual functioning characterized by an IQ score of 130 or above, showing that a child ranks in the top 2 percent of his age group.
Definition
The tendency of highly aggressive children to see motives and actions as threatening when they are actually benign.
Hostile attributional bias
Define
Animism
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s belief that inanimate objects are alive.
Define
Concrete operational thinking
In Piaget’s framework, the type of cognition characteristic of children aged 8 to 11, marked by the ability to reason about the world in a more logical, adult way.
Define
Artificialism
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s belief that human beings make everything in nature.
Krista, a school psychologist, is concerned about two students: Paul, who bursts out in rage and is continually misbehaving; and Jeremy, who is timid, anxious, and sad. Krista describes Paul as having internalizing/externalizing tendencies and Jeremy as having internalizing/externalizing tendencies, and she says that issues with emotion regulation are a problem for Paul/Jeremy/both boys.
Paul has externalizing tendencies; Jeremy has internalizing tendencies; and issues with emotion regulation are problems for both boys.
Definition
In the parenting-styles framework, a type of child-rearing in which parents provide plenty of rules but rank low on child-centeredness, stressing unquestioning obedience.
Authoritarian parents
What are examples of motor skill milestones seen at age 6?
- Copies two short words
- Hops on each foot for 1 meter but still holds railing
- Catches and controls a 10-inch ball in hands with arms in front of body
What are the three memory stores outlined by the information processing approach?
Sensory store
Working memory store
Long-term store
Define
Self-esteem
Evaluating oneself as either “good” or “bad” as a result of comparing the self to other people.
When Steven played hide-and-seek with his 4-year-old nephew, he realized that while Ethan could run very well, the child was having trouble not betraying his hiding place and understanding the rules of the game. The reason is that Ethan’s _________ cortex is on an earlier developmental timetable than his _________ lobes.
Ethan’s motor cortex is on an earlier developmental timetable than his frontal lobes.
What are the two forms of aggression?
Direct aggression
Relational aggression
Definition
In information-processing theory, the limited‑capacity gateway system containing all of the material that we can keep in awareness at a single moment. The material in this system is either processed for more permanent storage or lost.
Working memory
Definition
A hostile or destructive act carried out in response to being frustrated or hurt.
Reactive aggression
Define
Rehearsal
A learning strategy in which people repeat information to embed it in to memory.
What did Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory propose?
That infants are born with a few elementary mental functions (attention, sensation, perception and memory) that are eventually transformed by the culture into new and more sophisticated mental processes he called higher mental functions.
He also proposed that cognition is the results of social interactions in which children learn through guided participation
What period is characterised by symbolic thinking?
Preoperational period
Definition
The second phase of childhood, covering the elementary school years, from about age 6 to 11.
Middle childhood
Montana’s parents make firm rules but value their children’s input about family decisions. Pablo’s parents have rules for everything and tolerate no ifs, ands, or buts. Sara’s parents don’t really have rules. At their house it’s always playtime and time to indulge the children. Which parenting style is being used by Montana’s parents? By Pablo’s parents? By Sara’s parents?
Montana’s parents = authoritative. Pablo’s parents = authoritarian. Sara’s parents = permissive.
What are examples of motor skill milestones seen at age 2?
- Picks up small objects with thumb and forefinger, feeds self with spoon
- Walks unassisted, usually by 12 months
- Rolls a ball or flings it awkwardly
Define
Industry vs. inferiority
Erik Erikson’s term for the psychosocial task of middle childhood involving managing our emotions and realizing that real-world success involves hard work.
Define
Permissive parents
In the parenting-styles framework, a type of child-rearing in which parents provide few rules but rank high on child-centeredness, being extremely loving but providing little discipline.
What stage of Piaget’s approach to cognitive development are 8-12 year olds in?
Concrete operational
Define
Specific learning disorder
The label for any impairment in language or any deficit related to listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or understanding mathematics.
Definition
In the parenting-styles framework, the worst child-rearing approach, in which parents provide little discipline and little nurturing or love.
Rejecting-neglecting parents
Identify which of the following boys has internalizing or externalizing tendencies and then, for one of these children, design an intervention using principles spelled out in this section: Ramon sees himself as wonderful, but he is having serious trouble getting along with his teachers and the other kids; Jared is a great student, but when he gets a B instead of an A, he decides that he’s “dumb” and gets too depressed to work.
Ramon = externalizing tendencies. Jared = internalizing tendencies. Suggested intervention for Ramon: Point out his realistic problems (“You are having trouble in X, Y, Z areas.”), but cushion criticisms with plenty of love. Suggested intervention for Jared:Continually point out reality (“No one can always get A’s. In fact, you are a fabulous student.”). Get Jared to identify his “hopeless and helpless” ways of thinking, and train him to substitute more accurate perceptions.
Define
Class inclusion
The understanding that a general category can encompass several subordinate elements.
Define
Authoritarian parents
In the parenting-styles framework, a type of child-rearing in which parents provide plenty of rules but rank low on child-centeredness, stressing unquestioning obedience.
Define
Frontal lobes
The area at the uppermost front of the brain responsible for reasoning and planning our actions.
Define
Initiative vs. guilt
Erik Erikson’s term for the preschool psychosocial task involving actively taking on life tasks.
Definition
The understanding that a general category can encompass several subordinate elements.
Class inclusion
Definition
Erik Erikson’s term for the preschool psychosocial task involving actively taking on life tasks.
Initiative vs. guilt
Define
Proactive aggression
A hostile or destructive act initiated to achieve a goal.
The difference between potential competence and actual competence is called what?
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Definition
In Diana Baumrind’s framework, how parents align on two dimensions of child-rearing: nurturance (or child-centeredness) and discipline (or structure and rules).
Parenting style
Define
Internalising tendencies
A personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
Definition
Erik Erikson’s term for the psychosocial task of middle childhood involving managing our emotions and realizing that real-world success involves hard work.
Industry vs. inferiority
While with your 3-year-old nephew Mark, you observe many examples of preoperational thought. Give the Piagetian label—egocentrism, animism, no conservation, artificialism, identity constancy—for each of the following:
a) Mark tells you that the big tree in the garden is watching him.
b) When you stub your toe, Mark gives you his favorite stuffed animal.
c) Mark tells you that his daddy made the sun.
d) Mark says, “There’s more now,” when you pour juice from a wide carton into a skinny glass.
e) Mark tells you that his sister turned into a princess yesterday when she put on a costume.
(a) animism; (b) egocentrism; (c) artificialism; (d) can’t conserve; (e) (no) identity constancy
Define
Selective attention
A learning strategy in which people manage their awareness so as to attend only to what is relevant and to filter out unneeded information.
Definition
A learning disorder that is characterized by reading difficulties, lack of fluency, and poor word recognition that is often genetic in origin.
Dyslexia
True or False:
Self-confidence is related to nutritional levels in children
True
Definition
In the parenting-styles framework, a type of child-rearing in which parents provide few rules but rank high on child-centeredness, being extremely loving but providing little discipline.
Permissive parents
What are examples of motor skill milestones seen at age 5?
- Prints name
- Walks without holding on to railing
- Tosses ball overhand with bent elbows
What are the key concepts of Vygotsky’s theory?
Zone of proximal development
Scaffolding
Cooperative learning
Reciprocal learning
Definition
Any frontal-lobe ability that allows us to inhibit our responses and to plan and direct our thinking.
Executive functions
The _____ is the portion of the human brain that takes more than two full decades to mature.
a) cerebral cortex
b) corpus callosum
c) pons
d) pituitary gland
a) cerebral cortex
Define
Relational aggression
A hostile or destructive act designed to cause harm to a person’s relationships.
Define
Externalising tendencies
A personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s belief that inanimate objects are alive.
Animism
Define
Emotion regulation
The capacity to manage one’s emotional state.
Which of Piaget’s stages is characterised by active and appropriate use of logic?
Concrete operational
Definition
In Vygotsky’s theory, the gap between a child’s ability to solve a problem totally on his own and his potential knowledge if taught by a more accomplished person.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Definition
In Piaget’s conservation tasks, the concrete operational child’s knowledge that a specific change in the way a given substance looks can be reversed.
Reversibility
Which lobe of the brain is responsible for executive functions, thinking and planning?
Frontal lobe
Four-year-old Christopher can recognize the alphabet, and is beginning to sound out words in books. Drawing on Vygotsky’s theory, Chris’ parents should (choose one): buy alphabet books, because their son will succeed at recognizing the words; buy ”easy-to-read” books just above their son’s skill level; challenge Chris by getting him books with complicated stories.
Buy Chris easy-to-read books that are just above his skill level.
Define
Hostile attributional bias
The tendency of highly aggressive children to see motives and actions as threatening when they are actually benign.
What does the information processing approach say about memory?
Information passes through different stores/stages to form a memory
What 5 areas do children draw on to determine self-esteem?
- Scholastic competence
- Behavioral conduct
- Athletic skills
- Peer likability
- Physical appearance
Definition
A state that develops when a person feels incapable of affecting the outcome of events, and gives up without trying.
Learned helplessness
Define
Achievement tests
Measures that evaluate a child’s knowledge in specific school-related areas.
How does language promote self-control?
- Helps school-age children control and regulate behaviour
- “Self-talk” used to help regulate behaviour
- Effectiveness of self-control grows as linguistic capabilities increase
Define
Identity constacy
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s inability to grasp that a person’s core “self” stays the same despite changes in external appearance.
Definition
The first phase of childhood, lasting from age 3 through kindergarten, or about age 5.
Early childhood
What is centration?
The ability to concentrate on one aspect of an object/situation (obvious elements in sight) while ignoring others
Define
Centering
In Piaget’s conservation tasks, the preoperational child’s tendency to fix on the most visually striking feature of a substance and not take other dimensions into account.
Define
Parenting style
In Diana Baumrind’s framework, how parents align on two dimensions of child-rearing: nurturance (or child-centeredness) and discipline (or structure and rules).
Working memory capacity __________ across childhood
Working memory capacity increases across childhood
Malik hasn’t been doing well in school, and his achievement test scores have consistently been well below average for his grade. On the WISC, Malik gets an IQ score of 115. What is your conclusion?
Malik has a learning disability.
How is childhood obesity usually measure?
BMI
In a sentence, explain why language is the core ability that makes human beings special.
Language is what really allows us to penetrate other minds—and our superior mindreading ability is what makes us different from other animals.
Why is middle childhood the only time when girls on average are taller than boys?
Girls have a growth spurt at 10 years which is earlier than the growth spurt in boys
What developmental period are 3-6 year old in?
Preschool period
Definition
The ability to observe our actions from an outside frame of reference and to reflect on our inner state.
Self-awareness
What developmental period are 6-12 year olds in?
Middle childhood
Definition
The label for superior intellectual functioning characterized by an IQ score of 130 or above, showing that a child ranks in the top 2 percent of his age group.
Gifted
What are the differences between Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
What factors influence childhood obesity?
Social factors - reduced time to prepare nutritious meals, increased portion size, easy access to junk food
Technology - reduced exercise?
Bidirectional effects
Epigenetics
Define
Middle childhood
The second phase of childhood, covering the elementary school years, from about age 6 to 11.
What factors influence physical development during childhood?
- Sufficient or insufficient nutrition
- Disease
- Genetic inheritance
- Familial stress
Define
Intellectual disability
The label for significantly impaired cognitive functioning, measured by deficits in behavior accompanied by having an IQ of 70 or below.
Definition
A personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
Externalising tendencies
Define
Reversibility
In Piaget’s conservation tasks, the concrete operational child’s knowledge that a specific change in the way a given substance looks can be reversed.
Define
Conservation tasks
Piagetian tasks that involve changing the shape of a substance to determine whether children can go beyond the way that substance’s visually appearance and understand that the volume is retained
What is symbolic thinking?
The ability to use symbols, words, or objects to represent something that is no physically present
Definition
The capacity to manage one’s emotional state.
Emotion regulation
