Cognitive Development in INFANCY

Question 1

In Piaget’s theory, actions or mental representations that organize knowledge.

Answer 1

schemes

Question 2

Piagetian concept of using existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences.

Answer 2

assimilation

Question 3

Piagetian concept of adjusting schemes to fit new information and experiences.

Answer 3

accommodation

Question 4

Piaget’s concept of grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher order, more smoothly functioning cognitive system

Answer 4

organization

Question 5

A mechanism that Piaget proposed to explain how children shift from one stage of thought to the next.

Answer 5

equilibration

Question 6

The first of Piaget’s stages, which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age; infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with motoric actions.

Answer 6

sensorimotor stage

Question 7

Piaget’s first sensorimotor substage, which corresponds to the first month after birth. In this substage, sensation and action are coordinated primarily through reflexive behaviors.

Answer 7

simple reflexes

Question 8

Piaget’s second sensorimotor substage, which develops between 1 and 4 months of age. In this substage, the infant coordinates sensation and two types of schemes: habits and primary circular reactions.

Answer 8

first habits and primary circular reactions

Question 9

A scheme based on the attempt to reproduce an event that initially occurred by chance.

Answer 9

primary circular reaction

Question 10

Piaget’s third sensorimotor substage, which develops between 4 and 8 months of age. In this substage, the infant becomes more object oriented, moving beyond preoccupation with the self.

Answer 10

secondary circular reactions

Question 11

Piaget’s fourth sensorimotor substage, which develops between 8 and 12 months of age. Actions become more outwardly directed, and infants coordinate schemes and act with intentionality.

Answer 11

coordination of secondary circular reactions

Question 12

Piaget’s fifth sensorimotor substage, which develops between 12 and 18 months of age. In this substage, infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things that they can make happen to objects.

Answer 12

tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity

Question 13

Piaget’s sixth and final sensorimotor substage, which develops between 18 and 24 months of age. In this substage, the infant develops the ability to use primitive symbols.

Answer 13

internalization of schemes

Question 14

The Piagetian term for understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot directly be seen, heard, or touched.

Answer 14

object permanence

Question 15

Error that occurs when infants make the mistake of selecting the familiar hiding place (A) rather than the new hiding place (B) of an object.

Answer 15

A-not-B error

Question 16

Theory that infants are born with domain-specific innate knowledge systems.

Answer 16

core knowledge approach

Question 17

The focusing of mental resources on select information.

Answer 17

attention

Question 18

Process that occurs when individuals focus on the same object and are able to track another’s behavior, one individual directs another’s attention, and reciprocal interaction takes place.

Answer 18

joint attention

Question 19

A central feature of cognitive development, pertaining to all situations in which an individual retains information over time.

Answer 19

memory

Question 20

Memory without conscious recollection; involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed.

Answer 20

implicit memory

Question 21

Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.

Answer 21

explicit memory

Question 22

Imitation that occurs after a delay of hours or days

Answer 22

deferred imitation

Question 23

Cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas.

Answer 23

concepts

Question 24

A form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols. Language consists of the words used by a community and the rules for varying and combining them.

Answer 24

language

Question 25

The ability to produce and comprehend an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules.

Answer 25

infinite generativity

Question 26

The sound system of the language, including the sounds that are used and how they may be combined.

Answer 26

phonology

Question 27

Units of meaning involved in word formation.

Answer 27

morphology

Question 28

The ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences.

Answer 28

syntax

Question 29

The meaning of words and sentences.

Answer 29

semantics

Question 30

The appropriate use of language in different contexts.

Answer 30

pragmatics

Question 31

The use of short and precise words without grammatical markers such as articles, auxiliary verbs, and other connectives.

Answer 31

telegraphic speech

Question 32

An area in the brain’s left frontal lobe that is involved in speech production.

Answer 32

Broca’s area

Question 33

An area in the brain’s left hemisphere that is involved in language comprehension.

Answer 33

Wernicke’s area

Question 34

A loss or impairment of language ability caused by brain damage.

Answer 34

aphasia

Question 35

Chomsky’s term that describes a biological endowment enabling the child to detect the features and rules of language, including phonology, syntax, and semantics.

Answer 35

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Question 36

Language spoken in a higher pitch and slower speed than normal, with simple words and sentences.

Answer 36

child-directed speech

Question 37

an overall score that combines subscores in motor, language, adaptive, and personal-social domains in the Gesell assessment of infants.

Answer 37

developmental quotient (DQ)