Development - key Words Flashcards
Brain
the organ in your head made up of nerves that processes information and controls behaviour
Forebrain
: the anterior part of the brain, including the hemispheres and the central brain structures
Midbrain
: the middle section of the brain forming part of the central nervous system
Hindbrain
the lower part of the brain that includes the cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata
Anterior
directed towards the front, when used in relation to our biology
Posterior
directed towards the back, when used in relation to our biology
Cerbellum
an area of the brain near to the brainstem that controls motor movements (muscle activity)
Medulla Oblongata
connects the upper brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic responses
Involuntary reponse
: a response to a stimulus that occurs without someone making a conscious choice. They are automatic, such as reflexes
Neural connections
links formed by messages passing from one nerve cell (neuron) to another
Cognitive
thinking, including problem-solving, perceiving, remembering, using language and reasoning
Operations
how we reason and think about things
Object permanence
: knowing something exists even if it is out of sight
Symbolic play
children play using objects and ideas to represent other objects and ideas
Egocentrism
unable to see the world from any other viewpoint but one’s own
Animism
believing that objects that are not alive can behave as if they are alive
Centration
: focusing on one feature of a situation and ignoring other relevant features
Irreversibility
not understanding that an action can be reversed to return to the original state
Morality
: general principles about what is right and wrong, including good and bad behaviour
Scheme/schemata(s) (development)
mental representations of the world based on one’s own experiences. The plural of schema is ‘schemata’ though ‘schemas’ can also be used and is more common.
Adaptation
using assimilation and accommodation to make sense of the world
Assimilation
incorporating new experiences into existing schemas
Accomodation
when a schema has to be changed to deal with a new experience
Equilibrium
when a child’s schemas can explain all that they experience; a state of mental balance
Subjective
based on personal opinion or feelings
Validity
when the results of a study represent the situation they are testing (in real life)
Mindset
a set of beliefs someone has that guides how someone responds to or interprets a situation
Ability
what someone can do, such as maths ability or ability to play tennis. Dweck suggests ability can be seen as either fixed and innate or as able to be improved
Effort
when you try to do better using determination
Fixed mindset
believing your abilities are fixed and unchangeable
Growth mindset
believing practice and effort can improve your abilities
Working memory
has different parts for processing information
coming in from our senses, including visual and sound data, and also involves a decision-making part.
Short-term memory
our initial memory store that is temporary and limited
Rehearse
repeat information over and over to make it stick
Long-term memory
a memory store that holds potentially limitless amounts of information for up to a lifetime
Motor skills
actions that involve muscles and brain processes, resulting in movement
Decentration
being able to separate yourself from the world and take different views of a situation, so not being egocentric
Social learning
learning by observing and copying others
Self-regulation
limiting and controlling yourself without influence from others
Nature
explanations of behaviour that focus on innate factors (the things we are born with)
Nurture
explanations of behaviour that focus on environmental factors (the things that happen to us)
Qualitative data
data that is descriptive, not numbers, such as
words or pictures
Reliability
the consistency of an outcome or result of an
investigation (a measure)
Framework
a basic understanding of ideas and
facts that is used when making decisions
Person praise
someone praises the individual rather than what they are doing
Process praise
someone praises what is being done, not the individual
Entity theory/motivational framework
a belief that behaviour or ability results from a person’s nature
Incremental theory/motivational framework
a belief that effort drives behaviour and ability, which can change
Ecological validity
the extent to which the findings still
explain the behaviour in real life situations
Ethics
moral principles about how someone should behave in a society
Debrief
after an investigation, participants are given full disclosure of the study
Generalisability
the extent to which the results of a study represent the whole population, not just the sample used.
Morals
standards of right and wrong behaviour that can differ between cultures and can depend on the situation
Moral development
children’s growing understanding about right and wrong
Heteronomous
rules put into place by others
Autonomous
rules can be decided by the individual person
Norms
society’s values and customs, which a person in that society would be governed by
Nativist theories
theories that view morality as part of human nature
Moral identity
someone’s commitment to morals
