Developmental Key Terms

Question 1

Jean Piaget’s thoughts

Answer 1

intelligence not a fixed trait, process that occurs over time due to biological maturation and interactive experience w/ the world, adapting child to environment

Question 2

intellectual development occurs thru?

Answer 2

active action w/ the world

Question 3

individuals build their own framework/understanding of the world thru?

Answer 3

assimilation and accommodation

Question 4

assimilation

Answer 4

world “fitted into” what child already knows, understood in terms of existing schema

Question 5

accommodation

Answer 5

existing schema expanded/or new ones created, existing schemata modified to fit new experiences

Question 6

schemata

Answer 6

mental representing of knowledge created over time based on experiences

Question 7

operations

Answer 7

logical manipulations dealing w/ relationships between schema, higher mental order structures that allow child to understand complex rules about environment

Question 8

Piaget’s theory

Answer 8

4 stages that reflect increasing sophistication of child’s thought, sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational

Question 9

sensori motor stage

Answer 9

(0-2 yrs) infant only knows world via immediate senses, lack of internal schema, egocentrism, object permanence

Question 10

pre-operational

Answer 10

(2-7 yrs) developing but dominated by external world and appearance, shows centration and lacks mental sophistication to carry out logical operations, lack of conservation, egocentrism

Question 11

concrete operational

Answer 11

(7-11 yrs) more complex and can carry mental operations like compensation and reversibility and can de-centrate

Question 12

formal operational

Answer 12

(11 yrs+) put oneself in other’s position w/o dolls, develop ideas/problems mentally w/o physical examples, can think hypothetically, approach problems in systematic and organized way

Question 13

egocentrism

Answer 13

child’s inability to see a situation from another’s point of view

Question 14

object permanence

Answer 14

understanding that objects exist even when they cannot be perceived

Question 15

centration

Answer 15

child only focuses on one aspect of an object or situation at a time

Question 16

lack of concentration

Answer 16

inability to realize that some things remain constant or unchanged despite changes in visible appearance

Question 17

de-centrate

Answer 17

more than one aspect of an object or situation can be taken in account at the same time

Question 18

compensation

Answer 18

a way people hide something that they cannot do well, by doing something else really well.

Question 19

reversibility

Answer 19

the ability to recognize that numbers or objects can be changed and returned to their original condition. For example, during this stage, a child understands that a favorite ball that deflates is not gone but can be filled with air again and put back into play.

Question 20

adaptation processes

Answer 20

enable transition from one stage to another, EX: assimilation

Question 21

Piaget evaluation

Answer 21

pros: first theory of its time, cross-cultural support, saw children as active learners not passive processors, educational implications, supporting studies
cons: timeline isn’t exact, sampling bias (used own children), over-estimated pals formal operational ability original studies too language dependent

Question 22

Vygotsky main point of theory

Answer 22

language, social interaction, and culture play role in development

Question 23

zone of proximal development

Answer 23

children can obtain certain level of proficiency on own, level that can be reached with help from more knowledgable other, & level that cannot be reached at all

Question 24

scaffolding

Answer 24

when one models how to complete task and assists student by answering questions/providing hints as needed

Question 25

resilience

Answer 25

maintaining adaptive functioning in spite of serious risk factors