Early Childhood Flashcards
Enhanced development in
the prefrontal cortex which
supports functions like
thinking, planning, and
regulating attention and
emotions.
Brain Maturation
a thick bundle of fibers linking the 2 hemispheres of the brain,
containing around 200
million nerve fibers.
Corpus Callosum
movement
(running, jumping,
skipping)
Motor Skills Development: Locomotion
the ability to handle an object
with control (throwing,
catching, and kicking)
Motor Skills Development: : Object Control Skills
skills requiring whole-body movement are improved as
children run and jump.
Motor Skills Development: Gross Motor Skills
movement with the use of
hands and upper extremities are also improved (pouring water in a container, drawing, coloring, buttoning coats, and using scissors).
Motor Skills Development: Fine Motor Skills
These changes are a
function of improvement in
motor skills, perceptual
development, and cognitive
understanding of the world
Child’s Art
Takes place within the initial two years of early childhood (24 to 36 months. The child’s level of physical and emotional preparedness is important to consider during training.
Toilet Training
In early childhood, there’s a
recommended “range” for sleeping hours.
Sleep
boys and girls may discover self-stimulation (masturbation) - which requires proper parental intervention.
Sexual Development in Early Childhood
the tendency for children to become very particular in their routines (playing, dressing, and most importantly - eating).
“Just Right” Phenomenon
concern for developing
nations and the establishment of a balanced diet.
Childhood Nutrition
Where children utilize symbols to represent words, images, and ideas.
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
(2-4 years of age)
Use of perception in
problem-solving.
Symbolic Function Substage
(4-7 years of age)
More dependence
on intuitive
thinking.
Intuitive Thought Substage
Assisted in reinforcing the
newly developing cognitive
schemata.
Pretend Play
Children exhibit these struggles to understand and consider the
viewpoints of others, tending to
project their own perspective onto situations.
Egocentrism
The ability to
understand that altering the
position or arrangement of matter does not alter its quantity.
Conservation Errors
focused on only one characteristic
Centration
Children in
the preoperational stage struggle with the concept that an object can belong to multiple categories.
Classification Errors
Drawing incorrect conclusions from a single specific example to another.
Transductive
Assigning human-like
characteristics to inanimate
objects.
Animism
Children can
almost perform a task but
only with assistance from
others.
Zone of Proximal
Development and
Scaffolding
Children talk to themselves.
Private Speech
not a unified function; it
comprises sub-processes
Attention
also called multitasking; the ability to switch our focus between tasks or
external stimuli.
Divided attention
our ability to
focus on a single task or stimulus while ignoring distracting information.
Selective attention
the ability to
stay on task for long periods of
time
Sustained attention
also called the sensory
register; stores sensory input in its raw form for a very brief duration, essentially long enough for the brain to register and start processing the information.
Sensory memory
also called short-term;
current conscious mental activity occurs. It requires conscious effort and
adequate use of attention to
function effectively
Working memory
refers to self-regulatory processes that enable adaptive responses to new situations or to reach a specific goal
Executive function
the person rehearses previous material while adding additional information
Clustering Rehearsal
also called
permanent memory
Long-term memory
memories for facts or events that we can consciously recollect
Declarative or explicit memories
memories for facts and knowledge that are not tied to a timeline
Semantic memories
tied to specific events in time; a
component of this is autobiographical memory, which is our personal narrative
Episodic memories
automated skills that
do not require conscious
recollection
Non-declarative or implicit
memories
theorists who provide
“new” interpretations of Piaget’s theory. They propose that working memory capacity is affected by biological maturation, and therefore restricts young children’s
ability to acquire complex thinking and reasoning skills
Neo-Piagetians
These theorist believed in constructivism, the idea that children actively build their understanding of the world
Piaget and Vygotsky
focusing on
independent learning
Piaget’s approach is cognitive
constructivism
emphasizing social
interactions
Vygotsky’s is social
constructivism
expand on these ideas by studying how children organize information and develop their own theories
Contemporary developmentalists
is the tendency of
children to generate theories to
explain everything they encounter. This concept implies that humans are naturally inclined to find reasons
and generate explanations for why things occur.
Theory-Theory
refers to the ability
to think about other people’s
thoughts. This mental mind reading helps humans to understand and predict the reactions of others, thus
playing a crucial role in social
development.
Theory of mind
is a common
measure to assess a child’s Theory of Mind.
- It tests whether a child can
understand that someone can hold a false belief about a situation.
The False Belief Task
In Piagetian terms, children
need to overcome egocentrism, where they primarily see the world from their perspective.
Egocentrism and Understanding
Beliefs
Solving tasks related to false beliefs is challenging for children before the age of four.
Challenges Before Age Four