Me 3.4 Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan Flashcards
cognition
al the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
schema
A concept or framework that organises and interprets information.
assimilation
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.
accommodation
adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information.
sensorimotor stage
the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) at which infants know the world
mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
object permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
preoperational stage
the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.
conservation
the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
Pretend play
Being able to think of things as symbols. Occurs in the preoperational stage
egocentrism
he preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.
animism
a belief that inanimate objects are alive or have lifelike feelings and motivations. Occurs in preoperational children.
concrete operational stage
the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) at which children can perform the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete (actual, physical) events.
scaffold
in Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.
Stranger anxiety
fear and apprehension infants commonly display around those unfamiliar to them (starts at around 8 months of age)
zone of proximal development
the zone between what a child can and can’t do—it’s what a child can do with help. Where children learn the best
imaginary audience
The belief that a person is under constant, close observation by peers, family, and strangers. Shows in adolescence,
Theory of Mind
people’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states (feelings, perceptions, thoughts, etc.) and the behaviours these might predict
personal fabel
believing that they are unique and special and what happens to “most people” would never happen to them.
Moral Intuitions
the mind makes moral judgments with quick gut feelings, or affectively laden intuitions. Feelings of disgust or of elation trigger moral reasoning, says Haidt.
delay gratification
the act of resisting an impulse to take an immediately available reward in the hope of obtaining a more-valued reward in the future
Moral Action
Moral actions feed moral behaviour. One must actually do, not just talk.
reminiscence bump
increased proportion of autobiographical memories from youth and early adulthood observed in adults over 40
terminal decline
the gradual decline in cognitive function that occurs as a function of time before death
Neurocognitive disorders
those marked by cognitive deficits, often related to Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury or disease, or substance abuse.
