Physical & Cognitive Development Flashcards
What is maturation?
Biologically based changes that follow an orderly sequence
What does the critical period concept suggest?
The brain is set to acquire functions during a limited period of time
What are sensitive periods?
Times that are particularly important but not definitive for subsequent development
What is the concept of developmental stages characterised by?
Relatively discrete steps through which everyone progresses in the same sequence
What is the concept of continuous development characterised by?
Steady and gradual change, rather than major transformations
What are the features of developmental stages?
Discontinuity, homogenous thinking, invariant sequences, no skipping, no regression
What do cross-sectional studies compare?
Groups of different ages at a single time (i.e. age differences)
What are cross-sectional studies not useful for examining?
Age changes (i.e. changes within the same individuals that occur with age)
What are cohort effects?
Differences among age groups associated with differences in the culture
What do longitudinal studies assess?
The same group at multiple time points (i.e. age changes)
What do sequential studies assess?
Different age groups longitudinally (i.e. combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal; minimise cohort effects)
What are the three stages of the prenatal period?
Germinal, embryonic and foetal periods
What occurs during the germinal period?
Fertilised egg becomes implanted in the uterus; rapid cell division (first 2 weeks after conception)
What occurs during the embryonic period?
Development of the CNS and organs (2 - 9 weeks)
What occurs during the foetal period?
Muscular development (9 weeks - birth)
What are the two ways in which foetal development can be disrupted?
Exposure to hazardous environmental influences & biological influences resulting from genetic disorders
What are teratogens?
Environmental agents that can harm an embryo/foetus, particularly during specific critical periods
What are the major motor milestones in infancy?
Lifting chin, sitting alone, standing with support, crawling, walking with support, standing alone and walking alone
What is puberty?
The developmental stage during which individuals become physically capable of reproduction
What is intermodal processing?
The ability of infants to associate sensations of an object from different senses and match their own actions to behaviours they have observed visually
What is equilibration?
Balancing assimilation and accommodation to adapt to the world
What is assimilation?
The interpretation of actions or events in terms of one’s own schemas
What is accommodation?
The modification of schemas to fit reality
What are the four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational
What occurs during the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development?
Coordination of sensory input and motor responses; development of object permanence (birth - 2yrs)
What occurs during the preoperational stage of cognitive development?
Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility; cent ration and egocentricim (2-7yrs)
What is egocentrism?
The ability of infants to only see the world from their own perspective
What is centration?
The tendency of infants to focus on one perceptually striking feature of an object without considering the other features that might be relevant
What are operations?
Internalised actions an individual uses to manipulate, transform and then return an object to its original state
What occurs during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development?
Ability to mentally manipulate representations of concrete evens in ways that are reversible; mastery of conservation; hierarchical classification (7-11yrs)
What is conservation?
The concept that basic properties of an object or situation remain stable even though superficial properties may be changed
What occurs during the formal operational stage of cognitive development?
Mental operations applied to abstract ideas; logical, systematic thinking (11yrs - adulthood)
What are two limitations of Piaget’s theory of cognitive stages of development?
He underestimated the capacities of infants/preschool children and he rarely considered the role of culture in cognitive development
What does Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development emphasise?
The role of social interaction as a motivation for cognitive gains and learning
What is the concept of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?
The ZPD stretches from sole performance to collaborative cooperation, i.e. children collaborate and strive together to enhance their levels of understanding & children learn through observation/imitation of significant others
What does the information-processing approach focus on?
Information processes that develop processing speed, automatisation, knowledge base, cognitive strategies and metacognition
What is automatisation?
The ability to perform some tasks automatically
What is metacognition?
Thinking about thinking
What is psychomotor slowing?
An increase in processing/response time
What is fluid intelligence and how is it affected by ageing?
Basic reasoning ability, memory capacity, speed of information processing; decreases with age
What is crystallised intelligence and how is it affected by ageing?
The ability to apply acquired knowledge/skills in problem solving; remains stable or increases with age
What is dementia?
A progressive and incurable disorder marked by global disturbances of higher mental functions
What are three key features of dementia?
Acquired, persistent, involves multiple impairments of intellectual functioning
