Unit 6 - Development Part 1 Flashcards
Zygote
Fertilized egg; 2 week period of cell division
Embryo
2 weeks of development into the second month
Fetus
9 weeks into development to birth
Teratogen
Environmental agents that cause damage during prenatal development; Ex. alcohol, smoking
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. (Damage to the child can still occur with little amounts of alcohol drinking)
Rooting Reflex
A baby’s reflex that makes it turn its head and open its mouth in the direction of contact on its cheek.
Habituation and Learning
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation; shows a baby’s ability to learn.
Maturation
Development of bodily and mental functions in sequence.
Infant Memory/Amnesia
The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3 1/2 to 4 years old.
Jean Piaget
Created a theory that stated that cognitive processes followed a series of stages.
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information; how our mind organizes information.
Assimilation
Absorbing new information into existing schemas.
Accomodation
Adjusting old schemas or developing new ones to better fit with new information.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
- Sensorimotor Stage/Intelligence
- Preoperational Stage
- Concrete Operational Stage
- Formal Operational Stage
Sensorimotor Stage/Intelligence
Babies take in the world by senses (looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping)
Object Permanence
Awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived (developed during Sensorimotor Stage)
Preoperational Stage
Language ability; can think symbolically.
Egocentrism
Cannot perceive things from another’s point of view (Preoperational)
Theory of Mind
Understanding another’s mental state, feelings, thoughts, or intentions
Animistic Thinking
Belief that all things are living (Preoperational Stage)
Concrete Operational Stage
Gains the ability to think logically about concrete events.
Conservation
Principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
Formal Operational Stage
Reasoning ability expands from concrete thinking to abstract thinking.
Lev Vygotsky Scaffolding Theory
Process in which a more skilled LEARNER gives help to a less skilled learner.
Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky’s concept of the difference between what a child can do alone and what that child can do with the help of a teacher; proximal means “close” to mastering
