Wk. 2 - Infancy and Early Childhood - Ch. 5 - Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

myelination

Answer 1

The process by which axons are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells, which increases the speed of which information travels through the nervous system.

Question 2

preoperational stage

Answer 2

Piaget’s second stage, lasting about 2 years to 7 years of age, during which children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings, and symbolic thought goes beyond simple connections of sensory information and physical action, stable concepts are formed mentally reasoning emerges, egocentrism is present, and magical beliefs are constructed.

Question 3

operations

Answer 3

In Piaget’s theory, these are internalized, reversible sets of actions that allow children to do mentally what they formerly did physically.

Question 4

symbolic function substage

Answer 4

Piaget’s first substage of preoperational thought, in which the child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present (between about 2 years and 4 years of age).

Question 5

egocentrism

Answer 5

The inability to distinguish between one’s perspective and someone else’s (salient feature of the first substage of preoperational thought).

Question 6

aninism

Answer 6

The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action.

Question 7

intuitive thought substage

Answer 7

Piaget’s second stage of preoperational thought, in which children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions (between about 4 years and 7 years of age).

Question 8

centration

Answer 8

The focusing of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others.

Question 9

conservation

Answer 9

In Piaget’s theory, awareness that altering an object’s or a substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties.

Question 10

social constructivist approach

Answer 10

An approach that emphasizes the social contexts of learning and that knowledge is mutually built and constructed. Vygorsky’s theory reflects this approach.

Question 11

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 11

Vygorsky’s term for tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone. but can be mastered with assistance.

Question 12

executive function

Answer 12

An umbrella-like concept that consists of a member of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain’s prefrontal cortex. Executive function involves managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and to use self-control.

Question 13

theory of mind

Answer 13

Refers to the awareness of one’s own mental processes and the mental processes of others.

Question 14

morphology

Answer 14

Units of meaning involved in word formation.

Question 15

syntax

Answer 15

The ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences.

Question 16

semantics

Answer 16

The meaning of words and sentences.

Question 17

fast-mapping

Answer 17

A process that helps to explain how young children learn the connection between a word and its referent so quickly.

Question 18

pragmatics

Answer 18

The appropriate use of language in different contexts.

Question 19

child-centered kindegarten

Answer 19

Education that involves the whole child by considering both the child’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development and the child’s needs, interests, and learning styles.

Question 20

Montessori approach

Answer 20

An educational philosophy in which children are given considerable freedom from spontaneity in choosing activities and are allowed to move from one activity to another as they desire.

Question 21

Project Head Start

Answer 21

A government-funded program that is designed to provide children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences important for school success.