Physical And Cognitive Development Ch12

Front 1

accommodation

Back 1

In vision, the changes in the shape of the lens that focus light rays; in Piaget's theory, the modification of schemas to fit reality (pp. 129, 473)

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ageism

Back 2

A form of prejudice against old people comparable to racism and sexism (p. 469)

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Alzheimer's disease

Back 3

A progressive and incurable illness that destroys neurons in the brain, causing severe impairment of memory, reasoning, perception, language and behaviour (p. 487)

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assimilation

Back 4

(In cultural psychology) acculturation that involves absorption into the dominant culture and abandonment of the traditional culture (p. 781)

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automatisation

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The process of executing mental processes with increasing efficiency, so that they require less and less attention (p. 480)

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centration

Back 6

(In Piaget's theory of cognitive development) the tendency to focus on one perceptually striking feature of an object without considering other features that might be relevant (p. 475)

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cohort effects

Back 7

Differences among age groups associated with differences in the culture (p. 462)

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concrete operational stage

Back 8

Piaget's third stage of cognitive development, which falls between the ages of seven and 12, in which children are capable of mentally manipulating internal representations of concrete objects in ways that are reversible (p. 477)

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conservation

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Recognition that basic properties of an object remain stable even though superficial properties may change (p. 477)

Front 10

critical period

Back 10

A period of special sensitivity to specific types of learning that shapes the capacity for future development (p. 459)

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cross-sectional studies

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The type of research that compares groups of different aged participants at a single time to see whether differences exist among them (p. 462)

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dementia

Back 12

A disorder marked by global disturbance of higher mental functions (p. 486)

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developmental psychology

Back 13

The field that studies the way thought, feeling and behaviour develop throughout the life span

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egocentric

Back 14

Being thoroughly embedded in one's own point of view (p. 475)

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equilibration

Back 15

According to Piaget, a balancing of assimilation and accommodation in trying to adapt to the world (p. 474)

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foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

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A birth defect caused by alcohol abuse by the mother; FAS babies have facial deformities, restricted intelligence and an agitated personality (pp. 341, 464)

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formal operational stage

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Piaget's fourth stage of cognitive development, which begins at about age 12 to 15, and is characterised by the ability to manipulate abstract as well as concrete objects, events and ideas mentally (p. 478)

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infantile amnesia

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The inability to recall early childhood memories (p. 472)

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intermodal processing

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The capacity to associate sensations of an object from different senses, or to match one's own actions to behaviours that are observed visually

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knowledge base

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Accumulated information stored in long-term memory (pp. 348, 480)

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longitudinal study

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Type of research that follows the same individuals over time (p. 463)

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maturation

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Biologically based development (p. 458)

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metacognition

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People's understanding of the way they perform cognitive tasks such as remembering, learning or solving problems (p. 480)

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metamemory

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Knowledge about one's own memory and about strategies that can be used to help remember (p. 481)

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neo-Piagetian theories

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Theories that attempt to wed a stage model of cognitive development with research on information processing and domain-specific knowledge (p. 481)

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object permanence

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In Piaget's theory, the recognition that objects exist in time and space independent of one's actions on, or observation of, them (p. 474)

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operation

Back 27

In Piaget's theory, a mental action that the individual can use to manipulate, transform and return an object of thought to its original state (p. 475)

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preoperational stage

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Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, beginning roughly around age two and lasting until age five to seven, characterised by the emergence of symbolic thought (p. 475)

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presbycusis

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The inability to hear high-frequency sounds, which usually occurs with ageing (p. 469)

Front 30

psychomotor slowing

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An increase in the time required for processing and acting on information that occurs with age (p. 483)

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puberty

Back 31

The stage at which individuals become capable of reproduction (p. 467)

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schema

Back 32

Integrated pattern of knowledge stored in memory that organises information and guides the acquisition of new information (pp. 166, 473)

Front 33

sensitive period

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Developmental period during which environmental input is especially important, but not absolutely required, for future development in a domain (p. 460)

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sensorimotor stage

Back 34

Piaget's first stage of cognitive development, from birth to about two years of age, with thinking primarily characterised by action (p. 474)

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sequential study

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Type of research in which multiple cohorts are studied over time (p. 463)

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stages

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Relatively discrete steps through which everyone progresses in the same sequence (p. 461)

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structure of thought

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In Piaget's theory, a distinct underlying logic used by a child at a given stage (p. 474)

Front 38

teratogen

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A harmful environmental agent, such as a drug, irradiation or a virus, that causes maternal illness, which can produce foetal abnormalities or death (pp. 341, 464)

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zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Back 39

A continuum of cognitive development, ranging from the child's individual capacity for problem solving to a more advanced and collaboratively-based level of cognitive development (p. 479)