Sfl 210 Midterm #2

Front 1

cephalocaudal trend

Back 1

head-to-tail sequence; motor control of head comes before control of arms and trunk, which comes before control of legs

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proximodistal trend

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from the center of the body outward; head, trunk, and arm control precedes coordination of hands and fingers

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dynamic systems theory of motor development

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mastery of motor skills involves acquiring increasingly complex systems of action; when motor skills work as a system, separate abilities blend together, each cooperating with others to produce more effective was of exploring and controlling the environment.

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pre-reaching

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poorly coordinated swipes

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proprioception

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our sense of movement and location in space, arising from stimuli within the body

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ulnar grasp

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clumsy motion in which the baby's fingers close against the palm

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pincer grasp

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using the thumb and index finger opposably

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statistical learning capacity

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by analyzing the speech stream for patterns--regularly occurring sequences of sounds--they acquire a stock of speech structures for which they will later learn meanings, long before they start to talk around 12 months

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visual acuity

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fineness of discrimination

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visual cliff

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used in earliest studies of depth perception; consists of plexiglass covered table with platform at the center; "shallow side" with checkerboard pattern just under glass, deep side with checkered form several feet below the glass.

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contrast sensitivity

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explains early pattern preferences; contrast refers to the difference in the amount of light between adjacent regions in a pattern; if babies are sensitive to the contrast in two or more patterns, they prefer the one with more contrast

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size constancy

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perception of an object's size as stable, despite changes in the size of its retinal image

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shape constancy

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perception of an object's shape as stable, despite changes in the shape projected within the retina

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intermodal stimulation

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simultaneous input from more than one modality, or sensory system

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intermodal perception

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we make sense of these running streams of light, sound, tactile, odor and taste information by perceiving them as integrated wholes

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amodal sensory properties

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information that is not specific to a single modality but that overlaps two or more sensory systems, such as rate, rhythm, duration, intensity, temporal synchrony (for vision and hearing) and texture and shape (for vision and touch)

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differentiation theory

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James Gibson; infants actively search for invariant features of the environment, in a constantly changing perceptual world

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invariant features

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Features that that remain stable

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affordances

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perception is guided by these action possibilities that a situation offers an organism with certain motor capabilities

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distance curve

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plots the average size of a sample of children at each age, indicating typical yearly progress toward maturity

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velocity curve

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plots the average amount of growth at each yearly interval, revealing the exact timing of growth spurts

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skeletal age

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Best estimate of a boy's physical maturity; measure of the development of the bones of the body

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epiphyses

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special growth centers in the bones; appear just before birth in the extreme ends of each of the body's long bones

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pituitary gland

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releases most important hormones for human growth; located at the base of the brain by the hypothalamus

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hypothalamus

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structure that initiates and regulates pituitary excretions

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Growth Hormone (GH)

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the only pituitary secretion produced continuously throughout life, affects development of all tissues except the central nervous system and the genitals

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thyroxine

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released by the thyroid gland (in the neck) when prompted by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland; necessary for brain development and for GH to have its full impact

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estrogens

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female hormones (still present in males in smaller amounts)

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androgens

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male hormones (still present in females in smaller amounts)

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secular trends in physical growth

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changes in body size and rate of growth from one generation to the next

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neurons

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nerve cells that store and transmit information

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synapses

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tiny gaps where fibers from different neurons come close together but do not touch

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neurotransmitters

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now neurons send messages to one another; chemicals that travel across synapses

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programmed cell death

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makes space for the connective structures; as synapses form, many surrounding neurons die--20-80 percent, depending on the brain region

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synaptic pruning

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the process by which neurons that are seldom stimulated lose their synapses

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glial cells

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cause the dramatic increase in brain size during infancy and early childhood; makes up about half the brain's volume; responsible for myelination

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myelination

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the coating of neural fibers with an insulating fatty sheath that improves the efficiency of message transfer

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cerebral cortex

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surrounds the rest of the brain, resembling half of a shelled walnut; largest brain structure; accounts for 85 percent of the brain's weight; contains the greatest number of neurons and synapses

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lateralization

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specialization of the two hemispheres of the brain

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brain plasticity

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highly plastic cerebral cortex--in which many areas are not yet committed to specific functions--has a high capacity for learning; if a part of the cortex is damaged, other parts can take over the tasks it would have handled

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dominant cerebral hemisphere

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influences handedness because of its greater capacity to carry out skilled motor action

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cerebellum

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at the rear base of the brain; structure that ids in the balance and control of body movement

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reticular formation

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a structure in the brain stem that maintains alertness and consciousness

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hippocampus

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inner structure of the brain; plays a vital role in memory and images of space that help us find our way

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corpus callosum

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large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres

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experience-expectant brain growth

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refers to the young brain's rapidly developing organization, which depends on ordinary experiences--opportunities to see and touch objects, to hear language and other sounds, and to move about and explore the environment

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experience-dependent brain growth

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additional growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that occur throughout our lives, varying widely across individuals and cultures

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catch-up growth

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a return to a genetically influenced growth path once conditions improve

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Marasmus

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a wasted condition of the body caused by a diet low in all essential nutrients; usually appears in the first year of life when a baby's mother is too malnourished to produce enough breast milk and bottle-feeding is also inadequate

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Kwashiorkor

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caused by an unbalanced diet very low in protein; disease usually strikes after weaning; between 1 and 3 years of age

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obesity

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a greater-than-20-percent increase over healthy weight, based on body mas index; a ratio of weight to height associated with body fat

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Nonorganic failure to thrive

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a growth disorder resulting from lack of parental love, is usually present by 18 months of age; infants who have it show all the signs of marasmus--their bodies look wasted, and they are withdrawn and apathetic; no organic (biological) cause can be found for the child's failure to grow

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psychological dwarfism

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a growth disorder that usually appears between 2 and 15 years of age; typical characteristics include very short stature, decreased GH secretion, immature skeletal age and serious adjustment problems

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puberty

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young people attain an adult-sized body and become capable of producing offspring

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primary sexual characteristics

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involve the reproductive organs

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secondary sexual characteristics

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visible on the outside of the body and serve as signs of sexual maturity

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menarche

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scientific name for menstruation; from the Greek word "arche" which means "beginning"

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spermarche

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first ejaculation

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body image

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conception of and attitude toward one's physical appearance

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anorexia nervosa

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a tragic eating disturbance in which young people starve themselves because of a compulsive fear of getting fat

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bulimia nervosa

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young people (mainly girls; gay and bisexual boys also vulnerable) engage in strict dieting and excessive exercised accompanied by binge eating, often followed by deliberate vomiting and purging with laxatives

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constructivist approach

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Piaget's outlook; children discover and construct virtually all knowledge about their world through their activity

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schemes

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specific psychological structures; organized ways of making sense of experience

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mental representations

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internal depictions of information that the mind can manipulate

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adaptation

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building schemes through direct interaction with the environment

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assimilation

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we use our current schemes to interpret the external world

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accommodation

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we create new schemes or adjust old ones after noticing that our current way of thinking does not capture the environment completely

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equilibriation

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back and forth movement between equilibrium and disequilibrium

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organization

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a process that occurs internally, apart from direct contact with the environment; once children form new schemes, they rearrange them, linking them with other schemes to create a strongly interconnected cognitive system

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sensorimotor stage

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spans the first two years of life; name reflects Piaget's belief that infants and toddlers "think" with their eyes, ears, hands and other sensorimotor equipment; cannot yet carry out many activities mentally

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circular reaction

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provides a special means of adapting their first schemes' involves stumbling onto a new experience caused by the baby's own motor activity; reaction is "circular" because, as the infant tries to repeat the event again and again, a sensorimotor response that originally occurred by chance becomes strengthened into a new scheme

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intentional/goal-directed behavior

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coordinating schemes deliberately to solve simple problems

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object permanence

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the understanding that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight; nont yet complete in babies

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A-not-B search error

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if the y reach several items for an object at one hiding place (A), then see it moved to another (B), they still search for it in the first hiding place (A)

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deferred imitation

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ability to remember and copy the behavior of models who are not present

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make-believe play

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children act out everyday imaginary activities

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violation of expectation method

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used when researchers are trying to discover what infants know about hidden objects and other aspects of physical reality; habituate babies to a physical event (expose them to an event until their looking declines) to familiarize them with a situation in which their knowledge will be tested; may simply show babies an expected event (one that follows physical laws) and an unexpected event (a variation of the first event that violates physical laws); heightened attention to the unexpected event suggests that the infant is surprised by a deviation in physical reality--and, therefore is aware of that aspect of the physical world

Front 78

preoperational stage

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spans ages 2-7; most obvious change is an extraordinary increase in mental representation

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sociodramatic play

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make believe with others that is under way around age 2 and increases rapidly during the next few years

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dual representation

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viewing a symbolic objects as both an object in its own right and a symbol

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operations

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mental representations of actions that obey logical rules

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egocentrism

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the failure to distinguish others' symbolic viewpoints from one's own

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animistic thinking

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the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, such as thoughts, wishes, feelings and intentions

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conservation

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refers to the idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same even when their outward appearance changes

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centration

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understanding of children is centered; characterized by this "centration"; they focus on one aspect of a situation, neglecting other important features

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reversibility

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the ability to go through a series of steps in a problem and then mentally reverse direction, returning to the starting point

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hierarchical classification

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the organization of objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarities and differences

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concrete operational stage

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7-11 years; major turning point in cognitive development; thought becomes far more logical, flexible, and organized

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seriation

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ability to order items along a quantitative dimension, such as length or weight

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transitive inference

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ability to seriate mentally

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cognitive maps

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mental representations of familiar large-scale spaces, such as their school or neighborhood

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formal operational stage

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children develop the capacity for abstract, systematic, scientific thinking

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hypothetico-deductive reasoning

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when faced with a problem, start with a hypothesis or prediction about variables that might affect an outcome, from which they deduce logical, testable inferences; systematically isolate and combine variables to see which of these inferences are confirmed in the real world

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propositional thought

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adolescent's ability to evaluate the logic of propositions (verbal statements) without referring to real-world circumstances

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imaginary audience

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adolescents' belief that they are the focus of everyone else's attention and concern

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personal fable

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because teenagers are sure that others are observing and thinking about them, they develop an inflated opinion of their own importance--a feeling that they are special and unique

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logical necessity

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of propositional reasoning--that the accuracy of conclusions drawn from premises rests on the rules of logic, not on real-world confirmation

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core knowledge perspective

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infants begin life with innate, special-purpose knowledge systems referred to as core domains of thought; each of these prewired understandings permits a ready grasp of new, related information and therefore supports early, rapid development of certain aspects of cognition

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theory theory

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theory of children as theorists; children form naive theories, or explanations of events, that differ between core domains; after observing an event, children draw on innate concepts to explain or theorize about its cause; they test their naive theory against experience, revising it when it cannot adequately account for new information

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private speech

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children's self-directed speech (previously egocentric speech)

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zone of proximal development

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range or tasks too difficult for the child to do alone but possible with the help of adults and more skilled peers

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intersubjectivity

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the process whereby two participants who begin a task with different understandings arrive at a shared understanding

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scaffolding

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adjusting the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child's current level of performance

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guided participation

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a broader concept than scaffolding that refers to shared endeavors between more expert and less expert participants, without specifying the precise features of communication

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reciprocal teaching

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teacher and two to four students form a collaborative group and take turns leading dialogues on the content of a text passage; within the dialogues, group members apply four cognitive strategies: questioning, summarizing, clarifying and predicting

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cooperative learning

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in which smaller groups of classmates work toward common goals

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store model

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part of information processing system; assumes that we hold, or store, information in three parts of the mental system for processing; sensory register, working/short-term memory, long-term memory

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mental strategies

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used to operate on and transform our mind, increasing the chances that we will retain information, use it efficiently, and think flexibly adapting the information to changing circumstances

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sensory register

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sights and sounds are represented directly and stored briefly

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working/short-term memory

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we actively apply mental strategies as we "work" on a limited amount of information

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central executive

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part of the working memory; directs flow of information; decides what to attend to, coordinates incoming information with information already in the system, and selects, applies and monitors strategies

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long-term memory

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our permanent knowledge base

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memory span

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longest sequence of items a person can recall; a measure of working memory capacity

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connectionist/artificial neural network models

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computers were used to devise this model in an effort to know exactly what happens in the brain as children master new skills; simulate the workings of most basic information processing units: neurons and their connections; reveals how strengthening of simple connections between units leads to new cognitive capacities just as strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons promotes development of brain functioning

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neo-Piagetian Theory

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from Robbie Case; accepts Piaget's stages but attributes change within each stage, and movement from one stage to the next, to increases in the efficiency with which children use their limited working memory capacity; each stage involves distinct type of cognitive structure; infancy-sensory input and physical actions; early childhood-internal representations of events and actions; middle childhood-simple transformations of representations; adolescence-complex transformations of representations

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central conceptual structures

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once the schemes of Piagetian stage become sufficiently automatic, enough space in working memory is available to consolidate them into an improved representational form; results in these central conceptual structures, networks of concepts and relations that permit them to think about wide range of situations in more advanced ways

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model of strategy choice

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By Robert Siegler (2005); effort to apply evolutionary perspective to children's cognition; states that when children are given challenging problems, they devise a variety of strategies; with experience, some strategies are selected, become more frequent and "survive"; others become less frequent and "die off"; children's mental strategies display variation and selection, yielding adaptive problem-solving techniques.

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inhibition

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the ability to control external distracting stimuli

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production deficiency

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preschoolers rarely engage in attentional strategies; in other words, fail to produce strategies when they could be helpful

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control deficiency

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slightly older children sometimes produce strategies, but not consistently; may fail to control, or execute strategies effectively

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utilization deficiency

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young elementary school children execute strategies consistently, but performance either does not improve or improves less than that of older children

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effective strategy use

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by mid-elementary school years, children use strategies consistently and performance improves

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planning

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involves thinking out a sequence of acts ahead of time and allocating attention accordingly to reach a goal

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rehearsal

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repeating information to yourself; a memorization strategy

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organization

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grouping related items (e.g., cities in the same part of the country)

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elaboration

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involves creating a relationship, or shared meaning, between two or more pieces of information that do not belong to the same category

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recognition

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noticing that a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced

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recall

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generating a mental representation of an absent stimulus

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reconstruction

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constructive processing of information, or recoding it while it is in the system or being retrieved

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fuzzy-trace theory

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when we first encode information, we construct it automatically, creating a vague, fuzzy version called a gist, which preserves essential meaning without details and is especially useful for reasoning

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semantic memory

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our vast, taxonomically organized and hierarchically structured general knowledge system; must grow out of the young child's memory

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episodic memory

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memory for man personally experienced events

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scripts

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general descriptions of what occurs and when it occurs in a particular situation

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autobiographical memory

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representations of one-time events that are long-lasting because they are imbued with personal meaning

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infantile amnesia

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the reason that most of us cannot retrieve events that happened before age three

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metacognition

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awareness and understanding of various aspects of thought

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theory of mind

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coherent understanding of people as mental beings, which they revise as they encounter new evidence

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cognitive self-regulation

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process of continually monitoring progress toward a goal, checking outcomes, and redirecting unsuccessful efforts

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emergent literacy

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children's active efforts to construct literacy knowledge through informal experiences

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phonological awareness

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the ability to reflect on and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language

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whole-language approach

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argued that reading should be taught in a way that parallels natural language learning; from the beginning, children should be exposed to text in its complete form: stories, poems, letters, posters, and lists so that they can appreciate the communicative function of written language

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phonics approach

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believing that children should first be coached on phonics--the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds. Only after mastering these skills should they get complex reading material.

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ordinality

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order relationships between quantities

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cardinality

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that the last word in a counting sequence indicates the quantity of items in a set