AP Psychology 3.4 - 3.5

Schemas

Mental structures that organize information and experiences

Assimilation

fitting new information into existing schemas without changing them

Accommodation

changing or creating new schemas to incorporate new information that doesn’t fit

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget’s first stage of cognitive development, ranging from infancy through toddler hood (0-2 years)

Object Permanence

occurs during the sensorimotor stage, understanding that objects continue to exists even when they cannot be seen

Preoperational Stage

the second stage of Piaget’s of cognitive development, ranging from toddler hood through early childhood (2-7 years)

Mental Symbol

occurs during the preoperational stage, proficient use of language and symbols, where language symbolize ideas through words and imaginative play

Ex.) child viewing a blanket as something that symbolizes a superhero’s cape

Pretend Play

occurs in the preoperational stage, engaging in imaginative play, divergent thinking activated, places mental symbols into action

Ex.) using a stick as a sword

Conservation

occurs in the preoperational stage, struggling to understand that the quantity of something remains despite the changes in shape

Ex.) the same amount of water in differently shaped cups

Reversibility

occurs in the preoperational stage, difficulty in understanding that objects can be changed and then returned to their original state

Ex.) A ball can be deflated, but refilled with air to be put its original state

Animism

occurs during the preooperational stage, attributing life-like qualities to inanimate objects

Ex.) creating a pet out of a rock

Egocentrism

occurs in the preoperational stage, difficulty in seeing things from others’ perspectives, unable to see things from another person’s POV

Theory of Mind

occurs in the preoperational stage, the ability to understand that others have their own unique thoughts, beliefs, and feelings

Concrete Operational Stage

The third stage of Piaget’s cognitive development, ranging from ages 7 through 11

Logical Thinking

occurs during the concrete operational stage, ability to think logically about concrete events

Overcoming Cognitive Errors

occurs during the concrete operational stage, correcting precious errors in understanding conservation and reversibility

Struggle with abstract/hypothetical thinking

Limitations to concrete operational stage developments

Formal Operational Stage

the final stage within Piaget’s theory, ranging from late childhood to adulthood (12+ years)

Abstract Thinking

occurs during the formal operational stage, the ability to think about abstract concepts

Hypothetical Reasoning

occurs during the formal operational stage, the ability to think hypothetically and use deductive reasoning

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

a social process influenced by cultural context, where learning happens through interaction with more knowledgeable people

Social Learning

Within Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, the idea that children learn through social interactions and cultural context

Ex.) learning language through adult conversation

Scaffolding

Within Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, support provided by more knowledgeable others

Ex.) a teacher helping a student become more competent

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Within Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, the gap between what a child can do alone and what they need help with

Ex.) Child solves simple math problems alone, but needs teacher’s assistance with the harder ones

Crystallized Intelligence

knowledge accumulated over time, remains relatively stable through adulthood

Ex.) vocabulary, general knowledge

Fluid Intelligence

ability to reason and solve new problems, tends to wane as people age

Ex.) Problem solving

Cognitive Disorders

conditions that affect cognitive functioning

Ex.) Dementia

Phonemes

the smallest units of sound in a language, the building blocks of spoken language

Ex.) cat: kuh (k)/ah (a)/tuh (t)

Morphemes

the smallest units of meaning within a word

Ex.) Cats: cat (animal), s (plural)

Semantics

the meaning of words and sentences

Ex.) homophones, like the word bank, holding two meanings which can be determined when taken into context

Grammar

a set of rules that dictate how words are combined to form sentences

Ex.) adjectives typically precede nouns in English (“big house”)

Syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences

Ex.) “the cat sat on the mat” is the correct order

Generativity

ability to produce an infinite number of sentences and ideas using a finite set of elements

Ex.) “the cat sat on the mat” vs “the mat was sat on by the cat”

Generative Language

Creating new words (slang) and using existing words with figurative language (metaphors)

Non-Verbal Gestures

manual gestures used to communicate before and alongside verbal language

Cooing

stage of language development, early vocalization

Ex.) “oo” and “ah” sounds

Babbling

stage of language development, repetitive consonant-vowel combinations
Ex.) “ba-ba” or “da-da”

One-Word Stage

single words convey complete ideas
Ex.) “Milk” meaning “I want milk”

Telegraphic Speech

Two-word combinations that resemble telegrams 
Ex.) “want cookie”

Overgeneralization

applying language rules too broadly

Ex.) saying “goed” rather than “went”

Mispronunciation

Difficulty with certain sounds or combinations

Ex.) “Wabbit” instead of “Rabbit”

Simplification

using simpler forms of words or phrases

Ex.) “nana” for “banana”

Communication

language is essential for effective communication, allowing children to express their needs/share ideas

Cognitive Development

language development supports cognitive growth, enhancing problem-solving skills, memory, and abstract thinking