AP PSYCHOLOGY 3.4-3.6

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Jean Piaget

He studied the development of children's cognition, and he outlined the four stages of cognitive development.

Schema

Mental Structues that organize information and experiences. Ex: A child develops a ____ for dogs that includes characteristics like barking and having 4 legs.

Assimilation

Incorporating new information into existing schemas. Ex: seeing a cat and calling it a dog.

Accommodation

Modifying schemas to include new information (learning that a cat is different from a dog)

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's first stage of cognitive development is this stage

Age Range: Infancy through toddlerhood (0-2 years)

Key Development: Object permanence

Object Permanence

Learned during the Sensorimotor Stage. Ex: Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

Preoperational Stage

The Second Stage, marking Toddlerhood through early childhood (2-7 years)

Conservation

Struggle to understand that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape (i.e., pouring a glass of water into a different sized glass)

Reversibility

Difficulty in understanding that objects can be changed and then returned to their original state

Egocentrism

Difficulty in seeing things from others' perspectives.

Theory of Mind

Beginning to understand that others have thoughts and feelings different from their own.

Concrete Operational Stage

The Third Stage of Piaget's theory, marking early through late childhood (7-11 years). Includes Overcoming Cognitive Errors: Correcting previous errors in conservation/reversibility.

Formal Operational Stage

The final stage in Piaget's theory. Age Range: Late childhood through adulthood (12+ years). Includes Abstract Thinking: ability to think abstractly like justice/freedom. Includes Hypothetical Reasoning: Thinking Hypothetically using deductive reasoning. Not Everyone Reaches this stage.

Lev Vygotsky

He highlighted the importance of Social Interactions and cultural tools in cognitive development

Scaffolding

Support provided by more knowledgeable others. Ex: teacher helping student solve a problem and gradually reducing assistance as the student becomes more competent.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with help. Ex: A child can solve simple addition problems

alone but needs guidance for more complex ones.

Fluid Intelligence

Ability to reason and solve new problems; tends to wane as people age

Crystallized Intelligence

Knowledge accumulated over time; remains relatively stable through adulthood. Ex: Vocab and general Knowledge

Dementia

characterized by significant cognitive decline, affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities.

Language

a shared system of arbitrary symbols that are mutually agreed upon and rule-governed to produce an infinite array of ideas

Phonemes

Smallest Units of sound in a language. Ex: The sounds "b" and "p" in English

Morphemes

Smallest units of meaning. Ex: The words "cats" has two morphemes: "cat" (animal) and "s" (plural).

Semantics

Meaning of words and sentences. Ex: Understanding that "bank" can mean the side of a river or a financial situation.

Grammar

Set of rules that dictate how words are combined to form sentences. Ex: In English, adjectives typically precede nouns ("big house")

Syntax

Arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences

Example: "The cat sat on the mat" is a syntactically correct sentence

Universal Grammar (UG)

Proposes that all humans are born with an innate ability to acquire, develop, and understand language

Generativity

Ability to produce an infinite number of sentences and ides using a finite set of elements like "selfie" or "googling" or "She has a heart of gold".

Nonverbal Gestures

Manual gestures used to

communicate before and alongside verbal language

Example: Pointing to objects to indicate interest or desire

Cooing

Early vocalizations: "oo", "ah".

Babbling

Repetitive consonant-vowel comination (i.e. "ba-ba", "da-da".)

One-Word Stage

Single words to convey complete ideas. EX: "milk" to mean "I want milk".

Two-Word Stage

Children start using two words instead of one, combining words. For example, instead of just saying mama, a child may say, "Thank mama,"

Telegraphic Speech

Two-word combinations that resemble telegrams (e.g., "want cookie,")

Overgeneralization

Applying language rules too broadly

Example: Saying "goed" instead of "went" or "foots" instead of "feet"

Mispronunciations

Difficulty with certain sounds or combinations (e.g., "wabbit" for "rabbit")

Simplifications

Using simpler forms of words or phrases (e.g., "nana" for "banana")

Aphasia

The impairment of the ability to communicate either through oral or written discourse as a result of brain damage.

Broca's Area

responsible for speech production. Damage to this area can result in Broca's aphasia.

Wernicke's Area

a region in the brain that plays a key role in language comprehension

Linguistic Determinism

the concept that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought, as well as thought processes such as categorization, memory, and perception.

Linguistic Relativity

the proposal that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality

Ecological Systems Thoery

This Theory is used to understand how the social environment influences

development

Microsystem

Groups that have direct contact with the individual

Example: Family, school, peers

Mesosystem

Relationships between groups in the microsystem

Example: Parent-teacher interactions.

Exosystem

Indirect factors in an individual's life

Example: Parent's workplace, community services

Macrosystem

Cultural events that affect individuals and others around them

Example: Societal norms, laws

Chronosystem

the individual's current stage of life

Example: Life transitions, historical events

Authoritarian Parenting

Strict rules, high expectations, little warmth

Example: Parents who enforce rules without discussion

Authoritative Parenting

Balanced rules, high expectations, high warmth.

Example: Parents who enforce rules but also encourage independence.

Importance: Generally leads to children who are happy, capable, and successful.

Permissive Parenting

Few rules, low expectations, high warmth.

Example: Parents who are lenient and indulgent.

Importance: Often leads to children who struggle with self-discipline

Neglectful Parenting

When parents are unresponsive, unavailable and rejecting

Secure Attachment

Trust and confidence in the caregiver's availability.

Example: Children who feel safe exploring the environment.

Importance: Leads to healthier relationships in adulthood

Insecure Attachment

Complete dependence on a caregiver and extreme reluctance to explore one's environment; the result of unresponsive parenting. Is Avoidant, Anxious, and Disorganized.

Avoidant Attachment

Indifference toward the caregiver

Example: Child avoids the caregiver after separation

Anxious Attachment

Anxiety and uncertainty about the caregiver's availability

Example: Child is clingy and difficult to soothe

Disorganized Attachment

Lack of clear attachment behavior

Example: Child shows confused or contradictory behavior

Strange Situation Experiment

a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while

their caregiver leaves and then returns, and the child's reactions

are observed.

Results: sensitive, responsive mothers had infants who were securely attached.

Insensitive, unresponsive mothers had infants who were insecurely attached.

Separation Anxiety

a common phenomenon in early childhood that is heightened anxiety or fear when away from a caregiver.

Example: Crying when a parent leaves the room

Stranger Anxiety

Heightened anxiety or fear when in the presence of a stranger.

Harlow's Monkey Studies

Demonstrated the importance of comfort over food

Example: Monkeys preferred soft, comforting surrogate

mothers over wire mothers that provided food

Basic Trust

Birth to age 1,

Totally dependent on others,

If Caregiver meets needs: child develops trust. If Caregiver does not meet needs: child develops mistrust.

Basic strength: Hope

Temperament

a person's innate and inborn

characteristic emotional reactivity

and intensity

Self-Concept

n understanding you have of yourself that includes elements such as intelligence level, gender identity roles, racial identity roles etc., which influence how we perceive ourselves both in the present and what we want to become in the future.

Parallel Play

Playing alongside peers without interaction

Example: Two children playing with blocks independently

Pretend Play

maginative play with roles and scenarios

Example: Playing house or superheroes

Adolescence

These individuals rely more on peer relationships for support and identity

Example: Spending more time with friends and seeking peer approval

Imaginary Audience

Belief that others are constantly watching and judging

Example: Feeling self-conscious about appearance

Personal Fable

Belief in personal uniqueness and invulnerability

Example: Thinking no one else can understand their experiences

Social Clock

a concept that explores the timetable determined by a culture or social structure, that specifies a proper time for certain events, like marriage, graduation, employment or social status

Emerging Adulthood

A transitional period from adolescence to adulthood in some cultures

Example: Extended education and delayed marriage

Psychosocial Stages of Development

8 successive stages over the lifespan.

Crisis: must adaptively or maladaptively cope with task in each developmental stage,

Respond adaptively: acquire strengths needed for next developmental stage.

Respond maladaptively: less likely to be able to adapt to later problems.

Trust and Mistrust

Infancy - Developing trust in caregivers

Autonomy and Shame and Doubt

Toddlerhood - Gaining a sense of independence

Initiative and Guilt

Early Childhood - Initiating activities and enjoying accomplishments

Industry and inferiority

School Age - Developing competence and skills

Identity and Role Confustion

Adolescence - Developing a sense of self

Intimacy and Isolation

Young Adulthood - Forming intimate relationships

Generativity and Stagnation

Middle Adulthood - Contributing to society and helping others

Integrity and Despair

Late Adulthood - Reflecting on life and feeling a sense of fulfillment.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Stressful or traumatic events in childhood that can have long-term effects on development. Ex: abuse, neglect, household dysfunction.

Identity

Form ego or self-image when facing adulthood with certainty and confidence.

Social Identity

a social psychological analysis of the role of self-conception in group membership, group processes, and intergroup relations

Achievement (of identity)

Commitment to identity after exploration/searching

Diffusion (of identity)

Lack of direction of commitment

Foreclosure (of identity)

Commitment to identity without exploration/searching

Moratorium (of identity)

Active exploration/searching without commitment.

Racial/Ethnic Identity

Understanding and valuing one's cultural background

Gender Identity

Recognizing and expressing one's gender.

Sexual Orientation

Understanding one's sexual preferences

Religious Identity

Forming beliefs and practices

Occupational Identity

Choosing a career path

Familial identity

Defining one's role within the family

Possible Selves

Imagining different versions of oneself in the future

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