Language and Cognitive Development

These flashcards cover key concepts related to language, cognitive development, social interactions, and psychological theories.

Common ground

Shared knowledge between people, including names, places, jobs, and experiences.

Conversational coordination

The natural matching of word choice, sentence structure, speech rate, and accent between speakers.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

The theory that the language we use influences the way we think.

Theory of Mind

The understanding that other people have their own thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The range of tasks that a child can perform with supervision but not independently.

Typicality

The degree to which a category member is considered a typical example of that category.

Prototype theory

A theory that suggests categories are represented by an average or standard example.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

The theory that social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development.

Attachment Styles

Different ways in which individuals respond to relationships, including secure, anxious-resistant, avoidant, and disorganized.

Emotional intelligence

The ability to understand and manage one's own emotions and the emotions of others.

Cognitive heuristics

Mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making processes.

Emerging adulthood

A developmental stage (usually ages 18-25) characterized by identity exploration, instability, and self-focus.

Temperament Types

Categories of individual differences in emotional reactions and behavior, including easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up.

Framing effect

The way information is presented that can influence decision-making.

Social brain hypothesis

The theory that human brains evolved to manage complex social groups.

Linguistic intergroup bias

The tendency for language to favor our ingroup when discussing different groups.