Human Development Midterm

Tools (Vygotsky)

Resources used to solve problems. In Vygotsky’s theory, tools help peple think and perform tasks.

Speech (Vygotsky)

Language used to communicate ideas. Speech can begin as communication with other people and later help a person think through problems.

Signs (Vygotsky)

Symbols or resources, such as words and colored cards, that help people organize information and remember things.

Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)

The difference between what a child can do independently and what the child can do with help from an adult or a more capable peer.

Vygotsky’s theory

Cognitive development is shaped by social and cultural experiences. Skills first occur between people (interpsychological) and can later become internal mental processes (intrapsychological). Speech and tools help develop higher psychological processes such as reasoning and problem-solving.

Schema (Piaget)

A mental framework or organized way of understanding something. For example, a child may have a schema for dogs.

Equilibrium (Piaget)

A state in which a child’s existing schemas adequately explain new experiences, so their understanding feels balanced.

Disequilibrium (Piaget)

A state of imbalance or confusion when new information does not fit an existing schema.

Assimilation (Piaget)

Fitting new information into an existing schema. For example, recognizing a husky as a dog using an existing dog schema.

Accomodation (Piaget)

Changing an existing schema or creating a new one because new information does not fit. For example, creating a separate schema for raccoons after learning they are not dogs.

Piaget’s theory

Children actively construct knowledge through interacting with the world. Physical actions help develop mental representations, and children adapt their schemas through assimilation and accommodation.

Medical model of disability

Views disability primarily as a problem located in the individual’s impairment or diagnosis. Interventions often focus on treatment or rehabilitation.

Social model of disability

Views disability as arising from barriers in environments, policies, attitudes, and social systems. The focus is on removing barriers and making society more inclusive.

Rich interpretation

Interpreting a child’s behavior as potentially meaningful or showing abilities that may not be immediately obvious. For example, responding to a baby’s babbling as communication.

504 plans

Plans under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that help students with disabilities access education through accommodations, such as extended time or assistive technology. They do not require the special instruction and annual goals associated with an IEP.

IEPs

Individualized Education Programs under IDEA for eligible students who need specially designed instruction. They outline educational goals, services, accommodations, and progress monitoring, with parents participating as members of the team.

Individualized Family Service Plans

Plans for eligible infants and young children and their families. Services emphasize family involvement and natural settings, such as the home or daycare.

Transition plans

Plans that help students prepare for life after high school, including goals related to college, employment, and other adult activities. Your notes state that planning begins by age 16.

Free appropriaste public education

The right of eligible students with disabilities to receive a free, appropriate public education. It does not automatically mean the best possible program or the exact program a parent requests.

Least restrictive environment

The requirement to educate students with disabilities alongside students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Placement can range from general education with support to more specialized settings, depending on the student’s needs.

Descriptive research

describes behavior or characteristics. It can use observations, reports, or other measures but does not establish that one variable causes another.

correlational research

Research that examines whether variables are related. A correlation does not establish causation because directionality and third-variable problems may explain the relationship.

experimental research

Research that tests cause and effect by manipulating a variable and comparing outcomes under controlled conditions.

Fant’z’s research findings

Fantz found that infants looked longer at complex patterns than simpler ones and showed preferences for patterned stimuli over plain ones. In another study, infants showed a slight preference for a face-like pattern over a scrambled face. These findings showed that looking behavior can reveal infant perception.

Looking chamber

A setup used to study infants’ visual preferences by presenting visual patterns and measuring how long infants look at them. It allows researchers to study perception without requiring infants to speak.

phonemes

The smallest units of speech that can change a word’s meaning. They are speech sounds, not letters or syllables.

conditioned head turn procedure

A method for testing infants’ ability to hear a sound change. Infants learn to turn their heads when they detect a change, and researchers measure whether they can distinguish the sounds.

Werker & Tees results

Infants initially distinguish many speech-sound contrasts, including contrasts not used in their home language. During the first year, sensitivity to nonnative contrasts declines while sensitivity to native-language contrasts is maintained. This process is called perceptual reorganization.

(Themes) nature v. nurture

Nature refers to genetic and biological influences; nurture refers to environmental influences

(Themes) Active child

Children actively shape their own development through exploration, choices, and interactions with their surroundings.

(Themes) stability and change

Development includes both characteristics that remain relatively consistent over time and characteristics that change.

(Themes) mechanisms

The processes that explain how and why development happens, including the ways biological and environmental influences affect behavior.

(Themes) sociocultural context

The social and cultural environments surrounding a child, including family, school, friends, neighborhood, media, laws, and culture.

(Themes) individual differences

The ways children differ from one another in their characteristics, abilities, experiences, and developmental pathways.

(Themes) research and children’s welfare

The study of development should use sound research methods while protecting children’s safety, rights, and well-being.

germinal stage

The period from fertilization through implantation, approximately the first two weeks. Cells divide and begin differentiating.

embryonic stage

The period after implantation through the end of week 8. Major organs and body systems begin forming, and the placenta develops to help transfer nutrients and oxygen and remove waste.

fetal stage

The period from week 9 until birth. The developing organism continues to grow and its body systems mature.

DeCasper and Spence research

Pregnant women repeatedly read a particular story during the final six weeks of pregnancy. Newborns changed their sucking patterns to hear the familiar prenatal story rather than a novel story, even when another woman read it. The findings support the idea that babies can learn and remember auditory information before birth.