APP Development Vocab 1

Modules 45-47

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Babinski reflex

reflex in which babies will fan out their toes when you touch the sole of their feet

rooting reflex

a baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple

assimilation

interpreting new experience in terms of one's existing schemas

Moro reflex

inborn reflex, elicited by a sudden noise or loss of support, in which the infant extends its arms, arches its back, and brings its arms toward each other as though attempting to grab hold of something

zygote

a fertilized egg

concrete operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

schema

concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking

formal operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

teratogen

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

zone of proximal development

in Vygotsky's theory, the range between children's present level of knowledge and their potential knowledge state if they recieve proper guidance and instruction

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Lev Vygotsky

Russian psychologist who developed social-cognitive theory development

conservation

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

accomodation

adapting one's current understandings to incorporate new information

pruning

the process through which the developing brain eliminates unnecessary or redundant synapses during puberty

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states -- about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict

Jean Piaget

developmental psychologist who created a model for the stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

animism

belief that inanimate objects have feelings, thoughts, and mental characteristics of living things

Autism Spectrum Disorder

developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact

cognition

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

Scaffolding

the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth