Child & Adolescent Psychology - Chapter 12: Middle Childhood, Cognitive Development

PSYC 3370

concrete operations

7-12, the 3rd stage of piaget’s theory

characterized by flexible, reversible thought about tangible objects and events

reversibility

recognition that processes can be undone to their original state, a factor in conservation

decentration

simultaneous focusing/centering on more than one aspect of a problem/situation

transivity

the principle that if A is greater than B and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C

A > B and B > C → A > C

seriation

placing objects in an order or series according to a property or trait

class inclusion

principle that one category can have multiple subclasses

moral realism

the 1st stage in piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory of moral development

children judge acts as moral when they conform to authority or to the rules of the game

morality is perceived as embedded in the structure of the universe

• objective morality

• immanent justice

objective morality

the perception of morality as objective/outside the cognitive functioning of people

immanent justice

position that a negative experience is a direct consequence of wrongdoing, reflecting the belief that morality is embedded within the structure of the universe

autonomous morality

the 2nd stage in piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory of moral development

children judge acts on the intentions of the wrongdoer rather than damage done

social rules are thought of as agreements that can be changed

preconventional level

early childhood, 1st level of kohlberg’s moral development

moral judgments are based on reward and punishmnet

• stage 1: obedience and punishment

• stage 2: naively egoistic, things are right when they satisfy people’s needs

conventional level

middle childhood, 2nd level of kohlberg’s moral development

moral judgements are based on social rules and conventions

• stage 3: moral behavior helps others AND is socially approved

• stage 4: law-and-order, moral behavior is one’s duty to respect authority

postconventional level

adolescene but may not develop at all, 3rd level of kohlberg’s moral development

moral judgments are from moral principles and your own personal standards

• stage 5: contractual, legalistic, must balance human needs against societal orderliness

• stage 6: universal ethical principles, your own conscience over breaking the law

information processing

theory where cognitive processes are like computer functions that work to input, store, retrieve, manipulate, and output information

mental programs are the development of problem-solving strategies

memory

processes by how we store and retrieve information

sensory register/memory

structure of memory that is first encountered by sensory input

info is maintained here for a fraction of a second

working/short-term memory

structure of memory that can hold a sensory stimulus for up to 30 seconds

encode

to transform sensory input into a more readily processed form

rehearsed

repeated

rote learning

memorization based on repetition

long-term memory

memory structure for relatively permanent storage of information

elaborative strategy

method of increasing retention of new information by relating it to well-known information

semantic codes

code based on the meaning of information

metacognition

awareness and control of one’s cognitive abilities, shown by the intentional use of cognitive strategies to solve problems

metamemory

knowledge of the functions and processes involved in one’s storage and retrieval of information (memory) as shown by the use of cognitive strategies to retain information

intelligence

a complex and controversional concept

the capacity to make adaptive choices and understand the world around us

achievement

attained by one’s efforts, presumably possible through one’s abilities

factor

a condition or quality that creates a result

a cluster of related items

factor analysis

statistical technique that allows researchers to determine the relationships among a large number of items

triarchic

governed by 3

descriptive of sternberg’s theory that intellectual functioning has 3 aspects:

• analytical, creative, and practical intelligence

intelligence quotients (IQ)

originally, a rtio obtained by dividing a child’s score/mental age on an intelligence test by their chronological age

mental age (MA)

accumulated months of credit that a person earns on the stanford-binet intelligence scale

chronological age (CA)

a person’s actual age

cultural bias

a factor in intelligence tests that bestows an advantage on test takers from certain cultural, racial, or ethnic backgrounds but does not reflect true intelligence

culture-free

descriptive of a test of which cultural biases have been removed to show true intelligence through equal opportunity

cultural-familial intellectual disability

substandard intellectual performance assumedly from lack of opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills considered important within a given culture

creativity

the ability to generate novel solutions to problems, a trait characterized by flexibility, ingenuity, and orginality

convergent thinking

a thought process that attempts ot focus on the single best solution to a problem

divergent thinking

a thought process that attempts to generate multiple solutions to problems; free and fluent association to the elements of a problem

heritability

the degree to which variations in a trait can be attributed to genetic factors

stereotype threat

an individual’s expectation that negative stereotypes about their member group will adversely affect other’s judgements of their performance, and that their poor performance may reflect badly on the member group

this expectation may undermine their actual ability to perform well

whole-language approach

a method for learning to read in which children come to recognize words in a variety of contexts through repeated exposure to them

phonetic method

learning to read through decoding the sounds of words via their knowledge of the sounds of letters and letter combinations

sight vocabulary

words that are immediately recognized on the basis of familiarity with their overall shapes rather than decoded

bilingual

using of capable of using two languages with nearly equal or equal facility

is it true that you shouldn’t try the “yes, but” defense with a 5 year old because they believe that even an accident means you’re guilty of an act?

true, preoperational children focus on only one aspect of something

does memorizing the alphabet require that children keep 26 chunks of information in mind at once?

false, they usually learn it through rote repetition

is IQ another term for intelligence?

false,

IQ = concrete score on an intelligence test

intelligence = abstract concept

can 2 children answer exactly the same items on an intelligence test correctly but have different results in intelligence?

true, if they are of different ages then the younger one would have the higher result

are children who obtain high IQ scores more creative?

false, it is only one part of triarchic theory/one aspect of intelligence

are adopted children more similar in intelligence to their adoptive parents than to their biological parents?

false, more similar to biological parents due to genetic factors in intellectual function

do bilingual children have more academic problems than children who only speak one language?

false, they can separate the two languages from an early age

are concrete-operational children more or less egocentric than preoperational children?

what principle holds that if A > B and B > C, then A > C?

class what involves the ability to recognize that one class of things (A) can include subclasses?

piaget believed that children’s moral judgements develop in 2 stages: moral realism and what morality?

preoperational children judge the wrongness of an act in what terms: the amount of damage done or the intentions of the wrongdoer?

in which kohlberg level do children base their moral judgements base their moral judgments on the consequences of behavior?

in which kohlberg level is right and wrong based on conformity to familial or societal standards of right and wrong?