PSY 200-Module 12 Vocab

maturation

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

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

cognition

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

schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilate

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodate

(1) in developmental psychology, adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information. (2) in sensation and perception, the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

sensorimotor stage

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

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

preoperational stage

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

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

egocentric

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

concrete operational stage

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

formal operational

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

scaffold

in Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

attachment

an emotional tie with others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

temperament

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers