Child Development: Chapter 6+7

Schemas:

psychological structures that
organize experience through
mental categories and
conceptual models of
knowledge.

Assimilation:

cognitively incorporating new
experiences into existing
schemas.

Accommodation:

cognitive modification of schemas
as a result of experience.

Equilibration:

the process of reorganizing
schemas to incorporate new
information or experiences.

Sensorimotor stage:

a Piagetian stage of early
development characterized by
rapidly changing perceptual
and motor skills.

Primary circular reaction:

recreating a pleasing event
with the body.

Secondary circular
reaction:

learning about the sensations
and actions associated with
objects.

Tertiary circular reaction:

repetition of old schemas with
objects of different kinds.

Object permanence:

understanding that objects
continue to exist independently
of one's own actions.

Substage 1 of Sensorimotor

0-1 months. Reflexes become coordinated Sucking a nipple

Substage 2 of Sensorimotor

1-4 months. Primary circular reactions appear,
first learned adaptations to the
world
Thumb sucking

substage 3 of sensorimotor

4-8 months. Secondary circular reactions
emerge, allowing infants to learn
about objects
Shaking a toy to hear it rattle

substage 4 of sensorimotor

8-12 months. Means-end sequencing develops,
the onset of intentional behaviour
Moving an obstacle to reach a toy

substage 5 of sensorimotor

12-18 months. Tertiary circular reactions appear,
allowing children to experiment
with new behaviours
Shaking different toys to hear the
sounds they make

Substage 6 of Sensorimotor

18-24 months. Mental representation of the world. Deferred imitation, the start of
make-believe play

deferred imitation

acting out events or behaviours
seen at an earlier time.

Information processing:

a theory proposing that human
cognition is like computer
hardware and software.

Sensory memory:

raw, unanalyzed information
held for only a few seconds.

Working memory:

the active, cognitive
manipulation of information.

Long-term memory:

limitless, permanent storage of
acquired information.

Procedural memory:

memory for how to do things.

Semantic memory:

memory for particular facts.

Autobiographical or
episodic memory:

people's memory of the significant
events and experiences of
their own lives.

Neo-Piagetian approach:

a theory of cognitive
development that retains
Piagetian stage theory but takes
an information-processing
approach to skill development.

Orienting response:

a physical reaction to a strong
or unfamiliar stimulus.

Habituation:

a state of diminished responding
to a stimulus as it becomes more
familiar.

Dishabituation:

a state of reorientation, when
a person becomes aware of a
stimulus to which the person
previously had habituated. recovery of habituation

Infantile amnesia:

the inability to remember
events from early in one's life.

Egocentric frame of
reference:

thinking of objects in space
exclusively in terms of their
relationship to the child's own
body position.

Objective frame of
reference:

thinking of objects in space
relative to the position of
objects or persons other than
oneself.

Phonemes:

unique sounds joined to create
words.

Infant-directed speech:

speaking slowly in exaggerated
changes of pitch and
loudness when
communicating with babies;
formerly called "motherese."

Cooing:

long strings of vowel sounds
produced by babies around 2
months of age.

Babbling:

speech-like sound that has no
meaning.

Intonation:

a pattern of rising or falling
pitch similar to the pattern in
normal conversation.

Naming explosion:

a period of language learning
around 18 months of age when
children rapidly acquire new
words.

Fast mapping:

the ability of children to
rapidly connect new words to
their referents.

Underextension:

when a word is defined too
narrowly.

Overextension:

when a word is defined too
broadly.

Referential style:

a child's initial tendency to learn
primarily words that name
objects,
persons, or actions
instead
of social phrases.

Expressive style:

a child's initial tendency to
learn primarily social phrases
in language rather than object
names.

Social smiles:

smiling in response to seeing
another human face.

Clowning:

nonverbal behaviour that is
absurd and that elicits infant
laughter.

Stranger anxiety (stranger
wariness):

signs of fear in an infant in
response to an unfamiliar
adult.

Social referencing:

looking at a trusted caregiver
for clues about how to react to
a situation.

Attachment:

an enduring social-emotional
relationship.

Internal working model:

a set of expectations about
parents' availability and
responsivity generally and in
times of stress.

Reactive attachment
disorder:

a mental disorder involving
disturbances in emotional
functioning and a pattern
of inappropriate interpersonal
behaviours in children,
thought to result from disrupted
early attachments.

Privation:

a condition in which the basic
necessities and comforts of life
are not adequately provided.

Nonsocial play:

playing alone or watching others
play.

Parallel play:

playing alone but near others
while maintaining an interest
in what the others are doing.

Simple social play:

youngsters interacting socially
during play activities.

Co-operative play:

play that is organized around
a distinct theme and involves
children taking on special roles
based on that theme.

Self-concept:

attitudes, behaviours, and
values that a person believes
make the self unique.

Temperament:

an infant's consistent mood
and style of behaviour.

Emotionality:

the strength of an emotional
response to a situation, the
ease with which that response
is triggered, and the ease of
return to a nonemotional state.

Activity:

the tempo and vigour of a
child's movements.

Sociability:

the extent to which a person
prefers to be with other people.