AP Psychology: Unit 8 Topic 1

Piaget and Vygotsky

developmental psychology

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

Jean Piaget

studied how children and youth gradually become able to think logically and scientifically

Lev Vygotsky

developed a theory about how our social interactions influence our cognitive development

zone of proximal development

the gap between what a child can do on their own and what a child can do with support

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

schema

mental categories/concepts

accommodation

occurs when a child’s theories are modified based on an experience

assimilation

incorporates new experiences into existing mental structures and behaviors

object permanence

understanding that an object is present even when covered

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 about 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic (also highly emotional, self-centered, and engage in pretend play)

egocentric

difficulty perceiving things from another’s point of view

 theory of mind

understanding others’ point of view and the behaviors these might predict

concrete operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events (learn basics of math, reading, science, and history)

formal operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (beginning at age 11) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

abstract thinking

our reasoning involves imagined realities and symbols, not just actual experience

scaffolding

the way in which parents and others mentor children to promote cognitive growth (the main role of adults/teachers)

animism

young children's beliefs that inanimate objects are capable of actions and have life-like qualities

reversibility

the cognitive ability to understand that actions can be reversed, leading to the same or original state; ability to take an action or relationship two ways

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks using mostly nouns and verbs

imitation

when babies copy the behaviors of those around them

separation anxiety

stress when a parent leaves

centration

when children focus on length and height rather than number and volume

symbolism

when children can recognize objects with drawing or words

hypothetical thinking

the ability to consider circumstances that haven’t happened; “what if?”

deductive reasoning

applying general principles to abstract cases