Middle Childhood Lifespan Development Vocabulary

Comprehensive key terms and vocabulary definitions from the lecture on Middle Childhood (ages 6 to 11), covering physical growth, cognitive processing, education, family dynamics, peer relations, and psychological health.

Rough-and-Tumble Play

Vigorous play that involves wrestling, kicking, chasing, and screaming, which appears to be universal among children.

Spatial Relationships

Cognitive ability in concrete-operational children involving a clear idea of distance from place to place, better use of maps and models, and logical thought in real-time.

Seriation

The cognitive advancement of arranging objects in a series based on a specific dimension, such as from lightest to darkest or earliest to latest.

Transitive Inference

The ability to recognize the relationship between two objects by understanding each object's relationship to a third object.

Class Inclusion

The cognitive ability to see the relationship between a whole and its constituent parts.

Inductive Reasoning

A form of logical reasoning that begins with specific observations and moves toward general conclusions.

Deductive Reasoning

A form of logical reasoning that begins with general premises and applies them to make specific conclusions.

Conservation

The cognitive ability of children in concrete operations to solve conservation problems mentally by understanding identity, reversibility, and decentering.

Executive Function

Developmental brain changes in the prefrontal cortex, myelinated pathways, and synaptic pruning that allow children to regulate and sustain attention, process and retain information, and plan and monitor behavior.

Selective Attention

The cognitive capability to focus on required information while actively ignoring irrelevant information.

Metamemory

Knowledge and awareness regarding the processes and functioning of memory.

Mnemonics

Strategic techniques used to assist memory, including external memory aids, rehearsal, organization, and elaboration.

Rehearsal

A mnemonic strategy involving the conscious repetition of information, such as repeating a phone number and address in one's head.

Organization (Memory Strategy)

A mnemonic strategy that involves grouping or placing information into categories such as animals or colors.

Elaboration

A mnemonic strategy where a person imagines or creates mental connections between items associated with something else to aid memory.

English-Immersion

A second-language education approach in which non-native children are immersed entirely in the English language.

Bilingual Education

An educational system where children are taught in two languages, starting first in their native language before transitioning to English.

Two-Way (Dual-Language) Learning

An educational approach where native English speakers and English-language learners are taught together in both languages.

Decoding

A approach to identifying printed words that emphasizes phonetic analysis and code-emphasis rules.

Visually Based Retrieval

A whole-language approach to reading where children identify printed words by visual recognition.

Convergent Thinking

The type of thinking evaluated by standard IQ tests that aims to find a single correct answer to a problem.

Divergent Thinking

Thinking that develops a wide array of new possibilities and unusual uses, serving as the basis for creativity.

Representational Systems

The third stage in the development of self-definition, occurring around age $7$ or $8$, characterized by breadth, balance, and the integration and assessment of various aspects of the self.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erik Erikson's fourth psychosocial stage in middle childhood, where children develop a sense of competence by mastering skills and completing tasks.

Coregulation

A transitional phase in family development during middle childhood where parents maintain general supervision while children exercise moment-to-moment self-regulation.

Internalizing Behaviors

Responses to emotional conflict expressed inwardly through anxiety, fearfulness, and depression.

Externalizing Behaviors

Responses to emotional conflict directed outward through aggression, fighting, disobedience, and hostility.

Joint Custody

A legal arrangement post-divorce in which both parents share the rights and responsibilities for making decisions regarding their child.

Joint Physical Custody

A custody arrangement where the child lives part of the time with each parent.

Co-Parenting

An arrangement in which two adults work together in a cooperative fashion to raise a child.

Prejudice

Unfavorable attitudes held toward members of groups outside one's own, particularly targeting racial and ethnic groups.

Hostile Aggression

Aggression intended to hurt another person, which increases proportionally during middle childhood and becomes more verbal.

Bullying

Deliberate and persistent aggression directed against a specific target or victim, taking physical, verbal, relational, or emotional forms.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

A persistent pattern of behavior in middle childhood characterized by negativity, hostility, and defiance.

Conduct Disorder (CD)

A repetitive and persistent pattern of aggressive, antisocial behavior that violates societal norms or the rights of others.

School Phobia

An unrealistic fear associated with attending school.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Excessive and prolonged anxiety regarding separation from home or attachment figures.

Social Phobia

An extreme fear or avoidance of social situations.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety that is diffuse and not focused on any single specific target.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Anxiety driven by repetitive, intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that frequently lead to compulsive ritual behaviors.

Childhood Depression

A mood disorder extending beyond normal sadness, marked by symptoms such as prolonged friendlessness, inability to have fun, fatigue, worthlessness, and thoughts of suicide.

Individual Psychotherapy

A therapeutic treatment technique in which a clinician works one-on-one with a troubled individual.

Family Therapy

A treatment modality where a therapist meets with the entire family group together.

Behavior Therapy

A psychological treatment approach grounded in learning theory principles to encourage desired behaviors and eliminate undesired ones.

Resilient Children

Children who manage to function well despite threats, weather adverse circumstances, or bounce back from traumatic experiences.