College Exam Study Guide: Child Development (Chapters 6–10)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development across infancy, early childhood, and middle childhood based on Piaget's, Erikson's, and Vygotsky's developmental theories.

Psychosocial Development

Development that involves changes in emotions, personality, relationships, and social interactions.

Temperament

A person's characteristic way of responding emotionally and behaviorally to situations, recognized as the earliest form of personality.

Emotional Development

The development of emotional expression, recognition, and regulation.

Social Development

The development of relationships and interactions with other people.

Easy Temperament

A temperamental pattern characterized by a generally positive mood, regular routines, and adapting relatively easily to new experiences.

Difficult Temperament

A temperamental pattern where a child may demonstrate intense emotional reactions and difficulty adjusting to changes.

Slow-to-Warm-Up Temperament

A temperamental pattern in which a child may initially withdraw from unfamiliar situations but gradually becomes more comfortable.

Attachment

The emotional bond that develops between an infant and caregiver, providing a foundation for emotional security and future relationships.

Secure Attachment

An attachment pattern in which the child uses the caregiver as a source of comfort and security, typically developing when caregivers provide consistent, responsive, and supportive care.

Avoidant Attachment

An attachment pattern where the child tends to avoid or minimize contact with the caregiver.

Resistant/Ambivalent Attachment

An attachment pattern where the child may become distressed when separated and difficult to comfort upon reunion.

Disorganized Attachment

An attachment pattern where the child demonstrates inconsistent, confused, or contradictory behaviors toward the caregiver.

Trust versus Mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage (infancy), where trust develops when caregivers consistently meet needs with comfort and security, and mistrust develops if care is inconsistent, unresponsive, or unreliable.

Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt

Erikson's second psychosocial stage (toddlerhood), in which children begin seeking independence by exploring and making simple decisions while benefiting from safe boundaries.

Gross Motor Skills

Physical abilities involving large body movements and muscles, such as running, jumping, climbing, throwing, and balancing.

Fine Motor Skills

Precise physical abilities involving small muscle movements, such as drawing, writing, cutting with scissors, buttoning clothing, and building with small blocks.

Preoperational Stage

Piaget's second cognitive stage (approximately ages 2–7), characterized by increased symbolic thinking and language development, though children still struggle with logical reasoning.

Egocentrism

Difficulty understanding another person's perspective, such as believing everyone sees what the child sees.

Centration

The tendency to focus on only one feature of a situation, such as thinking a taller glass contains more liquid.

Conservation

The understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance, such as recognizing that reshaped clay is still the same amount.

Symbolic Thought

Using symbols or words to represent objects, such as pretending a stick is a magic wand.

Animism

Giving human characteristics to nonliving objects, such as believing a toy is sad.

Zone of Proximal Development

In Vygotsky's theory, what a child can accomplish with assistance but cannot yet accomplish independently.

Scaffolding

Temporary guidance that helps a child learn a new skill, which is gradually reduced as the child becomes more capable.

Private Speech

Talking aloud to oneself to guide behavior and thinking.

Initiative versus Guilt

Erikson's third psychosocial stage (early childhood), where children develop confidence in planning activities and trying new things, but may feel guilt if repeatedly discouraged.

Self-Concept

How individuals describe and understand themselves.

Self-Esteem

How individuals evaluate their personal worth.

Emotional Regulation

Managing emotions and emotional reactions, such as handling frustration instead of acting out aggressively.

Empathy

Understanding or recognizing another person's feelings.

Prosocial Behavior

Actions intended to help or benefit others.

Self-Control

Managing impulses and behavior.

Gender Stereotyping

Assigning expectations, behaviors, or characteristics to individuals based on gender.

Authoritative Parenting

A parenting style that combines warmth and support with clear expectations, reasonable rules, and boundaries.

Authoritarian Parenting

A parenting style characterized by strict rules and expectations with less emphasis on open discussion.

Permissive Parenting

A parenting style that is warm and accepting but provides limited structure or discipline.

Uninvolved Parenting

A parenting style characterized by limited emotional involvement and supervision.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget's third cognitive stage (beginning around age 7; ages 7–11), where children develop logical thinking about concrete situations but may still struggle with abstract or hypothetical concepts.

Reversibility

The cognitive understanding that an action can be mentally reversed, such as understanding that addition can be reversed through subtraction.

Seriation

Arranging objects according to a particular characteristic, such as organizing pencils from shortest to longest.

Classification

Grouping objects based on shared characteristics, such as categorizing animals by species.

Decentration

Considering multiple aspects of a situation simultaneously, such as recognizing both the height and width of a glass.

Working Memory

Temporarily holding and using information during cognitive tasks.

Selective Attention

Focusing on important information while deliberately ignoring distractions.

Metacognition

Thinking about one's own thinking and learning processes.

Executive Functioning

Cognitive processes involved in planning, organizing, controlling impulses, and managing tasks.

Memory Strategies

Techniques used to improve the ability to organize and remember information.

Intelligence

Abilities related to learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and adapting to situations.

Industry versus Inferiority

Erikson's fourth psychosocial stage (middle childhood), in which children develop a sense of competence through learning and completing tasks, or feelings of inadequacy if they experience repeated failure or negative comparisons.

Peer Acceptance

The degree to which children are liked and accepted by other children.

Bullying

Repeated aggressive behavior directed toward another individual, often involving a power imbalance.

Resilience

The ability to adapt to difficult experiences, recover from challenges, and continue developing despite adversity.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's first cognitive stage (birth–2 years), characterized by learning through senses and physical actions.

Formal Operational Stage

Piaget's fourth cognitive stage (11 years and older), characterized by abstract and hypothetical reasoning.