Chapters 5, 8, and 11 Study Guide: Cognitive Development, Learning, and Intelligence

Vocabulary flashcards covering developmental psychology topics from Chapters 5, 8, and 11, including cognitive theories, language development, conditioning, intelligence, and educational programs.

Sensorimotor (0–2 years), focused on senses and actions; Preoperational (2–7 years), focused on language and imagination; Concrete operational (7–11 years), marked by logical thinking about real situations; and Formal operational (12+ years), marked by abstract thinking.

Piaget's Four Stages

Object Permanence

Knowing something still exists even when you cannot see it.

A-not-B Error

A mistake in which a baby looks for an object in its old hiding spot even after seeing it moved.

Lev Vygotsky

Psychologist who believed children learn through social interactions and guidance.

Cognitive Milestones (Infancy)

Important thinking skills such as recognizing faces, finding hidden objects, and solving problems.

Language Milestones (Infancy)

Developmental stages including cooing (around 2 months), babbling (around 6 months), first words (around 12 months), and two-word sentences (around 2 years).

Child-Directed Speech

Speaking to babies using simple words, a higher voice, and slower speech.

Noam Chomsky

Linguist who believed humans have an inborn ability to learn language.

Ivan Pavlov

Scientist who studied classical conditioning through experiments with dogs.

Classical Conditioning

Learning by associating two things together.

Operant Conditioning

Learning through rewards and punishments.

B.F. Skinner

Psychologist who studied operant conditioning and how consequences affect behavior.

Shaping

Rewarding small steps toward learning a new behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding something rewarding to increase a behavior.

John B. Watson

Psychologist known for behaviorism and the Little Albert experiment.

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura's theory that people learn by watching and copying others.

Explicit Memory

Consciously remembering information.

Semantic Memory

Remembering facts and knowledge.

Episodic Memory

Remembering personal events and experiences.

Implicit Memory

Unconscious memory of skills and habits, like riding a bike.

Short-Term Memory

Holding information in your mind for a short period.

Long-Term Memory

Storing information for a long period, sometimes for life.

Pretend Play

Using imagination to act out situations or roles.

Egocentrism

Difficulty seeing things from another person's perspective.

Syncretism

Connecting unrelated events as if one caused the other.

Animism

Believing nonliving objects have feelings or are alive.

Conservation

Understanding that quantity stays the same even when appearance changes.

Zone of Proximal Development

What a child can accomplish with help but cannot yet do alone.

Private Speech

Talking to yourself to guide your actions or thinking.

Divided Attention / Multitasking

Paying attention to multiple activities at once.

Selective Attention

Focusing on one thing while ignoring distractions.

Sustained Attention

Staying focused on something for a long period.

Executive Function

Skills used for planning, focusing, controlling impulses, and making decisions.

Neo-Piagetians

Psychologists who expanded Piaget's ideas by including memory and information processing.

Theory-Theory

The concept that children create and change their own explanations about how the world works.

Theory of Mind

Understanding that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

False Belief

Understanding that someone can believe something that is incorrect.

Cognitive Milestones in Early Childhood

Key early childhood thinking improvements including memory, imagination, problem-solving, counting, and logical thinking.

Language Milestones in Early Childhood

Key language developments including larger vocabulary, longer sentences, improved grammar, and better storytelling.

Early Childhood Education Models

Montessori: independent learning; Reggio Emilia: projects and creativity; Head Start: school preparation; Waldorf: imagination and creativity; Traditional preschool: structured learning.

Mathematics (Early Childhood)

Learning numbers, counting, shapes, patterns, and basic math.

Reading (Early Childhood)

Learning letters, sounds, words, and eventually reading sentences.

Autism

A developmental condition involving differences in social communication, behavior, interests, and sensory processing.

Concrete Operational Thought

Piaget's stage when children ages $7-11$ begin thinking logically about real situations.

Seriation

Arranging objects in order, such as smallest to largest.

Classification

Grouping objects based on similar characteristics.

Reversibility

Understanding that actions can be undone or reversed.

Decentration

Being able to focus on multiple parts of a situation at once.

Identity

Understanding something remains the same even when its appearance changes.

Transitivity

The logical principle that if A is bigger than B and B is bigger than C, then A is bigger than C.

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Robert Sternberg's model consisting of three types of intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical.

Howard Gardner's Nine Domains

A theory of intelligence comprising linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and proposed existential intelligence.

Working Memory

Holding and using information in your mind while completing a task.

Attention

The ability to focus on information or activities.

Memory Strategies

Methods used to remember information, such as repetition, grouping, and organization.

Metacognition

Thinking about your own thinking and learning.

Critical Thinking

Evaluating information and evidence before making decisions.

Reliability

A standard in testing meaning that a test gives consistent results.

Validity

A standard in testing meaning that a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A score measuring intellectual abilities compared with others of the same age, where average IQ is $100$.

Flynn Effect

The historical increase in average IQ test scores across generations.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test

A test measuring intelligence through reasoning, knowledge, memory, and problem-solving.

Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale

An intelligence test developed by David Wechsler to measure different mental abilities in adults.

Achievement Tests

Tests that measure what someone has learned.

Aptitude Tests

Tests that measure the potential to learn or perform certain tasks.

Assimilation

Fitting new information into existing knowledge.

Accommodation

Changing existing knowledge to understand something new.

Learning Disorder

A condition that causes ongoing difficulty with academic skills such as reading, writing, or math.

Learning Disability

A condition affecting the ability to learn or use certain academic skills; also serves as a special education eligibility category.

IEP (Individualized Education Program)

A written plan providing specialized instruction, services, and educational goals for eligible students with disabilities.