Key Concepts in Language Development and Psychology

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to language development and psychology.

Babbling

A baby says 'bababa' while playing with a toy.

Bilingualism

A child speaks Spanish at home and English at school.

Categorical perception

Hearing /b/ vs /p/ as completely different sounds.

Connectionism

A computer model learns words by strengthening connections over time.

Cross-situational word learning

A toddler hears 'dog' across many situations and figures out what it means.

Dialect

Southern American English vs British English.

Distributional properties of speech

In English, 'ng' often appears together, but 'bn' does not.

Dual representation

A child knows a map is paper and represents a park.

Generative

You can create a sentence no one has ever said before.

Infant-directed speech (IDS)

Saying 'Hiiii babyyy!' in a high-pitched voice.

Language comprehension

Understanding the sentence 'Put your shoes on.'

Language production

Saying 'I want juice.'

Morphemes

'Un-happy' has two morphemes.

Narratives

Telling a story about your birthday party.

Overextension

Calling all animals 'dog.'

Overregularization

Saying 'goed' instead of 'went.'

Phonemes

The sounds /b/ and /p/ in 'bat' vs 'pat.'

Pragmatic cues

A parent points while naming an object.

Pragmatics

Knowing not to interrupt someone speaking.

Prosody

Raising your voice at the end of a question.

Symbols

A stop sign means 'stop.'

Syntactic bootstrapping

Guessing a new word is a verb because of sentence structure.

Syntax

Knowing 'Dog bites man' ≠ 'Man bites dog.'

Telegraphic speech

'Mommy go work.'

Underextension

Using 'cup' only for one favorite cup.

Universal Grammar

All languages have nouns and verbs.

Voice onset time (VOT)

The slight delay between saying 'pa' and 'ba.'

Word segmentation

Realizing 'icecream' is two words: ice + cream.

Achievement motivation

A child tries hard to improve a test score.

Entity theory

'I’m bad at math and always will be.'

Incremental theory

'If I practice, I’ll get better.'

Entity/helpless orientation

Giving up after failing once.

Incremental/mastery orientation

Trying again after failure.

Behavior modification

Giving stickers for good behavior.

Intermittent reinforcement

Sometimes rewarding, sometimes not.

Vicarious reinforcement

Copying a sibling who gets praised.

Self-efficacy

Believing you can do well on a test.

Oral stage

A baby puts everything in their mouth.

Anal stage

A toddler focuses on toilet training.

Phallic stage

A child becomes curious about bodies.

Latency period

Focusing on school and friendships.

Genital stage

Developing sexual maturity in adolescence.

Id

Wanting candy immediately.

Ego

Waiting until after dinner for candy.

Superego

Feeling guilty about stealing candy.

Erogenous zones

Mouth, genitals, etc., depending on stage.

Microsystem

Family, school, friends.

Mesosystem

Parent–teacher communication.

Exosystem

Parent’s job affecting child stress.

Macrosystem

Cultural beliefs about education.

Chronosystem

Growing up during COVID-19.

Attachment

A baby seeks comfort from a parent.

Attachment theory

Babies stay close to caregivers for survival.

Secure attachment

Baby cries when parent leaves but calms quickly when they return.

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Baby ignores parent after separation.

Insecure-resistant attachment

Baby clings and resists comfort.

Disorganized attachment

Baby shows confused or fearful behavior.

Secure base

A toddler explores while parent is nearby.

Internal working model

Expecting others to be trustworthy.

Parental sensitivity

A parent responds quickly to crying.

Strange Situation

Lab test observing caregiver separation.

Emotions

Feeling angry when treated unfairly.

Discrete emotions theory

Fear and joy are biologically distinct.

Functionalist perspective

Fear helps you avoid danger.

Emotion regulation

Taking deep breaths to calm down.

Emotion coaching

Parent helps child name feelings.

Emotion socialization

Learning when it’s okay to cry.

Display rules

Not laughing at a funeral.

Self-conscious emotions

Feeling embarrassed after a mistake.

Social referencing

Looking at a parent before touching a dog.

Social smiles

Smiling at a caregiver.

Stress

Heart racing before a test.

Toxic stress

Chronic abuse with no support.

Anxiety disorders

Constant excessive worry.

Depression

Persistent sadness and loss of interest.

CBT

Learning to challenge negative thoughts.

Equifinality

Different paths lead to anxiety.

Multifinality

Same risk leads to different outcomes.

Goodness of fit

Active child in a supportive environment.

Mental health

Feeling emotionally balanced and supported.

Mental disorder

Emotional problems disrupting daily life.

Aggression

Hitting another child.

Instrumental aggression

Pushing to get a toy.

Reactive aggression

Hitting after being insulted.

Proactive aggression

Bullying for control.

Direct aggression

Yelling insults.

Indirect aggression

Spreading rumors.

Prosocial behavior

Sharing snacks.

Antisocial behavior

Stealing or vandalism.

Conduct disorder (CD)

Repeated violent behavior.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

Constant arguing with adults.

Conscience

Feeling bad after lying.

Moral domain

Believing stealing is wrong.

Personal domain

Choosing what clothes to wear.

Societal domain

Following school rules.

Identity

Being a student or athlete.

Self-concept

'I am creative.'

Self-esteem

Feeling good about yourself.

Identity diffusion

No clear goals.

Moratorium

Exploring career options.