Ap psychology unit 3 development and learning

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

Theory describing the stages of cognitive development in children.

Sensorimotor Stage

The first stage (0-2 years) where infants learn object permanence.

Preoperational Stage

The second stage (2-7 years) characterized by egocentrism and symbolic thought.

Concrete Operational Stage

The third stage (7-11 years) where children develop conservation and logical thought.

Formal Operational Stage

The fourth stage (12+ years) involving abstract reasoning.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

A theory outlining 8 stages of development from infancy to late adulthood with key conflicts.

Kohlberg’s Moral Development

A theory of moral development with levels: Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

A concept from Vygotsky's theory indicating the difference between what a learner can do without help and with help.

Scaffolding

Support given to learners that is gradually removed as they become more independent.

Classical Conditioning

A learning theory developed by Pavlov that associates a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

A theory by Skinner that emphasizes reinforcement and punishment to shape behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a stimulus to increase a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing a stimulus to increase a behavior.

Positive Punishment

Adding an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Negative Punishment

Removing a positive stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Observational Learning

Learning by observing others, highlighted by Bandura's Bobo doll experiment.

Habituation

Learning to ignore repetitive, irrelevant stimuli.

Behavior Modification

Using reinforcements to change behavior.

Exposure Therapy

A method to treat phobias through systematic desensitization.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire when one observes another performing an action, important in observational learning.

Instinctive Drift

The tendency for learned behaviors to revert to innate behaviors.