PSYC 325 Exam 3: Chapter 9

symbolic play

Play in which children make believe that objects and toys are other than what they are. Also termed pretend play. usually begins in the second year, when the child starts to form mental representations of objects.

artificialism

The belief that environmental features were made by people.

appearance-reality distinction

The difference between real events and mental events, fantasies, and misleading appearances. Children as young as 3 can distinguish between pretended actions and real actions

operations

Flexible, reversible mental manipulations of objects, in which objects can be mentally transformed and then returned to their original states.

centration

Focusing on one dimension of a situation while ignoring others.

theory of mind

A common sense understanding of how the mind works.

fast mapping

A process of quickly determining a word's meaning, which facilitates children's vocabulary development.

precausal

A type of thought in which natural cause-and-effect relationships are attributed to will and other preoperational concepts, as in thinking that the sun sets because it is tired.

scripts

Abstract generalized accounts of familiar repeated events.

H.O.M.E What does it observe, predict, conclude, and who came up with it?

HOME stands for Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment. It observes parent-child interaction in the come. It predicts the child's IQ scores It concludes that the home environment was the single most important predictor of scores on IQ texts among children ages 3-8. developed by Bettye Caldwell and her colleagues.

Discuss the impacts of a highly academic preschool education, head start, and television programming on preschoolers

Highly academic preschool education: These schools typically offer academic programs, in which teachers structure learning experiences and the curricula take children, step by step, through learning letters, numbers, shapes and colors, and other academic competencies. The intention is to give children a running start for achievement in a challenging kindergarten and a challenging elementary school. Head start: Preschoolers enrolled in Head Start programs have made dramatic increases in readiness for elementary school and in intelligence test scores. Head Start and similar programs also can have long-term effects on educational and employment outcomes. Television programming: Television, in general, has been shown to have mixed effects on children's development. For example, no relationship has been found between general viewing and language development in children under the age of 2. However, educational television might have superior effects.

conservation

In cognitive psychology, the principle that properties of substances, such as weight and mass, remain the same (are conserved) when superficial characteristics such as their shapes or arrangement are changed. Conservation requires the ability to focus on two aspects of a situation at once, such as height and width.

irreversibility

Lack of recognition that actions can be reversed. (The child does not realize that pouring water from the tall glass to the low, wide glass can be reversed, restoring things to their original condition.)

Outline key concepts of Piaget's preoperational stage: such as egocentrism, causality, confusion of mental and physical events, and mental blinders

Piaget's preoperational stage is The second stage in Piaget's scheme, characterized by inflexible and irreversible mental manipulation of symbols. Lasts from age 2 to age 7. Egocentrism is Putting oneself at the center of things such that one is unable to perceive the world from another person's point of view. Egocentrism is normal in early childhood, but is a matter of choice, and rather intolerable, in adults. Causality is when preoperational children explain things where their reasons are likely to have an egocentric flavor and not be based on science. Confusion of mental and physical events is: according to Piaget, the preoperational child has difficulty making distinctions between mental and physical phenomena. Children between the ages of 2 and 4 show confusion between symbols and the things that they represent. Mental blinders are:

egocentrism

Putting oneself at the center of things such that one is unable to perceive the world from another person's point of view. Egocentrism is normal in early childhood, but is a matter of choice, and rather intolerable, in adults. in Piaget's use of the term, does not mean that preoperational children are selfish, It means that they do not understand that other people may have different perspectives on the world.

transductive reasoning

Reasoning from the specific to the specific. (In deductive reasoning, one reasons from the general to the specific; in inductive reasoning, one reasons from the specific to the general.) For example, a 3-year-old may argue that she should go on her swings in the backyard because it is light outside or that she should go to sleep because it is dark outside. Separate, specific events, daylight (or being awake) and going on the swings, are thought of as having cause-and-effect relationships.

rehearsal

Repetition—mental, behavioral, or both.

Outline how an understanding of the rules of grammar develops in early childhood

Somewhat similar to the naming explosion in the second year is a "grammar explosion" that occurs during the third year. Children's sentence structure expands to include the words missing in telegraphic speech.

overregularization

The application of regular grammatical rules (e.g., to create past tense and plurals) to irregular verbs and nouns. Ex. Saying "sitted" instead of "sat"

contrast assumption

The assumption that objects have only one label. Also known as the mutual exclusivity assumption (if a word means one thing, then it cannot mean another).

whole-object assumtion

The assumption that words refer to whole objects and not to their component parts or characteristics.

animism

The attribution of life and intentionality to inanimate objects.

autobiographical memory

The memory of specific episodes or events. Also known as episodic memory

mental representations

The mental forms that a real object or event can take.

pragmatics

The practical aspects of communication, such as adaptation of language to fit the social situation. For example, children show greater formality in their choice of words and syntax when they are role-playing high-status figures, such as teachers or physicians, in their games.

class inclusion

The principle that one category or class of things can include several subclasses. According to Piaget, the preoperational child cannot think about the two subclasses and the larger class at the same time.

preoperational stage

The second stage in Piaget's scheme, characterized by inflexible and irreversible mental manipulation of symbols

Discuss theory of mind, false beliefs, and the appearance-reality distinction as they relate these to the cognitive development of the early childhood child

Theory of mind: A common sense understanding of how the mind works. False beliefs: By the ages of 4 and 5, children in the United States and China are also starting to understand that beliefs may be held with differing degrees of certainty Appearance-reality distinction: The difference between real events and mental events, fantasies, and misleading appearances. In order to develop a theory of mind, a child needs to have a clear appearance-reality distinction, and need to be able to distinguish false beliefs.

Summarize memory for past events and the use of rehearsal in early childhood

Two of the basic tasks used in the study of memory are recognition and recall. One common strategy in remembering things is mental repetition, or rehearsal. Repetition—mental, behavioral, or both.

private speech

Vygotsky's concept of the ultimate binding of language and thought. Private speech originates in vocalizations that may regulate the child's behavior and become internalized by age 6 or 7.

When asked to touch a ball he cannot see and then identify its color, three-year-old Nathan says "blue." This behavior demonstrates that Nathan still does not understand _____. a. the origins of knowledge b. the appearance-reality distinction c. mental representations d. theory of mind

a. the origins of knowledge

Sheldon comes from an impoverished home, and is currently attending a preschool intervention program. What does research tell us is a likely future outcome for Sheldon? a. unemployment b. a higher income c. a large peer network d. delinquent behavior

b. a higher income

A preoperational child's failure to demonstrate conservation comes about because of a characteristic of thought known as _____. a. artificialism b. irreversibility c. class inclusion d. precausality

b. irreversibility

Brody is studying the memory skills of preschoolers. He shows them some stuffed animals and then shows them a new lineup with more animals added. Next, Brody asks his preschoolers which ones they saw the first time. What is he testing? a. mental representations b. recognition c. scripts d. recall

b. recognition

When three-year-old Chloe is asked why she thinks stars twinkle, she replies, "because they're happy." Chloe's response is an example of _____. a. conservation b. egocentrism c. animism d. artificialism

c. animism

Large-scale evaluations of the effects of the program Sesame Street have concluded that regular viewing increases children's learning for which population? a. only for European American girls and boys in rural settings b. only for African American girls and boys in urban settings c. both African American and European American girls and boys in urban, suburban, and rural settings d. only for Asian American girls in urban, suburban, and rural settings

c. both African American and European American girls and boys in urban, suburban, and rural settings

Research shows that children's _____ of tasks significantly increases when they work on and discuss these tasks with their mothers. a. scripts b. misunderstanding c. memory d. preference

c. memory

On average, how many new words do preschoolers learn each day? a. three b. twelve c. nine d. five

c. nine

Explain the concepts of scaffolding and zone of proximal development as they relate to Vygotsky's views of early childhood development

cognitive scaffolding is temporary support provided by a parent or teacher to a learning child. The guidance provided by the adult decreases as the child gains skill and becomes capable of carrying out the task on her or his own. Children's development is promoted by scaffolding. Zone of proximal development: Adults or older children can best guide the child through this zone by gearing their assistance to the child's capabilities. Human neurobiology underlies cognitive development in early childhood, but key forms of children's cognitive activities develop through interaction with older, more experienced individuals

The "three-mountains test" was used by Piaget to demonstrate which aspect of the preoperational stage of development? a. transductive reasoning b. artificialism c. precausal thought d. egocentrism

d. egocentrism

Which term describes the practical aspects of communication? a. overregularization b. grammar c. fast mapping d. pragmatics

d. pragmatics