Positive Child Guidance Chapter 1 & 3

Group Contagion

Typical toddler group behavior in which one child's gleeful action is quickly imitated by the whole group of toddlers.

doubt

A feeling of questioning, uncertainty, and hesitation.

Imprinting

A kind of early bonding in development that normally results in significant recognition ability and social attraction.

operant conditioning

A kind of learning that occurs when a spontaneous behavior is either reinforced by a reward or discouraged by punishment.

shame

A negative feeling or emotion of embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.

Learned helplessness

A person's inability to take action to make his or her life better, arising out of a sense of not being in control.

autonomy

A person's self-reliance, independence, and self sufficiency. One's capacity to make decisions and act on them.

NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)

A professional organization for early childhood educators dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, birth through age 8.

Unconscious conditioning

A response developed through the use of all the senses; an association of things seen, felt, heard, tasted, and smelled with other meaningful sensations or events

Unconscious reactions

Actions that are unplanned, devoid of forethought.

Learned behavior

An action repeated because it produced a favorable response or was taught via the reinforcing response of another

concept

An idea, understanding, or belief formed by organizing images or mental pictures from specific occurrences and experiences.

Temperament

Clusters of personality traits with individual and distinctive behavioral patterns.

expressive language

Communication with others verbally, in sign language or in writing.

Emotional growth

Developing self-concept and self-esteem and learning to manage the feelings that affect behavior.

Proximodistal

Development in a direction from closest to the body's trunk to the farthest such as controlling the muscles down the arms and finally then hands. (Gross to Fine)

Cephalocaudal

Development in a pattern from head to toe.

developmentally appropriate practice

Early education and care that is carefully planned to match the diverse interests, abilities, and cultural needs of children at various ages, and that is carried out with respect and in cooperation with their families.

secure attachment

Healthy emotional ties to caregiver.

Objective

Immediate aim or purpose.

Cues

Indications of interest or need.

responsibility

Individual accountability and answerability.

permissive style

Interactive (or control) style relying on neglect, abdication of responsibility, or over-indulgence-"the doormat."

authoritarian style

Interactive (or control) style relying on one-way communication, rigid rules, and punishment -"the sledgehammer"

authoritative style

Interactive (or control) style relying on two-way communication, collaboratively developed rules, and positive guidance-"the guide."

Social growth

Learning to understand and function appropriately in one's social environment; learning how to effectively interact with others.

Adult

One who seeks not to gain control over children but rather to guide them effectively, while setting for them first-hand examples of appropriate coping and assertive negotiation.

Goal

Overarching purpose or aspiration.

internalize

Process of taking in experiences and absorbing learning, then making them part of one's own behavior or belief.

Positive Child Guidance

Relying on the "developmental interactionist" perspective to create guidance that is primarily based on an interweaving between external forces and internal processes.

trust

Sense of security; beliefs that one's needs will be met.

Stimuli

Something taken in through the senses that might incite activity or thought; something seen, smelled, heard, felt or tasted; an incentive for action.

Appropriate Touch

Suitable for the occasion and the person affected, non exploitative, and having no concealed intention; physical contact that is casual, affectionate, reciprocal, and welcome, but never sexual or controlling.

Parent-Teacher Resource Team

Teachers and parents working together as a cooperative, respectful, and cohesive partnership.

Classical conditioning

Teaching a new response, triggered by a new stimulus by pairing it repeatedly with a stimulus for which there is a physiological reflex.

Metacognition

The ability to reflect on or evaluate one's own behavior or actions.

empathy

The ability to understand or have concern for someone other than oneself, marked by identification with understanding of another's situation, feelings and motives.

object permanence

The knowledge that something hidden from view is not gone forever but rather is in another location at that time and likely to reappear.

Pseudoconditioning

The pairing of an unconditioned stimuli with a naturally occurring stimulus - response connection.

internal sensations

The physical feelings that are caused by one or more of the sense organs being stimulated. The feelings sensed by one's own body such as hunger or fear.

External Environment

The physical surroundings or conditions around a child that influence his or her growth, development, and learning.

Habituated

The process of becoming accustomed to frequent repetition or pattern of behavior.

Stress

The process of recognizing and responding to threat or danger.

receptive language

comprehension of spoken language

egocentric

seeing the world as centered around oneself, with difficulty taking another person's perspective. This is a perfectly normal developmental characteristic of babies and very young children.