Developmental Psychology: Childhood
symbolic play
A child's ability to imagine that an object or a person has properties or abilities other than those that actually have
symbolic function
A child's ability to use a mental representations, a word, or an object to stand for, or represent, something that is not physically present.
Irreversibility
A child's inability to comprehend that certain operations and actions can be reversed
Centration
A child's tendency to exclusively focus on one particular aspect of a situation.
Transduction
A child's tendency to mentally link various experiences or events even if there is no logical reason to their association
Project Head Start
A government-funded program that is designed to provide children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences important for school success.
cooperative play
A kind of play that includes mutual activities like taking turns and sharing materials and activities. Is noticeable around the time of kindergarten
Associative play
A kind of play where children interact with each other but are not dependent on each other's cooperation. Occurs beginning at about age 3 years.
parallel play
A kind of play where children play next to each other but for the most part do not engage each other.
Dysgraphia
A learning disability that involves difficulty in handwriting.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
A legal document defining the educational program and related services for a specific student who has a disability.
identity
A person's understanding of who he or she is
whole object assumption
A process of speech in which a child assumes that words refer to whole objects and not to their component parts or their characteristics, such as size, color, or texture.
zone of proximal development
A range of tasks too difficult for the child to do alone but possible with the help of an adult or a more skilled peer.
acute illness
A sudden illness from which a person is expected to recover
executive attention
Action that involves planning a goal, providing attention to that goal, working through any errors that may occur, and finally monitoring the progress that one has made.
whole language approach
An approach to reading instruction based on the idea that instruction should parallel children's natural language learning. Reading materials should be whole and meaningful.
Relevant stimuli
Any stimulus that is important to the task at hand.
Sailent stimuli
Any stimulus that stands out from others.
constructive play
Play that involves a purposeful outcome like a construction
pretend play
Play that involves make-believe activities
Stuttering
substantial disruption in the rhythm and fluency of speech; the most common speech impairment
child-centered programs
teachers provide a variety of activities from which children select, and much learning takes place through play
academic programs
teachers structure children's learning, teaching letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and other academic skills through formal lessons, often using repetition and drill
phonics approach
teaching reading by first teaching the sounds of each letter and of various letter combinations
Scaffolding
temporary support that is tailored to a learner's needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process
transitive inference
the ability to figure out the unspoken link between one fact and another
Seriation
the ability to order and organize items along a quantitative dimension, such as length or weight
metalinguistic awareness
the ability to reflect on the use of language
Pragmatics
the appropriate use of language in different contexts
immanent justice
the concept that if a rule is broken, punishment will be meted out immediately
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
Egocentrism
the inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes
Categorization
the natural tendency of humans to sort objects into groups
Social Interaction
the process by which children and more knowledgeable members of society, act and react in relation to others
Dyscalculia
unusual difficulty with math, probably originating from a distinct part of the brain
Contrast assumption
The process by which children assume that objects have only one label and that new terms must refer to unfamiliar objects because familiar objects already have labels
Heritability
The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.
Flynn effect
The worldwide increase in intelligence test scores that has occurred over a relatively short period of time.
concrete operations
To use mental operations and logic to solve specific, concrete, or actual problems
authoritative
(adj.) official, coming from a source that calls for obedience or belief; dictatorial
Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME)
A checklist for gathering information about the quality of children's home lives through observation and parental interview.
spatial thinking
A child's ability to analyze, interpret, and problem solve using pattern recognition and the spatial relationships between objects.
Animism
Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.
Culture
Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.
private speech
Children's self-directed speech, which they use to guide their own thinking and behavior and do not intend for anyone else to hear.
bullying
Deliberate verbal or physical behavior used as a means to disturb or intimidate someone
Personality
Enduring emotional and behavioral characteristics that make individuals different from others.
Organization
Grouping items together to make them easier to remember
autonomous morality
In Piaget's theory of moral development, the stage at which a person understands that people make rules and that punishments are not automatic.
functional play
Simple, repetitive play, with or without objects
fuzzy trace theory
States that memory is best understood by considering two types of memory representation; verbatim memory trace and gist.
Elaboration
The ability to create a relationship or shared meaning between two or more pieces of information. For example, the letter ROY G BIV are used to remember the colors of the rainbow.
inductive reasoning
The ability to draw a logical and and general conclusion from particulars, specifics, and unique experiences
sustained attention
The ability to maintain attention to selected stimuli for a prolonged period of time. Also called vigilance.
Operations
The ability to perform reversible actions mentally without the assistance of physical maneuvering or manipulation.
cause-and-effect thinking
The ability to understand ordered events that follow a logical squence
conservation
The ability to understand that so long as nothing has been added or taken away, the altering of an object's appearance does not alter its basic properties.
overregularization
The application of regular grammar rules (incorrectly) to form irregular verbs and nouns
Self
The characteristics that define individual
self-understanding
The child's cognitive representation of self, the substance and content of the child's self-conceptions.
heteronomous morality
The first stage of moral development in Piaget's theory, occurring from approximately 4 to 7 years of age. Justice and rules are conceived of as unchangeable properties of the world, removed from the control of people.
prefrontal cortex
The front portion of the brain, comprising the two frontal lobes.
Postconventional Reasoning
The highest level in Kohlberg's theory of moral development. At this level, the individual recognizes alternative moral courses, explores the options, and then decides on a personal moral code.
fast mapping
The process by which a child quickly attaches a new word to its appropriate concept.
sociocultural theory
Vygotsky's theory of how contextual factors affect children's development
rejecting-neglecting
a child-rearing style in which parents are neither restrictive and controlling nor supportive and responsive
Induction
a discipline technique that combines parental control with explaining why a behavior is prohibited
sociometric status
a measurement that reflects the degree to which children are liked or disliked by their peers as a group
working memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
mandated reporter
a person who is required by law to report maltreatment to children
bilingual education
a strategy in which school subjects are taught in both the learner's original language and the second (majority) language
depth of analysis
a thorough and detailed analysis; carefully considering all parts
preconventional reasoning
according to Kohlberg, the first and second stages of moral reasoning, which are focused on getting rewards and avoiding punishments
self-fulfilling prophecy
an expectation that causes you to act in ways that make that expectation come true.
chronic illness
an illness or health condition that begins gradually and is ongoing
Alphabetic Principle
an understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken words.
Montessori education
child-centered approach with equal emphasis on academic and social development
moral development
growth in the ability to tell right from wrong, control impulses, and act ethically
dyslexia
impairment of the ability to read and spell
myopia
nearsightedness; lack of foresight
Authoritarian
parents impose rules and expect obedience
Peers
people of the same age who share similar interests
permissive indulgent
permissive parenting in which parents are so involved that children are allowed to behave without set limits
deductive reasoning
reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)