Psychology Final

Piaget's term for cognitive development between the ages of about 2 and 6; it includes language and imagination (which involves symbolic thought), but logical, operational thinking is not yet possible.

A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others. and example is a child thinks their dad is a father, not a brother because of his role in the family

Piaget's term for children's tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective. an example is a child giving their mother a present they would enjoy, but the parent may not.

A characteristic of preoperational though in which a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent. an example is a girl with short hair is thought to be a boy

A characteristic of preoperational though in which a young child thinks that nothing changes. whatever is now has always been and will be.

A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing can be undone. a thing cannot be restored to the way it was before a change occured.

The principle that the amount of a substance remains the same (i.e. is conserved) when its appearance changes.

The belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive

The process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations

Vygotsky's term for the skills - cognitive as well as physical - that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently

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

The internal dialogue that occurs when people talk to themselves (either silently or out loud).

Human interaction that expands and advances understanding, often through words that one person uses to explain something to another.

The idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories

A person's theory of what other people might be thinking. in order to have a theory of mind, children must realize that other people are not necissarily thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are. that realization is seldom possible before age 4.