Psychology Final

preoperational intelligence 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. centration 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 egocentrism 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. focus on appearance 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 static reasoning a characteristic of preoperational though in which a young child thinks that nothing changes. whatever is now has always been and will be. irreversibility 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. conservation the principle that the amount of a substance remains the same (i.e. is conserved) when its appearance changes. animism the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive guided participation the process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations zone of proximal development vygotsky's term for the skills - cognitive as well as physical - that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently 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 private speech the internal dialogue that occurs when people talk to themselves (either silently or out loud). social meditation human interaction that expands and advances understanding, often through words that one person uses to explain something to another. theory-theory the idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories theory of mind 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. fast mapping the speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentavily placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning. overregularization the application of rules of grammar even when exptions occur, making the languague seem more "regular" than it acutally is. balanced bilingual a person who is fluent in two languages, not favoring one over the other. montessori schools schools that offer early childhood eduation based on the philosophy of maria montessori, which emphasizes careful work and tasks that each young child can do. reggio emilia approach a famous program of early-childhood education that originated in the town of reggio emili, italy, and that encourages each child's creativity in a carefully designed setting. emotional regulation the ability to control when and how emotions are expressed initiative versus guilt erikson's third psychosocial crisis, in which children undertake new skills and activities and feel guilty when they do not succeed at them self esteem a person's evaluation of his or her own worth, either in specifics (e.g., intelligence, attractiveness) or overall self concept a person's understanding of who he or she is, in relation to self-esteem, appearance, personality, and various traits. intrinsic motivation a drive, or reason to pursue a goal, that comes from inside a person, such as the need to feel smart or competent. extrinsic motivation a drive, or reason to pursue a goal, that arises from the need to have one's achievements rewarded from outside, perhaps by reciving material possessions or another person's esteem psychopathology an illness or disorder of the mind externalizing problems difficulty with emotional regulation that involves expressing powerful feelings throughuncontrolled physical or verbal outbursts, as by lashing out at other people or breaking things. internalizing problems difficulty with emotional regulation that involves turning one's emotional distress inward, as by feeling excessibely guilty, ashamed, or worthless. rough and tumble play play that mimics agression through wrestling, chasing, or hitting, but in which there is not intent to harm. sociodramatic play pretend play in which children act out various roles and themes in stories that they create. authoritarian parenting an approach to child rearing that is characterized by high behavioral standards, strict punishment of misconduct, and little communication. permissive parenting an approach to child rearing that is characterized by high nurturance and communication but little discipline, guidance, or control authoritative parenting an approach to child rearing in which the parents set limits but listen to the child ad are flexible. neglectful/uninvolved parenting an approach to child rearing in which the parents are indifferent toward their children and unaware of what is going on in ther child's lives. empathy the ability to understand the emotions and concerns of another person, especially when they differ from one's own. antipathy feelings of dislike or even hatered for another person prosocial behavior feelings and actions that are helpful and kind but are of no obvious benefit to oneself. antisocial behavior feelings and actions that are deliberately hurtful or destructive to another person. insturmental aggression hurtful behavior that is intended to get or keep something that another person has. reactive aggression and impulsive retaliation for another person's intentional or accidental action, verbal or physical. relational aggression nonphysical acts, such as insults or social rejection, aimed at harming the social connection between the victim and other people. bullying aggression unprovoked, repeated physical or verbal attack, especialy on victims who are unlikely to defend themselves. psychological control a disciplinary technique that involves threatening to withdraw love and support and that relies on a child's feelings of guilt and gratitude to the parents time out a disciplinary technique in which a child is separated from other people for a specified time. sex differences biological differences between males and females, in organs, hormones, and body type. gender differences differences in the roles and behavior of males and females that are prescibed by culture. phallic stage freud's third stage of development when the penis becomes the focus of concern and pleasure oedipus complex the unconcscious desire of young boys to replace their father and win their mother's exclusive love. superego in psychoanalytic theory, the jugmental part of the personality that internalizes the moral standards of the parents. electra complex the unconscious desire of girls to replace their mother and win their father's exclusive love. identification an attempt to defend one's self concept by taking on the behaviors and attides of someone else. gender schema a cognitive concept or general belief based onone's experiences - in this case, a child's understanding of sex differences androgyny a balance, within on person, of traditionally masculine and feminine psychological characteristics middle childhood the period between early childhood and early adolescence, approximately from ages 7 to 11. BMI (body mass index) a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters overweight in an adult, having a bmi of 25 to 29, having a bmi above the 85th percentile, according to the US centers for disease control's 1980 standards for children of a given age. obesity in an adult, having a bmi of 30 or  more. in a child, having a bmi above the 95th percentile, according to the US centers for disease control's 1980 standards for children of a given age. asthma a chronic disease of the respiratiory system in which inflammation narrows the airways from the nose and mouth to the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing. signs and symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. reaction time the time it takes to respond to a stimulus, either physically (with a reflexive movement such as an eye blink) or cognitively (with a thought) seletive attention the ability to concentrate on some stimuli wihile ignoring others. automatization a process in which repetition of a sequence of thoughts and actions makes the sequence of routine, so that it no longer requires conscious thought. aptitude the potential to master a specific skill or to learn a certian body of knowledge iq test a test designed to measure intellectual aptitude, or the ability to learn in school.  originally, intelligence was definded as metal age divided by chronological age, times 100 - hence the term intelligence quotient, or IQ achievement test a measure of mastery or proficiency in reading, mathematics, writing, science, or some other subject Wechsler intelligence schale for children (WISC) and iq test designed for school age children.  the test assesses the potential in many ages, including vocabulary, general knowledge, memory, and spatial comprehension. flynn effect the rise in average iq scores that has occured over the decades in many nations children with special needs children who, because of a physical or metal disability, require extra help in order to learn. developmental psychopathology the field that uses insights to typical development to understand the remediate developmental disorders, and vice versa. attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder a condition in which a person not only has a great difficulty concentrating for more than a few moments but also is inattentive, impulsive, and overactive comorbidity the presence of two or more unrelated disease conditions at the same time in the same person. learning disability a marked delay in a particular area of learning that is not caused by an apparenty physical disability, by metal retardation, or by an unusually stressful home enviornment. dyslexia unusual difficulty with reading; thought to be the result of some neurological underdevelopment autism a developmental disorder marked by an inability to relate to other people normally, extreme self absorption, and an inability to acquire normal speech autistic spectrum disorder any of several disorders characterized by inadequate social skills, impared communication, and unusual play. asperger syndrome a specific type of autistic spectrum disorder, characterized by extreme attention to details and deficient social understanding. individual education plan (IEP) a document that specifies educational goals and plans for a child with special needs. least restrictive enviornment (LRE) a legal requirement that children with special needs be assigned to the most general educational context in which they can be expected to learn. resource room a room in which trained teachers help children with special nees, using specialized curricula and equipment inclusion an approach to educating children with special needs in which they are included in regular classrooms, with "appropriate aids and services, " as required by law. concrete operational thought piagets term for the ability to reason logically aout direct experiences ad perceptions classification the logical principle that things can be organized into groups (or categories or classes) according to some characteristic they have in common. identity the logical principle that certain characteristics of an object remain the same even if other characteristics change. reversiblility the logical principle that a thing that has been changed can sometimes be returned to its original state by reversing the process by which it was changed. information processing theory a perspective that compares thuman thinking process, by ananogy, to computer analysis of data, including sensory input, connections, stored memories, and output. working memory the component of the information processing system in which current conscious mental activity occurs. ( also called short term memory) long term memory the component of the information processing system in which virtually limitless amounts of information can be stored indefinitely knowledge base a body of knowledge in a particular area that makes it easier to master new information in that area control processes mechanisims (including selective attention, metacognition, and emotion regulation) that combine memory, processing speed, and knowledge to regulate the analysis and flow of information within the information processing system. meta cognition "thinking about thinking," or the ability to evaluate a cognitive task in order to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one's performance on that task. english language learner (ELL) a child who is learning english as a second languague. language shift a change from one language to another, which occurs not only in speaking and writing but also in the brain.  a language shift is evident in many children who no longer speak or understand their mother tongue because a new language has come to dominate the linguistic areas of their brains. immersion a strategy in which instruction in all school subjects occurs in the second (majority) language that a child is learning. bilingual education a strategy in which school subjects are taught in both the learner's original language and the second (majority) language. ESL (english as a second language) an approach to teaching english in which all children who do not speak english are placed together in an intensive course to learn basic english so that they can be educated in the same classroom as native english speakers. progress in international reading literacy study (PIRLS) inaugurated in 2001, a planned five year cycle of international trend studies in the reading ability of fourth graders TIMMS (trends in math and science study) an international assessment of the math and science skills of fourth and eighth graders.  although the TIMSS is very useful, different countries scores are not always comparable, because sample selection, test administration, and content validity are hard to keep uniform. no child left behind act a US law enacted in 2001 that was intended to increase accountability in education by requiring states to qualify for federal educational funding by administering standardized tests to measure school achievement. national assessment of educational progress (NAEP) an ongoing and nationally representative measure of US childrens achievement in reading, mathematics, and other subjects over time; nicknamed "the nations report card." hidden curriculum the unofficial, unstated, or implicit rules and priorities that influence the academic curriculum and ever other aspect of learning in school. phonics approach teaching reading by first teaching the sounds of each letter and of various letter combinations whole language approach teaching reading by encouraging early use of all language skills - talking and listening, reading and writing. industry versus inferiority the fourth of erikson's eight psychosocial crises, during which children attempt to master many skills, developing a sense of themselves as either industrious or inferior, competent or incompetent latency freud's term for middle childhood, during which children's emotional drives and psychosexual needs are quiet (latent).  freud thought that sexual conflicts from earlier stages are only temporarily submerged, bursting forth again at puberty. social comparison the tendency to assess ones abilities , achievements, social status, and other attributes by measuring them against those of other people, especially one's peers. effortful control the ability to regulate ones emotions and actions through effor, not simply through natural inclination. resilience the capacity to adapt well to significant adversity and to overcome serious stress. famiy structure the legal and genetic relationships among relatives living in the same home; includes nuclear family, extended family, stepfamily, and so on. family function the way a family works to meet the needs of its members. children need families to provide basic material necessities, to encourage learning, to help them develop self respect, to nurture friendshkips, and to foster harmony and sability. nuclear family a family that consists of a father, a mother, and thier biological children under age 18. single parent family a family that consists of only one parent and his or her biological children under age 18. extended family a family of three or more generations living in one household. polygamous family a family consisting of one man, several wives, and the biological children of the man and his wives. blended family a stepparent family that includes children born to several families, such as the biological children from the spouses previous marriages and the biological children of the new couple. culture of children the particular habits, styles, and values that reflect the set of rules and rituals that chracterize children as distinct from adult society. agressive rejected rejected by peers because of antagonistic, confrontational behavior withdrawn rejected rejected by peers because of timid, withdrawn, and anzious behavior. social cognition the ability to understand social interactions, including the causes and consequences of human behavior. bullying repeated, systematic effors to inflict harm through physical, verbal, or social attack on a weaker person. bully victim someone who attacks others and who is attacked as well. (also called provocative victims because they do things that elicit bullying, such as stealing a bully's pencil). preconventional moral reasoning kohlberg's first level of moral reasoning, emphasizing rewards and punishments. conventional moral reasoning kohlberg's second level of moral reasoning, emphasizing social rules. postconventional moral reasoning kohlberg's third level of moral reasoning, emphasizing moral principles.