Piaget's Theory and Information Processing: Key Terms and Concepts, Quizzes of Psychology

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TERM 1 Sensation DEFINITION 1 the processing of basic information from the external world by the sensory receptors in the sense organs (eyes, ears, skin, etc.) and brain TERM 2 Perception DEFINITION 2 the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information TERM 3 Preferential-looking technique DEFINITION 3 a method for studying visual attention in infants that involves showing infants two patterns or two objects at a time to see if the infants have a preference for one over the other TERM 4 Visual Activity DEFINITION 4 the sharpness of visual discrimination TERM 5 Contrast Sensitivity DEFINITION 5 the ability to detect differences in light and dark areas in visual pattern TERM 6 Cones DEFINITION 6 the light-sensitive neurons that are highly concentrated in the fovea (the central region of the retina) TERM 7 Perceptual Consistency DEFINITION 7 the perception of objects as being of constant size, shape, color , etc. in spite of physical differences in the retinal image of the object TERM 8 Object Segregation DEFINITION 8 the identification of separate objects in visual array TERM 9 Optical Expansion DEFINITION 9 a depth cue in which an object occludes increasingly more of the background, indicating that the object is approaching TERM 10 Binocular Disparity DEFINITION 10 the difference between the retinal image of an object in each eye that results in two slightly different signals being sent to the brain TERM 21 Affordances DEFINITION 21 the possibilities for action offered by objects and situations TERM 22 Classical Conditioning DEFINITION 22 a form of learning that consists of associating an initially natural stimulus with a stimulus that always evokes a particular reflexive response TERM 23 Unconditioned Stimulus DEFINITION 23 a stimulus that evokes a reflexive response TERM 24 Unconditioned Response DEFINITION 24 a reflexive response that is elicited by the unconditional stimulus TERM 25 Conditioned Stimulus DEFINITION 25 the neutral stimulus that is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus TERM 26 Conditioned Response DEFINITION 26 the originally reflexive response that comes to be elicited by the conditioned stimulus TERM 27 Instrumental (or operant) Conditioning DEFINITION 27 learning the relation between one's own behavior and the consequences that result from it TERM 28 Positive Reinforcement DEFINITION 28 a reward that reliably follow a behavior and increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated TERM 29 Violation of Expectancy DEFINITION 29 a procedure used to study infant cognition in which infants are shown an event that should evoke surprise or interest if it violates something the infant knows or assumes to be true TERM 30 Assimilation DEFINITION 30 the process by which people translate incoming information into a form that fits concepts they already understand TERM 31 Accommodation DEFINITION 31 the process by which people adapt current knowledge structures in response to new experiences TERM 32 Equilibration DEFINITION 32 the process by which children (or other people) balance assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding TERM 33 Sensorimotor stage DEFINITION 33 the period (birth-2 years) with Piaget's theory in which intelligence is expressed through sensory and motor abilities TERM 34 Pre operational stage DEFINITION 34 the period (2-7 years) within Piaget's theory in which children become able to represent their experiences in language, mental imagery, and symbolic thought TERM 35 concrete operational stage DEFINITION 35 the period (7-12 years) within Piaget's theory in which children become able to reason logically about concrete objects and events TERM 46 Problem Solving DEFINITION 46 the process of attaining a goal by using a strategy to overcome an obstacle TERM 47 Working Memory DEFINITION 47 memory system that involves actively attending to, gathering, maintaining, storing, and processing information TERM 48 Long-Term Memory DEFINITION 48 information retained on an enduring basis TERM 49 Basic Processes DEFINITION 49 the simplest and most frequently used mental activities TERM 50 Encoding DEFINITION 50 the process of representing in memory information that draws attention or is considered important TERM 51 Rehearsal DEFINITION 51 the process of repeating information multiple times to aid memory of it TERM 52 Selective Attention DEFINITION 52 the process of intentionally focusing on the information that is most relevant to the current goal TERM 53 Overlapping-waves theory DEFINITION 53 an information-processing approach that emphasizes the variability of children's thinking TERM 54 Sociocultural theories DEFINITION 54 approaches that emphasize that other people and the surrounding culture contribute greatly to children's development TERM 55 Guided Participation DEFINITION 55 a process in which more knowledgeable individuals organize activities in ways that allow less knowledge people to learn TERM 56 Cultural Tools DEFINITION 56 the innumerable products of human ingenuity that enhance thinking TERM 57 Private Speech DEFINITION 57 the second phase of Vygotsky's internalization of thought process, in which children develop their self-regulation and problem solving abilities by telling themselves aloud what to do, much as their parents did in the first stage TERM 58 Intersubjectivity DEFINITION 58 the mutual understanding that people share during communication TERM 59 Joint Attention DEFINITION 59 a process in which social partners intentionally focus on a common referent in the external environment TERM 60 Social Scaffolding DEFINITION 60 a process in which more competent people provide a temporary framework that supports children's thinking at a higher level than children could manage on their own TERM 71 mutation DEFINITION 71 a change in a section of DNA TERM 72 Crossing over DEFINITION 72 the process by which sections of DNA switch from one chromosomes to the other, crossing over promotes variability among individuals TERM 73 regulator genes DEFINITION 73 genes that control the activity of other genes TERM 74 alleles DEFINITION 74 two or more different forms of a gene TERM 75 dominant alleles DEFINITION 75 the allele that, if present, gets expressed TERM 76 recessive allele DEFINITION 76 the allele that is not expressed if a dominant allele is present TERM 77 homozygous DEFINITION 77 having two of the same allele for a trait TERM 78 heterozygous DEFINITION 78 having two different alleles for a trait TERM 79 polygenic inheritance DEFINITION 79 inheritance in which traits are governed by more than one gene TERM 80 norm of reaction DEFINITION 80 all the phenotypes that can theoretically result from a given genotype in relation to all the environments in which it can survive and develop TERM 81 phenylketonuria DEFINITION 81 a disorder related to a defective recessive gene on chromosome 12 that prevents metabolism of phenylalanine TERM 82 behavior genetics DEFINITION 82 the science concerned with how variation in behavior and development results from the combination of genetic and environmental factors TERM 83 heritable DEFINITION 83 refers to any characteristics or traits that are influenced by heredity TERM 84 multifactorial DEFINITION 84 refers to traits that are affected by a host of environmental factors as well as genetic ones TERM 85 heritability DEFINITION 85 a statistical estimate of the proportion of the measured variance on a trait among individuals in a given population that is attributable to genetic differences among those individuals TERM 96 temporal lobe DEFINITION 96 the lobe of the cortex that is associated with memory, visual recognition, and the processing of emotion and auditory information TERM 97 parietal lobe DEFINITION 97 governs spatial processing as well as integrating sensory input with information stored in memory TERM 98 frontal lobe DEFINITION 98 associated with organizing behavior, the one that is thought responsible for the human ability to plan ahead TERM 99 association areas DEFINITION 99 parts of the brain that lie between the major sensory and motor areas and that process and integrate inout from those areas TERM 100 cerebral hemisphere DEFINITION 100 the two halves of the cortex, for the most part, sensory input from one side of the body goes to the opposite hemisphere of the brain TERM 101 corpus callosum DEFINITION 101 a dense tract of nerve fibers that enable the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate TERM 102 cerebral lateralization DEFINITION 102 the specialization of the hemispheres of the brain for different modes of processing TERM 103 neurogenesis DEFINITION 103 the proliferation of neurons through cell division TERM 104 event-related potentials (ERPs) DEFINITION 104 changes in the brain's electrical activity that occur in response to the presentation of a particular stimulus TERM 105 spines DEFINITION 105 formations on the dendrites of neurons that increase the dendrites' capacity to form connections with other neurons TERM 106 myelination DEFINITION 106 the formation of myelin (a fatty sheath) around the axons of neurons that speeds and increases information-processing abilities TERM 107 synaptogenesis DEFINITION 107 the process by which neurons form synapses with other neurons, resulting in trillions of connections TERM 108 synaptic pruning DEFINITION 108 the normal developmental process through which synapses that are rarely activated are eliminated TERM 109 Plasticity DEFINITION 109 the capacity of the brain to be affected by experience TERM 110 experience-expectant plasticity DEFINITION 110 the process through which the normal wiring of the brain occurs in part as a result of experiences that every human who inhabits any reasonably normal environment will have TERM 121 apoptosis DEFINITION 121 genetically programmed cell death TERM 122 identical twins DEFINITION 122 twins that result from the splitting in half of the zygote, resulting in each of the two resulting zygotes having exactly the same set of genes TERM 123 fraternal twins DEFINITION 123 twins that result when two eggs happen to be released into the fallopian tubes at the sam time and are fertilized by two different sperm, fraternal twins have only half their genes in common TERM 124 neural tube DEFINITION 124 a groove formed in the top layer of differentiated cells in the embryo that eventually becomes the brain and spinal cord TERM 125 amniotic sac DEFINITION 125 a transparent, fluid filled membrane that surrounds and protects the fetus TERM 126 placenta DEFINITION 126 a support organ for the fetus, it keeps the circulatory systems of the fetus and mother separate, but as a semipermeable membrane permits the exchange of some materials between them TERM 127 umbilical cord DEFINITION 127 a tube containing the blood vessels connecting the fetus and placenta TERM 128 cephalocaudal development DEFINITION 128 the pattern of growth in which areas near the head develop earlier than areas farther from the head TERM 129 habituation DEFINITION 129 a simple form of learning that involves a decrease in response to repeated or continued stimulation TERM 130 teratogen DEFINITION 130 an external agent that can cause damage or death during prenatal development TERM 131 Sensitive Period DEFINITION 131 the period of time during which a development organism is most sensitive to the effects of external factors, prenatally, the sensitive period is when the fetus is maximally sensitive to the harmful effects of teratogens TERM 132 dose-response relation DEFINITION 132 a relation in which the effect of exposure to an element increases with the extent of exposure (prenatally, the more exposure a fetus has to a potential teratogen, the more severe its effect is likely to be) TERM 133 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) DEFINITION 133 the sudden, unexpected death of an infant less than 1 year of age that has no identifiable cause TERM 134 state DEFINITION 134 level of arousal and engagement in the environment, ranging from deep sleep to intense activity TERM 135 rapid eye movement (REM) sleep DEFINITION 135 an active sleep state characterized by quick, jerky eye movements under closed lids and associated with dreaming in adults TERM 146 genome DEFINITION 146 each person's complete set of hereditary info TERM 147 epigenetics DEFINITION 147 the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment TERM 148 methylation DEFINITION 148 a biochemical process that influences behavior by suppressing gene activity and expression TERM 149 continuous development DEFINITION 149 the idea that changes with age occur gradually, in small increments, like that of a line tree growing taller and taller TERM 150 discontinuous development DEFINITION 150 the idea that changes with age include occasional large shifts, like the transition from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly TERM 151 stage theories DEFINITION 151 approaches that propose that development involves a series of discontinuous, age-related phases TERM 152 cognitive development DEFINITION 152 the development of thinking and reasoning TERM 153 neurotransmitters DEFINITION 153 chemicals involved in communication among brain cells TERM 154 sociocultural context DEFINITION 154 the physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances that make up any child's environment TERM 155 reliability DEFINITION 155 the degree to which independent measurements of a given behavior are consistent TERM 156 interrater reliability DEFINITION 156 the amount of agreement in the observation of different raters who witness the same behavior TERM 157 test-retest reliability DEFINITION 157 the degree of similarity of a child's performance on two or more occasions TERM 158 validity DEFINITION 158 the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure TERM 159 internal validity DEFINITION 159 the degree to which effects observed within experiments can be attributed to the factor that the researcher is testing TERM 160 external validity DEFINITION 160 the degree to which results can be generalized beyond the particulars of the research TERM 171 random assignment DEFINITION 171 a procedure in which each child has an equal chance if being assigned to each group within an experiment TERM 172 experimental control DEFINITION 172 the ability of researchers to determine the specific experiences that children have during the course of an experiment TERM 173 experimental group DEFINITION 173 a group of children in an experimental design who are presented the experience of interest TERM 174 control group DEFINITION 174 the group of children in an experimental design who are not presented the experience of interest but in other ways are treated similarly TERM 175 independent variable DEFINITION 175 the experience that children in the experimental group receive and that children in the control group do not receive TERM 176 dependent variable DEFINITION 176 a behavior that is measured to determine whether it is affected by exposure to the independent variable TERM 177 cross-sectional design DEFINITION 177 a research method in which children of different ages are compared on a given behavior or characteristic over a short period TERM 178 longitudinal design DEFINITION 178 a method of study in which the sam children are studied twice or more over a substantial length of time TERM 179 microgentic design DEFINITION 179 a method of study in which the same children are studied repeatedly over a short period TERM 180 counting-on strategy DEFINITION 180 counting up from the larger addend the number of times indicated by the smaller addend