 | Term | Definition |
| |
obesity |
body weight more than 20 percent higher than the average weight for a person of a given age and height |
| |
myelin |
protective insulation that surrounds parts of neurons |
| |
lateralization |
the process in which certain cognitive functions are lcoated more in one hemisphere of the brain than in the other |
| |
handedness |
the preference of using one hand over another |
| |
preoperational stage |
according to Piaget, the stage from approximately age 2 to age 7 in which children's use of symbolic thinking grows, mental reasoning emerges, and the use of concepts increases |
| |
operations |
organzed, formal, logical mental processes |
| |
centration |
the process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus and ignoring other aspects |
| |
conservation |
the knowledge that quantity is unrelated to arrangement and physical appearance of objects |
| |
transformation |
the process in which one state is changed into another |
| |
egocentric thought |
thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others |
| |
intuitive thought |
thinking that reflects preschoolers' use of primitive reasoning an their avid acquisition of knowledge about the world |
| |
autobiographical memory |
memory of particular events from one's own life |
| |
scripts |
broad representations in memory of events and the order in which they occur |
| |
zone of proximal development ZPD |
according to Vygotsky, the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, perform a task independently, but can do so with the assistance of someone more competant |
| |
scaffolding |
the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth |
| |
syntax |
the way in which an individual combines words and phrases to form sentences |
| |
fast mapping |
instances in which new words are associated with their meaning after only a brief encounter |
| |
grammar |
the system of rules that determines how our thoughts can be expressed |
| |
private speech |
speech by children at is spoken and directed to themselves |
| |
pragmatics |
the aspect of language that relates to communicating effectively and appropriately with others |
| |
social speech |
speech directed toward another person and meant to be understood by that person |
| |
child-care centers |
places outside the home that provide care for children |
| |
developmentally appropriate educational practice |
education that is based on both typical development and the unique characteristics of a given child |
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