Physical & Cognitive Development

Question 1

What is maturation?

Answer 1

Biologically based changes that follow an orderly sequence

Question 2

What does the critical period concept suggest?

Answer 2

The brain is set to acquire functions during a limited period of time

Question 3

What are sensitive periods?

Answer 3

Times that are particularly important but not definitive for subsequent development

Question 4

What is the concept of developmental stages characterised by?

Answer 4

Relatively discrete steps through which everyone progresses in the same sequence

Question 5

What is the concept of continuous development characterised by?

Answer 5

Steady and gradual change, rather than major transformations

Question 6

What are the features of developmental stages?

Answer 6

Discontinuity, homogenous thinking, invariant sequences, no skipping, no regression

Question 7

What do cross-sectional studies compare?

Answer 7

Groups of different ages at a single time (i.e. age differences)

Question 8

What are cross-sectional studies not useful for examining?

Answer 8

Age changes (i.e. changes within the same individuals that occur with age)

Question 9

What are cohort effects?

Answer 9

Differences among age groups associated with differences in the culture

Question 10

What do longitudinal studies assess?

Answer 10

The same group at multiple time points (i.e. age changes)

Question 11

What do sequential studies assess?

Answer 11

Different age groups longitudinally (i.e. combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal; minimise cohort effects)

Question 12

What are the three stages of the prenatal period?

Answer 12

Germinal, embryonic and foetal periods

Question 13

What occurs during the germinal period?

Answer 13

Fertilised egg becomes implanted in the uterus; rapid cell division (first 2 weeks after conception)

Question 14

What occurs during the embryonic period?

Answer 14

Development of the CNS and organs (2 - 9 weeks)

Question 15

What occurs during the foetal period?

Answer 15

Muscular development (9 weeks - birth)

Question 16

What are the two ways in which foetal development can be disrupted?

Answer 16

Exposure to hazardous environmental influences & biological influences resulting from genetic disorders

Question 17

What are teratogens?

Answer 17

Environmental agents that can harm an embryo/foetus, particularly during specific critical periods

Question 18

What are the major motor milestones in infancy?

Answer 18

Lifting chin, sitting alone, standing with support, crawling, walking with support, standing alone and walking alone

Question 19

What is puberty?

Answer 19

The developmental stage during which individuals become physically capable of reproduction

Question 20

What is intermodal processing?

Answer 20

The ability of infants to associate sensations of an object from different senses and match their own actions to behaviours they have observed visually

Question 21

What is equilibration?

Answer 21

Balancing assimilation and accommodation to adapt to the world

Question 22

What is assimilation?

Answer 22

The interpretation of actions or events in terms of one’s own schemas

Question 23

What is accommodation?

Answer 23

The modification of schemas to fit reality

Question 24

What are the four stages of cognitive development?

Answer 24

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational

Question 25

What occurs during the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development?

Answer 25

Coordination of sensory input and motor responses; development of object permanence (birth - 2yrs)

Question 26

What occurs during the preoperational stage of cognitive development?

Answer 26

Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility; cent ration and egocentricim (2-7yrs)

Question 27

What is egocentrism?

Answer 27

The ability of infants to only see the world from their own perspective

Question 28

What is centration?

Answer 28

The tendency of infants to focus on one perceptually striking feature of an object without considering the other features that might be relevant

Question 29

What are operations?

Answer 29

Internalised actions an individual uses to manipulate, transform and then return an object to its original state

Question 30

What occurs during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development?

Answer 30

Ability to mentally manipulate representations of concrete evens in ways that are reversible; mastery of conservation; hierarchical classification (7-11yrs)

Question 31

What is conservation?

Answer 31

The concept that basic properties of an object or situation remain stable even though superficial properties may be changed

Question 32

What occurs during the formal operational stage of cognitive development?

Answer 32

Mental operations applied to abstract ideas; logical, systematic thinking (11yrs - adulthood)

Question 33

What are two limitations of Piaget's theory of cognitive stages of development?

Answer 33

He underestimated the capacities of infants/preschool children and he rarely considered the role of culture in cognitive development

Question 34

What does Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of cognitive development emphasise?

Answer 34

The role of social interaction as a motivation for cognitive gains and learning

Question 35

What is the concept of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?

Answer 35

The ZPD stretches from sole performance to collaborative cooperation, i.e. children collaborate and strive together to enhance their levels of understanding & children learn through observation/imitation of significant others

Question 36

What does the information-processing approach focus on?

Answer 36

Information processes that develop processing speed, automatisation, knowledge base, cognitive strategies and metacognition

Question 37

What is automatisation?

Answer 37

The ability to perform some tasks automatically

Question 38

What is metacognition?

Answer 38

Thinking about thinking

Question 39

What is psychomotor slowing?

Answer 39

An increase in processing/response time

Question 40

What is fluid intelligence and how is it affected by ageing?

Answer 40

Basic reasoning ability, memory capacity, speed of information processing; decreases with age

Question 41

What is crystallised intelligence and how is it affected by ageing?

Answer 41

The ability to apply acquired knowledge/skills in problem solving; remains stable or increases with age

Question 42

What is dementia?

Answer 42

A progressive and incurable disorder marked by global disturbances of higher mental functions

Question 43

What are three key features of dementia?

Answer 43

Acquired, persistent, involves multiple impairments of intellectual functioning