Unit 6 Flashcards
(11 cards)
What cognitive abilities improve between ages 7 to 11 and why?
Attention and memory improve due to CNS maturation, especially myelination of the reticular formation.
What did Miller & Weiss (1981) demonstrate about attention in children?
Older children (13) are better at ignoring irrelevant information and remembering relevant details than 7- and 10-year-olds.
What is meta-cognition and how is it demonstrated in children?
Meta-cognition is awareness of one’s cognitive processes. Children start to recognize what they need to do (e.g., ignore distractions), even if they struggle to act on it.
What mnemonic strategies do children start using from ages 7–10?
Rehearsal (repeating) and organisation (grouping items) become more frequent and improve memory performance.
What are the hallmarks of concrete-operational thought (Piaget)?
Logical thinking about concrete situations, mental seriation, classification, transitivity, and conservation.
What does transitivity mean in cognitive development?
It’s the ability to understand logical relations, e.g., if A > B and B > C, then A > C.
How does pragmatic language develop in middle childhood?
Children adapt language to listener needs, use articles correctly (e.g., “a” vs. “the”), and manage misunderstandings more effectively.
What is the difference between subjective and objective self?
Subjective self = sense of own agency and uniqueness.
Objective self = awareness that others view and judge you.
How does attributional style affect self-concept?
Children’s beliefs about causes of success/failure (e.g., ability, effort, task difficulty, luck) influence motivation and self-esteem.
What are common reasons for peer rejection in middle childhood?
Aggressive behavior, poor social skills, or anxiety-based social withdrawal.
