Term
| How does the self concept develop during early childhood, and how do children develop self esteem? |
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Definition
The self concept undergoes major change in early childhood. According to neo-Piagetians, self-definition shifts from single representations to representational mappings. Young children do not see the difference between the real self and the ideal self.
Culture affects the self-definition.
Self esteem in early childhood tends to be global and unrealistic, reflecting adult approval. |
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Term
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Definition
| Sense of self; descriptive and evaluative mental picture of one’s abilities and traits. |
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Term
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Definition
| Cluster of characteristics used to describe oneself. |
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Term
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Definition
| In neo-Piagetian terminology, first stage in developmental of self-definition, in which children describe themselves in terms of individual, unconnected characteristics and in all-or-nothing terms. |
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Term
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Definition
| The self one actually is. |
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Term
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Definition
| The self one would like to be. |
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Term
| Representational mappings |
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Definition
| In neo-Piagetian terminology, second stage in development of self-definition in which a child makes logical connections between aspects of the self but still sees these characteristics in all-or-nothing terms. |
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Term
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Definition
| The judgment a person makes about his or her self-worth. |
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Term
| How do young children advance in understanding regulating and their emotions? |
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Definition
| Understanding of emotions directed toward the self and of simultaneous emotions develop gradually. According to Erikson, the developmental conflict of early childhood is initiative versus guilt. Successful resolution of this conflict results in the “virtue” of purpose. |
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Term
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Definition
| Erikson’s third stage in psychosocial development, in which children balance the urge to pursue goals with moral reservations that may prevent carrying them out. |
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Term
| How do boys and girls become aware of the meaning of gender, and what explains differences in behavior between the sexes? |
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Definition
Gender identity is an aspect of the developing self-concept. The main gender difference in early childhood is boys’ greater aggressiveness. Girls tend to be more empathic and prosocial and less prone to problem behavior. Some cognitive differences appear early, others not until preadolescence or later. Children learn gender roles at an early age through gender-typing. Gender stereotypes peak during the preschool years. Four major perspectives on gender development are biological, psychoanalytic, cognitive, and socialization-based. Evidence suggests that some gender differences may be biologically based. In Freudian theory, a child identifies with the same-sex parent after giving up the wish to possess the other parent.
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Term
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Definition
| Awareness, developed in early childhood that one is male or female. |
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Term
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Definition
| Behaviors, interests, attitudes, skills, and traits that a culture considers appropriate for each sex; differs for males and females. |
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Term
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Definition
| Socialization process whereby children, at an early age, learn appropriate gender roles. |
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Term
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Definition
| Preconceived generalizations about male or female role behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Freudian theory, the process by which a young child adopts characteristics, beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors of the parent of the same sex. |
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Term
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Definition
| Awareness that one will always be male or female. Also called sex-category constancy. |
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Term
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Definition
| Theory, proposed by Bem, that children socialize themselves in their gender roles by developing a mentally organized network of information about what it means to be male or female in a particular culture. |
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Term
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Definition
| Albert Bandura’s expansion of social learning theory; holds that children learn gender roles through socialization. |
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Term
| How do preschoolers play, and how does play contribute to and reflect development? |
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Definition
Play has physical, cognitive, and psychosocial benefits. Changes in the types of play children engage in reflect cognitive and social development.
According to Piaget and Smilansky, children progress cognitively from functional play to constructive play, pretend play, and then formal games with rules. Pretend play becomes increasingly common during early childhood and helps children develop social and cognitive skills. Rouch-and-tumble play also begins during early childhood.
According to Parten, play becomes more social during early childhood. However, later research has found that nonsocial play is not necessarily immature.
Children prefer to play with (and play more socially with) others of their sex.
Cognitive and social aspects of play are influenced by the culturally approved environments adults create for children. |
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Term
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Definition
| Play involving repetitive muscular movements. |
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Term
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Definition
| Play involving the use of objects or materials to make something. |
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Term
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Definition
| Play involving imaginary people or situations; also called fantasy play, dramatic play, or imaginative play. |
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Term
| How do parenting practices influence development? |
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Definition
Discipline can be a powerful tool for socialization.
Both positive reinforcement and prudently administered punishment can be appropriate tools of discipline within the context of a positive parent-child relationship.
Power assertion, inductive techniques, and withdrawal of love each can be effective in certain situations. Reasoning is generally the most effective and power assertion the least effective in promoting internalization of parental standards. Spanking and other forms of corporal punishment can have negative consequences.
Baumrind identified three childrearing styles: authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. A fourth style, neglectful or uninvolved, was identified later. Authoritative parents tend to raise more competent children. However, Baumrind’s findings may be misleading when applied to some cultures or socioeconomic groups. |
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Term
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Definition
| Methods of molding children’s character and of teaching them to exercise self-control and engage in acceptable behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Use of physical force with the intention of causing pain but not injury so as to correct or control behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| Disciplinary strategy designed to discourage undesirable behavior through physical or verbal enforcement of parental control. |
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Term
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Definition
| Disciplinary techniques designed to induce desirable behavior by appealing to a child’s sense of reason and fairness. |
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Term
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Definition
| Disciplinary strategy that involves ignoring, isolating, or showing dislike for a child. |
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Term
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Definition
| Verbal attacks on a child by a parent that may result in psychological harm. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Baumrind’s terminology, parenting style emphasizing control and obedience. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Baumrind’s terminology, parenting style emphasizing self-expression and self-regulation. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Baumrind’s terminology, parenting style blending respect for a child’s individuality with an effort to instill social values. |
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Term
| Why do young children help or hurt others, and why do they develop fears? |
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Definition
The roots of altruism and prosocial behavior appear early. This may be an inborn disposition, which an be cultivated by parental modeling and encouragement.
Instrumental aggression—first physical, then verbal—is most common in early childhood.
Most children become less aggressive after age 6 or 7 but hostile aggression proportionately increases. Boys tend to practice overt aggression, whereas girls often engage in relational aggression.
Preschool children show temporary fears of real and imaginary objects and events; older children’s fears tend to be more realistic. |
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Term
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Definition
| Behavior intended to help others out of inner concern and without expectation of external reward; may involve self-denial or self-sacrifice. |
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Term
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Definition
| Any voluntary behavior intended to help others. |
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Term
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Definition
| Aggressive behavior used as a means of achieving a goal. |
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Term
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Definition
| Aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person. |
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Term
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Definition
| Aggression that is openly directed at its target. |
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Term
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Definition
| Aggression aimed at damaging or interfering with another person’s relationships, reputation, or psychological well-being; also called covert or indirect aggression. |
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Term
| How do young children get along with (or without) siblings? |
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Definition
Sibling and peer relationships contribute to self-efficacy.
Most sibling interactions are positive. Older siblings tend to initiate activities, and younger ones to imitate. Same-sex siblings, especially girls, get along best.
Siblings tend to resolve disputes on the basis of moral principles.
The kind of relationship children have with siblings often carries over into other peer relationships.
Only children seem to develop at least as well as children with siblings in most respects. |
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Term
| How do young children choose playmates and friends, and why are some children better liked than others? |
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Definition
Preschoolers choose playmates and friends who are like them and with whom they have positive experiences.
Aggressive children are less popular than prosocial children. |
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Term
| What is adolescence, when does it begin and end, and what opportunities and risks does it entail? |
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Definition
Adolescence, in modern industrial societies, is the transition from childhood to adulthood. It lasts from age 10 or 11 until the late teens or early twenties.
Early adolescence if full o opportunities for physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, but also of risks to healthy development. Risky behavior patterns, such as drinking alcohol, drug abuse, sexual and gang activity, and use of firearms, tend to increase throughout the teenage years, but most young people experience no major problems |
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Term
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Definition
| Developmental transition between childhood and adulthood entailing major physical cognitive, and psychosocial changes. |
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Term
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Definition
| process by which a person attains sexual maturity and the ability to reproduce. |
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Term
| What physical changes do adolescents experience, and how do these changes affect them psychologically? |
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Definition
Puberty is triggered by hormonal changes. Puberty takes about four years, typically begins earlier in girls than in boys, and ends when a person can reproduce; but the timing of these events varies considerably.
Sexual attraction seems to begin at about age 10, when the adrenal glands increase their hormonal output.
During puberty, both boys and girl undergo an adolescent growth spurt. The reproductive organs enlarge and mature, and secondary sex characteristics appear.
A secular trend toward earlier attainment of adult height and sexual maturity began about 100 years ago, probably because of improvements in living standards.
The principal signs of sexual maturity are production of sperm (for males) and menstruation (for females). |
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Term
| Primary sex characteristics |
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Definition
| Organs directly related to reproduction which enlarge and mature during adolescence. |
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Term
| Secondary sex characteristics |
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Definition
| Physiological signs of sexual maturation (such as breast development and growth of body hair)that do not involve the sex organs. |
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Term
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Definition
| Trend that can be seen only by observing several generations, such as the trend toward earlier attainment of adult height and sexual maturity, which began a century ago. |
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Term
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Definition
| Sharp increase in height and weight that precedes sexual maturity. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| What brain developments occur during adolescence, and how do they affect adolescent behavior? |
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Definition
The adolescent brain is not yet fully mature. It undergoes a second wave of overproduction of gray matter, especially in the frontal lobes, followed by pruning of excess nerve cells. Continuing myelination of the frontal lobes facilitates the maturation of cognitive processing.
Adolescents process information about emotions with the amygdala, whereas adults use the frontal lobe. Thus adolescents tend to make less accurate, less reasoned judgments.
Underdevelopment of frontal cortical systems connected with motivation, impulsivity, and addiction may help explain adolescents’ tendency toward risk taking. |
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Term
| What are some common health problems in adolescence, and how can they be prevented? |
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Definition
For the most part, the adolescent years are relatively healthy. Health problems often are associated with poverty or lifestyle. Many adolescents do not engage in regular vigorous physical activity Many adolescents do not get enough sleep because the high school schedule is out of sync with their natural body rhythms. Concern with body image, especially among girls, may lead to eating disorders. Three common eating disorders in adolescence are obesity/overweight, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. All can have serious long-term effects. Anorexia and bulimia affect mostly girls. Outcomes for bulimia tend to be better than for anorexia.
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Term
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Definition
| Descriptive and evaluative beliefs about one’s appearance |
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Term
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Definition
| Eating disorder characterized by self-starvation |
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Term
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Definition
| Eating disorder in which a person regularly eats huge quantities of food and then purges the body by laxatives, induced vomiting, fasting, or excessive exercise. |
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Term
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Definition
| Repeated, harmful use of a substance, usually alcohol or other drugs. |
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Term
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Definition
| Addiction (physical or psychological, or both) to a harmful substance. |
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Term
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Definition
| Drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, the use of which tends to lead to use of more addictive drugs. |
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Term
| How do adolescents’ thinking and use of language differ from younger children’s? |
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Definition
People in Piaget’s stage of formal operations can engage in hypothetical-deductive reasoning. They can think in terms of possibilities, deal flexibly with problems, and test hypotheses. Because environmental stimulation plays an important part in attaining this stage, not all people become capable of formal operations; and those who are capable do not always use them. Piaget’s proposed stage of formal operations does not take into account such developments as accumulation of knowledge and expertise, gains in information processing, and the growth of metacognition. Piaget also paid little attention to individual differences, between-task variations, and the role of the situation. According to Elkind, immature though patterns can result from adolescents’ inexperience with formal thinking.
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Term
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Definition
| Piaget’s final stage of cognitive development, characterized by the ability to think abstractly. |
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Term
| Hypothetical-deductive reasoning |
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Definition
| Ability, believed by Piaget to accompany the stage of formal operations, to develop, consider, and test hypotheses. |
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Term
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Definition
| Elkind’s term for observer who exists only in an adolescent’s mind and is as concerned with the adolescent’s thoughts and actions as the adolescent is. |
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Term
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Definition
| Elkind’s term for conviction that one is special, unique, and not subject to the rules that govern the rest of the world. |
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Term
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Definition
| Acquired factual knowledge stored in long term memory. |
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Term
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Definition
| Acquired skills stored in long-term memory. |
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Term
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Definition
| Acquired interpretive understandings stored in long-term memory. |
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Term
| On what basis do adolescents make moral judgments? |
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Definition
According to Kholberg, moral reasoning is based on a developing sense of justice and growing cognitive abilities. Kholberg proposed that moral development progresses from external control to internalized societal standards to personal, principled moral codes.
Kholberg’s theory has been criticized on several grounds, including failure to credit the roles of emotion, socialization, and parental guidance. The applicability of Kohlberg’s system to women and girls and to people in nonwestern cultures has been questioned. |
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Term
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Definition
| First level of Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning in which control is external and rules are obeyed in order to gain rewards or avoid punishment or out of self-interest. |
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Term
| Conventional morality (or morality of conventional role conformity) |
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Definition
| Second level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning in which standards of authority figures are internalized. |
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Term
| Postconventional morality (or morality of autonomous moral principles) |
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Definition
| Third level of Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning, in which people follow internally held moral principles and can decide among conflicting moral standards. |
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Term
| What influences affect school success, and why do some students drop out? |
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Definition
Self-efficacy beliefs, parental practices, cultural and peer influences, gender, and quality of schooling affect adolescents’ educational achievement.
Although most Americans graduate from high school, the dropout rate is higher among poor, Hispanic, and African American students. Active engagement in studies is an important factor in keeping adolescents in school. |
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Term
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Definition
| Personal involvement in schooling, work, family life, or other activity. |
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Term
| What factors affect educational and vocational planning and aspirations? |
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Definition
Educational and vocational aspirations are influenced by several factors, including self-efficacy and parental values. Gender stereotypes haves less influence than in the past.
High school graduates who do not immediately go on to college can benefit from vocational training. |
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Term
How do boys and girls become aware of the meaning of gender, and what explains differences in behavior between the sexes? |
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Definition
| Cognitive-developmental theory maintains that gender identity develops from thinking about one’s gender. According to Kohlberg, gender constancy leads to acquisition of gender roles. Gender-schema theory holds that children categorize gender-related information by observing what males and females do in their culture. According to social cognitive theory, children learn gender roles through socialization. Parents, peers, the media, and culture influence gender-typing. |
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Term
| What are some common health problems in adolescence, and how can they be prevented? |
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Definition
| Adolescent substance use has lessened in recent years; still, drug use often begins as children move into middle school. Marijunana, alcohol, and tobacco are the most popular drugs with adolescents. All involve serious risks. Marijuana use can lead to the use of hard drugs. The prevalence of depression increases in adolescence, especially among girls. Leading causes of death among adolescents include motor vehicle accidents, firearm use, and suicide. |
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Term
How do adolescents’ thinking and use of language differ from younger children’s? |
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Definition
| These thought patterns include idealism and criticalness, argumentativeness, indecisiveness, apparent hypocrisy, self-consciousness, and an assumption of specialness and invulnerability. Research has cast doubt on the special prevalence of the latter two patterns during adolescence. Research has found both structural and functional changes in adolescents’ information processing. Structural changes include increases in declarative, procedural, and conceptual knowledge and expansion of the capacity of working memory. Functional changes include progress in deductive reasoning. However, emotional immaturity may lead older adolescents to make poorer decisions than younger ones. Vocabulary and other aspects of language development, especially those related to abstract thought, such as social perspective-taking, improve in adolescence. Adolescents enjoy wordplay and create their own “dialect”. |
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