adolescent egocentrism: a characteristic of adolescent thinking that leads young people (ages 10-13) to focus on themselves to the exclusion of others (according to David Elkind)

accommodation: when we restructure or modify what we already know so that new information can fit in better

analytic thought: thought that results from analysis, such as a systematic ranking of pros and cons, risks and consequences, possibilities and facts. Analytic thought depends on logic and rationality

animism: the belief that inanimate objects are capable of actions and have lifelike qualities

artificialism: the belief that environmental characteristics can be attributed to human actions or interventions

assimilation: when we modify or change new information to fit into our schemas (what we already know)

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a neurological and behavioral disorder in which a person has difficulty staying on task, screening out distractions, and inhibiting behavioral outbursts

autism or autism spectrum disorder: a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior

babbling: an infant’s repetition of certain syllables, such as ba-ba-ba, that begins when babies are between 6 and 9 months old

behavioral decision-making theory: proposes that adolescents and adults both weigh the potential rewards and consequences of an action. However, research has shown that adolescents seem to give more weight to rewards, particularly social rewards, than do adults

centration: the act of focusing all attention on one characteristic or dimension of a situation, while disregarding all others

classification: the arrangement of information into categories or classes

concrete operational stage of cognitive development: Piaget’s stage of development during middle childhood that emphasizes the use of logical thought, especially as applied to concrete, or physical objects

constructivist perspective: based on the work of Piaget, a quantitative, stage-theory approach. This view hypothesizes that adolescents’ cognitive improvement is relatively sudden and drastic, as people learn by acting on their environment and they actively construct knowledge

deductive reasoning: reasoning from a general statement, premise, or principle, though logical steps to figure out (deduce) specifics. Also called top-down processing

divided attention: the ability to pay attention to two or more stimuli at the same time; this ability improves during adolescence

dual process model/dual processing: the notion that two networks exist within the human brain, one for emotional processing of stimuli and one for analytic reasoning

dyslexia: a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities

ecological systems model: Brofenbrenner’s theory that we all belong to many communities and are influenced in the context of multiple environments, also known as ecological systems; organized into five levels of external influence: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem

egocentrism: the tendency of young children to think that everyone sees things in the same way as the child

fast-mapping: a word-learning process in which new words are rapidly learned by making connections between new words and concepts already known

formal operational thought: the fourth and final stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, characterized by more systematic logical thinking and by the ability to understand and systematically manipulate abstract concepts

hidden curriculum: cultural values, concepts, behaviors and roles that are part of the school experience but are not part of the formal curriculum

holophrase: a single word that is used to express a complete, meaningful thought

home state: occurs when parents or siblings visit the school. Children in this state may enjoy special privileges such as going home early or being exempt from certain school rules in the mother’s presence, or it can be difficult if the parent is there to discuss trouble at school with a staff member

hypothetical thought: reasoning that includes propositions and possibilities that may not reflect reality

identity: the understanding that objects have an identity or qualities that do not change even if the object is altered in some way

infantile or childhood amnesia: the idea that people forget everything that happened to them before the age of 3

information-processing perspective: derives from the study of artificial intelligence and explains cognitive development in terms of the growth of specific components of the overall process of thinking

intuitive thought: thoughts that arise from an emotion or a hunch, beyond rational explanation, and are influenced by past experiences and cultural assumptions

invincibility fable: an adolescent’s egocentric conviction that he or she cannot be overcome or even harmed by anything that might defeat a normal mortal, such as unprotected sex, drug abuse, or high-speed driving

irreversibility: when a person is unable to reverse a sequence of events mentally

imaginary audience: the other people who, in an adolescent’s egocentric belief, are watching and taking note of his or her appearance, ideas, and behavior. This belief makes many adolescents very self-conscious

language acquisition device (LAD): Chomsky’s term for the hypothesized mental structure that enables humans to learn the language, including the basic aspects of grammar, vocabulary, and intonation

long-term memory: the third component of the memory system where information is stored for long periods of time

metacognition: refers to “thinking about thinking,” and it is relevant in social cognition and results in increased introspection, self-consciousness, and intellectualization during adolescence

middle school: a school for children in the grades between elementary school and high school. Middle school usually begins with grade 6 and ends with grade 8

mnemonic devices: mental strategies to help learn and remember information more efficiently; improves during adolescence

morpheme: the smallest unit of language that conveys some type of meaning

naming explosion: a sudden increase in an infant’s vocabulary, especially in the number of nouns, that begins at about 18 months of age

object permanence: the realization that objects (including people) still exist even if they can no longer be seen, touched, or heard

operations: the term used by Piaget to mean the logical rules that children develop with time

overregulation: a process in learning a language in which children overgeneralize rules to words where the rule is not applicable

personal fable: an aspect of adolescent egocentrism characterized by an adolescent’s belief that his or her thoughts, feelings, and experiences are unique, more wonderful, or more awful than anyone else’s

phoneme: a basic sound unit of a given language

preoperational stage: the second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; describes the development in children ages 2-7

primary circular reactions: the first two stages of Piaget’s sensorimotor intelligence which involve the infant’s responses to its own body

private speech: speech that a child says aloud, but which is not meant to be part of communication with anyone else

reciprocity: the understanding that changing one quality of an object can be compensated for by changes in another quality of that object

relativistic thinking: thinking that understands the relative or situational nature of circumstances

reversibility: the understanding that some things that have been changed can be returned to their original state

sanctity state: a time in which the child is contemplative, quiet, or prayerful. It is often only a very brief part of the day

schema: a set of linked mental representations of the world, which we use both to understand and to respond to situations

secondary circular reactions: stages 3 and 4 of Piaget’s sensorimotor intelligence, which involves the infant’s responses to objects and people

secondary education: the period after primary education (elementary or grade school) and before tertiary education (college). It usually occurs from about ages 12 to 18, although there is some variation by school and by nation

selective attention: the process by which one focuses on one stimulus while tuning out another; this ability improves during adolescence

self-fulfilling prophecy: the tendency to act in a way that makes what you predict will happen come true

sensorimotor intelligence: Piaget’s term for the way infants think (by using their senses and motor skills) during the first stage of cognitive development

sensory memory: the first component of the memory system where information comes in through the 5 senses and is processed if the mind believes that the information is important

street corner state: state in which the child is playful, energetic, excited, and expresses personal opinions, feelings, and beliefs

student state: this state is one in which the student focuses on a task or tries to stay focused on a task, is passive, compliant, and often frustrated

syncretism: the tendency to think that if two events occur simultaneously, one caused the other

tertiary circular reactions: consist of actions (stage 5) and ideas (stage 6) where infants become more creative in their thinking

theory of mind: the understanding that the mind holds people’s beliefs, desires, emotions, and intentions. One component of this is understanding that the mind can be tricked or that the mind is not always accurate

theory of multiple intelligences: Garner’s theory that there are many kinds of intelligence. The modern version of the theory recognizes 9 forms of intelligence

transductive reasoning: a failure in understanding cause and effect relationships which happens when a child reasons from specific to specific; drawing a relationship between two separate events that are otherwise unrelated

triarchic theory of intelligence: Sternberg’s theory that recognizes three forms of intelligence: academic, creative, and practical

working memory: the second component of the memory system where information that has been processed in sensory memory goes. Working memory includes all the information that you are consciously aware of

zone of proximal development: the range of material that a child is ready to learn if proper support and guidance are given from either a peer who understands the material or by an adult