3.12: Glossary
- Page ID
- 384886
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Key Terms
- Accommodation: Changing an existing schema to incorporate new information that does not fit.
- Adaptation: The process of adjusting schemas through assimilation and accommodation.
- Assimilation: Incorporating new information into existing schemas.
- Attachment: The emotional bond between an infant and caregiver.
- Cephalocaudal development: Growth pattern that starts at the head and progresses downward.
- Cognitive development: Changes in thinking, problem-solving, and memory over time.
- Concrete operational stage: Piaget’s third stage (about 7–11 years): children think logically about concrete events.
- Conservation: Understanding that even if appearance changes, quantity remains the same if nothing is added/removed.
- Critical (sensitive) period: Time during fetal growth when specific parts or organs develop
- Developmental milestone: A significant skill or event marking progress in development.
- Discontinuous development: View that development takes place in distinct stages at specific times.
- Egocentrism: Difficulty in seeing the world from another person’s perspective.
- Embryo: Multicellular organism in its early stages of development.
- Emerging adulthood: Newly defined period (late teens to mid-20s) when young people take longer to assume adult roles.
- Fine motor skills: Small muscle movements such as grasping and manipulating objects.
- Formal operational stage: Piaget’s final stage (age 11+): able to think abstractly and hypothetically.
- Gonadarche: Maturation of the sex glands.
- Gross motor skills: Large muscle movements such as crawling and walking.
- Nutrition: Dietary intake critical to early growth and health.
- Object permanence: Understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight.
- Placenta: Structure delivering nourishment and oxygen to the developing baby during pregnancy.
- Prenatal care: Medical care during pregnancy for monitoring maternal and fetal health.
- Primary circular reactions: Repetitive actions centered on the infant’s own body.
- Proximodistal development: Growth pattern that starts at the center of the body and moves outward.
- Reflexes: Automatic responses present at birth, such as sucking and grasping.
- Schema: A mental framework for organizing and interpreting information.
- Secondary circular reactions: Repetitive actions involving objects in the environment.
- Sensorimotor stage: Piaget’s first stage of cognitive development (birth to 2 years), where infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.
- Separation anxiety: Distress experienced when a caregiver leaves.
- Shame vs. doubt: Infant’s crisis when developing autonomy (Erikson’s stage 2).
- Stranger anxiety: Fear of unfamiliar people, typically emerging around 8 months.
- Tertiary circular reactions: Deliberate variation of actions to explore consequences.
- Trust vs. Mistrust: Erikson’s first psychosocial stage, where infants learn whether the world is safe and reliable.
- Vocabulary spurt: Rapid increase in word learning, typically around 18–24 months.
- Wechsler definition of intelligence: The ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment.
- Zygote: Structure formed when sperm and egg merge at conception.

