Growing Pains & Playground Gains
Running, jumping, climbing, and throwing are examples of this type of motor skill.
What are gross motor skills?
In early childhood, the brain massively overproduces connections between neurons and then eliminates the ones that are not used. This process is called this.
What is synaptic pruning?
According to Erikson, the main psychosocial conflict of early childhood (around ages 3-5) is this stage.
What is initiative vs. guilt?
In early childhood, children are in this stage of Piaget’s theory, characterized by egocentrism and lack of conservation.
What is the preoperational stage?
Children’s rapid ability to learn a new word after hearing it only once or twice is called this.
What is fast mapping?
Research shows that, on average, boys tend to show stronger __________ motor skills, while girls may show an early edge in __________ motor tasks during childhood.
What are gross; fine?
This neurodevelopmental condition, diagnosed more frequently in boys than girls, involves differences in social communication, repetitive behaviors, and strong preferences for routines.
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
When a child begins using words instead of hitting to express frustration, they are demonstrating improved __________.
What is self-regulation?
Understanding that the amount of liquid remains the same even when poured into a taller, thinner glass reflects this concept.
What is conservation?
When a child says “I goed to the park” or “two mouses,” they are demonstrating this common grammatical error.
What is over-regularization?
Repeatedly stacking blocks, climbing stairs, or riding a tricycle to gain control and confidence is an example of this type of play.
What is mastery play?
This lobe supports language and memory integration and continues refining during early childhood.
What is the temporal lobe?
Most adults cannot remember events from their second birthday party, even though they experienced it. This reflects this early childhood memory phenomenon.
What is infantile amnesia?
Believing that a stuffed animal has real feelings is an example of this preoperational thinking error.
What is animism?
When young children talk out loud to guide their thinking and behavior, Vygotsky called this type of speech this.
What is private speech?
A group of 5-year-olds are laughing while play-wrestling on the playground. There is physical contact, but no intent to harm. This type of physically active social play is known as this.
What is rough-and-tumble play?
Improvements in spatial reasoning, attention control, and body awareness during early childhood are linked to maturation in this lobe.
What is the parietal lobe?
A child insists, “Boys don’t wear pink,” and refuses to play with a toy because it doesn’t fit their idea of what boys do. This reflects which theory of gender development?
What is gender schema theory?
A child examining two rows of coins notices that one row is longer but explains that they still have the same amount because one row is spaced out more. The child is focusing on both length and spacing at the same time. This ability is called this.
What is decentration?
Around ages 3-4, children begin forming simple personal stories about events that happened to them, marking the emergence of this type of memory tied to their developing sense of self.
What is autobiographical memory?
Compared to early childhood, middle childhood is marked by major gains in stamina and smoother, more controlled movements due to improved motor __________.
coordination
In early childhood, experiences help shape which neural connections are strengthened and which are eliminated, reflecting the brain’s ability to change and reorganize based on use. This capacity is known as this.
What is neuroplasticity?
An 8-year-old constantly compares their math skills to classmates and begins to feel incapable when they perform worse. According to Erikson, this reflects the risk of developing this.
What is inferiority?
A child is told that Sara is taller than Jordan, but Roybn is taller than Sara. Without seeing them together, the child correctly concludes that Robyn is taller than Sara. This logical ability is called this.
What is transitive inference?
During middle childhood, children improve at focusing on relevant information and ignoring distractions, helping them follow complex directions and jokes. This reflects growth in this skill.
What is selective attention?