Child Development

96 flashcards by MentisLibrary

Milestones from newborn reflexes to adolescent identity, alongside Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, and attachment research. Ages are given as ranges, because typical development varies far more than the charts suggest.

What is a developmental milestone?
A skill most children reach by a particular age range, used as a reference point rather than a deadline.
Why are milestone ages given as ranges?
Because normal development varies widely, and a single age would misclassify large numbers of typically developing children.
What are the main domains of child development?
Physical or motor, cognitive, language and communication, and social-emotional development, with adaptive or self-help sometimes listed separately.
What is the cephalocaudal principle of physical growth?
Development proceeds from head to foot, so head and upper body control appear before leg control.
What is the proximodistal principle of physical growth?
Development proceeds from the center of the body outward, so trunk and arm control precede fine finger control.
What are primitive reflexes in newborns?
Involuntary responses present at birth, such as rooting, sucking, grasping, Moro, and stepping, that fade as voluntary control develops.
What is the rooting reflex?
A newborn turns the head toward a touch on the cheek and opens the mouth, which helps locate a feed.
What is the Moro reflex?
A startle response in which a newborn flings the arms out, then draws them in, usually to a sudden loss of support or a loud noise.
When do most infants sit without support?
Around 6 to 8 months.
When do most infants begin to crawl?
Around 7 to 10 months, though some children skip crawling entirely and still develop typically.
When do most children take their first independent steps?
Around 9 to 15 months, with walking well established for most by 18 months.
When does the pincer grasp typically appear?
Around 9 to 12 months, when a child picks up a small object between thumb and index finger.
When can most children run and climb stairs with alternating feet?
Running appears around 2 years; alternating feet on stairs is typical around 3 to 4 years.
What is object permanence?
Understanding that an object continues to exist when it cannot be seen.
What are Piaget's four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
What characterizes Piaget's sensorimotor stage?
Infants understand the world through sensory experience and motor action, gradually developing object permanence and intentional means-end behavior.
What characterizes Piaget's preoperational stage?
Symbolic thought and language expand rapidly, but reasoning is intuitive, egocentric, and not yet reversible.
What is egocentrism in Piaget's theory?
Difficulty taking a viewpoint other than one's own, not selfishness.
What is conservation in Piaget's theory?
Understanding that quantity stays the same when its appearance changes, such as pouring liquid into a taller glass.
What characterizes Piaget's concrete operational stage?
Logical reasoning about concrete objects, including conservation, classification, seriation, and reversibility.
What characterizes Piaget's formal operational stage?
Abstract, hypothetical, and systematic deductive reasoning, including thinking about possibilities rather than only actualities.
What is centration?
Focusing on one salient feature of a situation and ignoring the others.
What is animism in preoperational thought?
Attributing feelings and intentions to inanimate objects.
What are the main criticisms of Piaget's theory?
He underestimated infants and young children, treated stages as more uniform than they are, and relied on tasks whose language demands masked competence.
What is Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?
The view that cognitive development is driven by social interaction and cultural tools, with language as the central tool.
What is the zone of proximal development?
The range of tasks a child cannot do alone but can do with guidance from a more capable partner.
What is private speech in Vygotsky's theory?
Children talking aloud to themselves to guide their own behavior, which later becomes silent inner speech.
How do Piaget and Vygotsky differ on the role of language?
Piaget treated language as a product of cognitive development; Vygotsky treated it as a driver of it.
What is scaffolding?
Adjustable support from a more skilled partner that lets a child complete a task beyond their independent level, withdrawn as competence grows.
What are Erikson's eight psychosocial stages?
Trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and integrity versus despair.