Obesity
Body weight more than 20 percent higher than the average weight for a person of a given age and height
myelin
protective insulation that surrounds parts of neurons
A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.
lateralization
the process in which certain cognitive functions are located more in one hemisphere of the brain than in the other
handedness
The preference of using one hand over another
preoperational stage
according to Piaget the stage from approximately age two to age seven in which children's use of symbolic thinking grows, mental reasoning emerges, and the use of concepts increases
Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, in which children can thi
operations
Organized, formal, logical mental processes
In Piaget's theory, these are reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what they formerly did physically.
centration
The process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus and ignoring other aspects
in Piaget's theory, the tendency of a young child to focus only on one feature of an object while ignoring other relevant features
conservation
the knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects
The principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite ch
transformation
the process in which one state is changed into another
egocentric though
Thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others
intuitive thought
Thinking that reflects preschoolers' use of primitive reasoning and their avid acquisition of knowledge about the world
piagets 2nd substage of preoperational thought, in which children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all
autobiographical memory
memory and events that occur during one's life
scripts
broad representations in memory of events and the order in which they occur
zone of proximal development (ZPD)
according to Vygotsky, the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, perform a task independently, but can do so with the assistance of someone more competent.
scaffolding
The support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth
Vygotsky's idea that learners should be given only just enough help so that they can reach the next level
syntax
the way in which an individual combines words and phrases to form sentences
Language rules that govern how words can be combined to form meaningful phrases and sentences
fast mapping
the process in which new words are associated with their meaning after only a brief encounter
grammar
the system of rules that determines how out thoughts can be expressed
private speech
Speech by children that is spoken and directed to themselves
Vygotsky viewed this as a way for a child to "think out loud" and advance cognitively
pragmatics
the aspect of language that relates to communicating effectively and appropriately with others
Field of study that emphasizes how language is used in specific situations to accomplish goals
social speech
speech directed toward another person and meant to be understood by that person
developmentally appropriated educational practice
Education that focuses on the typical developmental patterns of children (age-appropriateness) and the uniqueness of each child (individual-appropriateness).