Child Development: Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth in Preschool Years

Characteristics of the Self in Preschool Years

Children in preschool tend to describe themselves based on observable attributes.

Egocentrism

According to Piaget, egocentrism is the inability to understand another person's perspective.

Schemas and Scripts

Schemas and scripts help children organize and recall events in a structured way.

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem develops from a concrete understanding to a more abstract and multi-dimensional one.

Operational Thinking

False: Operational thinking is not characterized by irreversibility of thought.

Event Schemas

Temporal relationships connect the elements of an event schema or script.

Self-Concept (2-6 years)

False: Children between 2 and 6 years old are not typically hypercritical of themselves.

Reversibility

Reversibility, the ability to mentally retrace a process, is a characteristic of the concrete operational stage.

Piaget's Three Mountains Task

This task demonstrates that children often believe others perceive the world the same way they do.

Symbolic Play

Symbolic play allows children to express their feelings and concerns without censorship.

Self-Concept (6-8 years)

False: Children between 6 and 8 years old do place significant emphasis on social aspects.

Permissive Parenting

Permissive parents show high levels of respect and are undemanding.

Sensory Emotions

Sensory emotions are experienced through both internal and external stimuli.

Rough-and-Tumble Play

Rough-and-tumble play helps children regulate emotions, understand social cues, and develop a sense of belonging.

Conservation

At stage 4, the understanding of object conservation is still developing.

Pragmatics of Language

"Asking," "repeating," and "responding" are aspects of language called pragmatics.

Sociometric Status: Ignored Children

Ignored children receive few positive and few negative nominations from peers.

Mental Representation

Symbolic and semiotic functions enable us to mentally represent objects even when they are not present.

Preoperational Stage

False: Intuition is not a characteristic achievement of the preoperational stage.

Accommodation

Accommodation is the process of adjusting existing mental structures to incorporate new information.

Proximodistal Development

The proximodistal principle describes the tendency for motor skills to develop from the center of the body outward.

Attachment Relationships

Attachment relationships are based on both biological and social factors.

Current Psychology

Current psychology focuses on the changes and transformations that occur in individuals over time.

Piaget's Theory

Piaget's theory emphasizes both cognitive development and the interaction between nature and nurture.

Secondary Circular Reactions

Secondary circular reactions involve adapting primary schemes to explore the consequences of actions.

Sensorimotor Intelligence

Sensorimotor intelligence involves acting on and interacting with the real world.

Intuition

Intuitive thinking is characterized by the ability to establish logical correlations.