Chapter 5

Describe the typical changes in physical growth that take place in toddlerhood.

Describe the changes in brain development that take place during toddlerhood. (How does synaptic density change? What is synaptic pruning? When does synaptic pruning happen?)

Describe the advances in motor development that take place during toddlerhood. What are the milestones (in order) of gross motor development? What are the milestones (in order) of fine motor development? Tables 5.1 and 5.2 are very useful here.

Outline the cognitive achievements of toddlerhood in Piaget’s theory. What are object permanence, deferred imitation, and categorization?

How do we use the A-not-B task to assess object permanence?

Explain Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development. Why did he regard it as a social-cultural process?

What is the zone of proximal development? What is scaffolding? How do these relate to learning, according to Vygotsky?

Define language. What are three biological traits that support the claim that “humans are built for language”?

What is Chomsky’s nativist theory of language acquisition? What are three pieces of evidence that support Chomsky’s theory? What evidence contradicts his theory?

What is the typical pattern of language development between age 12-18 months? What is the typical age for comprehending 50 words? For producing 50 words?

How does social class/income relate to toddlers’ language development (in the U.S.)?

What are the four advances of emotional self-regulation that happen during toddlerhood?

What are “social emotions”? How do toddlers’ emotions differ from those of infants?

What does it mean to have self-awareness? At what age do children develop self-recognition? What are two ways that researchers can demonstrate that children have self-recognition?

Distinguish between sex and gender. How does culture play a role in gender development? How do evolution and hormones contribute to a biological basis of gender development?

What were three research findings that Bowlby used to create his theory of attachment? How did Bowlby define attachment?

Who developed the “strange situation” paradigm? Briefly, what is the “strange situation”?

What are the four classifications of attachment? (Name and briefly describe.)

What are the two key factors influencing the quality of toddlers’ attachment to their mothers? What effect does attachment quality have on social/emotional development?

What are the child-effect critique and the cultural critique of attachment theory?

Identify the characteristics of autism. What is the rate of autism in the U.S.?

Identify the typical rates of television use in toddlerhood and explain some consequences of toddlers’ TV watching.

What is the American Association of Pediatrics recommendation on media use by toddlers?

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/5/e20162591

Key terms to define/understand

mental representations

deferred imitation

zone of proximal development

private speech

scaffolding

Broca’s area

Wernicke’s area

fast mapping

telegraphic speech

overregularization (regular errors)

primary attachment figure

stranger anxiety

secure base

displacement effect