Ovum 

the female sex cell, or egg.

·        Stage 1 = Zygote (the fertilized egg)

·        2 week period of rapid cell division (undifferentiated blastocyst)

·        Ends with implantation to uterine wall

·        about half do not successfully implant

·        Stage 2 = Embryo

·        prenatal period from 2 weeks through 8 weeks

·        Begins with implantation to the uterine wall

·        Placenta and major organs form, arms and legs emerge, heart beats, liver makes red blood cells

·        Stage 3 = Fetus

·        Prenatal period from 8 weeks to birth

·        Bone cells form; neural migration begins

·        rapid growth of brain and body in final 3 months

Assimilation

 interpreting one’s new experience in terms of existing schemas

·        Leads to errors, biases

Accommodation

adapting schemas to include new experiences

Sensorimotor stage 

 Piaget’s first stage of cognitive development in which the infant uses its senses and motor abilities to interact with objects in the environment.

·        Birth through age 2

·        Schemas revolve

·        around sensorimotor info

Object Permanence

·        Preoperational stage 

Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development in which the preschool child learns to use language as a means of exploring the world.

·        About ages 2 through 7

·        Schemas become more sophisticated

·        Egocentrism - the inability to see the world through anyone else’s eyes (TV!)

·        Schema errors persist

Concrete operations stage 

Piaget’s third stage of cognitive development in which the school-age child becomes capable of logical thinking but is not yet capable of abstract thinking.

·        About ages 7 through 11

·        Rule-driven

·        can verbalize, visualize, and mentally manipulate objects

·        Can perform simple logic (math, problem solving)

·        Difficulty with abstract concepts (e.g., freedom)

Formal operations 

Piaget’s last (fourth) stage of cognitive development in which the adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking.

·        Approximately adolescence

·        Can consider imaginary concepts, hypothesize, think in the abstract, “what if…?”

·        Thinking is now adult-like

Personal fable 

common thinking in  adolescents that they are unique, special, and nothing bad will happen to them.

  Imaginary audience 

common thinking in adolescents that other people care just as much about the adolescent’s thoughts, looks, and characteristics as they themselves do.