- animism
- belief that objects are alive and possess consciousness
- associative play
- children begin focusing on and engaging with another person while playing, such as by assisting one another
- autobiographical memory
- memories of our individual life experiences and events
- centration
- tendency for preoperational children to focus on one characteristic of an object or situation at a time
- code-switching
- practice of alternating between two or more languages or language varieties within one conversation
- conservation
- cognitive ability to understand that changing the appearance of a substance does not alter its mass, number, or volume
- cooperative play
- children fully engage in both a play partner and the activity
- dyspraxia
- developmental coordination disorder in which children have difficulty executing typical movements
- egocentrism
- preoperational children’s tendency to have limited logical reasoning abilities because they perceive things from only their own point of view, according to Piaget’s stage theory of cognitive development
- false belief
- children’s belief that other people have the same knowledge they themselves possess
- fine motor skill
- precise movements of the hands and fingers
- food desert
- geographic area where fresh food is not readily available
- gross motor skill
- large body movements of the head, torso, arms, and legs
- literacy
- ability to read, write and understand information
- macronutrients
- nutrient-rich carbohydrates, proteins, and fats needed for energy
- night terrors
- intense fear or terror that occurs during deep sleep
- onlooker play
- children observe others at play but do not become physically involved
- operation
- logical and reversible mental action
- parallel play
- children engage in similar play in close proximity but still play separately
- pragmatics
- social cues learned in language
- preoperational stage
- stage in which children begin to represent their thoughts and ideas using symbols such as words and images; the second stage in Piaget’s stage theory of cognitive development
- scaffolding
- process of providing temporary learning support when tasks are just outside a person’s range of ability
- semantics
- a feature of language concerned with meaning and logic
- sociocultural theory of cognitive development
- theory of development proposed by Vygotsky that emphasizes the role of social and cultural factors on individual cognitive development
- solitary play
- (also, independent play) children play alone focusing on their own activity
- stunting
- impaired growth in height, often due to malnutrition
- symbolic representation
- representation of thoughts and ideas using symbols, such as words and images
- syntax
- rules used in language to construct full sentences
- theory of mind
- awareness that our beliefs and perspectives are different from other people’s
- unoccupied play
- children observe their environment and perform random movements
- zone of proximal development (ZPD)
- range of activities that cannot be completed alone but can be accomplished with the aid of a more skilled adult or peer