Glossary

AB error	the Piagetian object-permanence concept in which an infant progressing into substage 4 makes frequent mistakes, selecting the familiar hiding place (A) rather than the new hiding place (B). (See 195)



aphasia	a language disorder, resulting from brain damage, that involves a loss of the ability to use words. (See 210)



Bayley Scales of Infant Development	scales developed by Nancy Bayley, which are widely used in the assessment of infant development. The current version has three components: a mental scale, a motor scale, and an infant behavior profile. (See 201)



Broca's area	an area of the brain's left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in speech production. (See 210)



coordination of secondary circular reactions	Piaget's fourth sensorimotor substage, which develops between 8 and 12 months of age. In this substage, several significant changes take place involving the coordination of schemes and intentionality. (See 194)



deferred imitation	imitation that occurs after a time delay of hours or days. (See 199)



developmental quotient (DQ)	an overall developmental score that combines subscores in motor, language, adaptive, and personal-social domains in the Gesell assessment of infants. (See 201)



dishabituation	an infant's renewed interest in a stimulus. (See 199)



first habits and primary circular reactions	Piaget's second sensorimotor substage, which develops between 1 and 4 months of age. In this substage, infants' reflexes evolve into adaptive schemes that are more refined and coordinated. (See 193)



habituation	repeated presentation of the same stimulus, which causes reduced attention to the stimulus. (See 199)



holophrase hypothesis	the hypothesis that a single word can be used to imply a complete sentence; infants' first words characteristically are holophrastic. (See 208)



infant-directed speech	this type of speech often is used by parents (in which case it sometimes is called "parentese") and other adults when they talk to babies. It has a higher than normal pitch and involves the use of simple words and sentences. (See 212)



infinite generativity	an individual's ability to generate an infinite number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules, which makes language a highly creative enterprise. (See 207)



internalization of schemes	Piaget's sixth and final sensorimotor substage, which develops between 18 and 24 months of age. In this substage, the infant's mental functioning shifts from a purely sensorimotor plane to a symbolic plane, and the infant develops the ability to use primitive symbols. (See 194)



language	a system of symbols used to communicate with others. In humans language is characterized by infinite generativity and rule systems. (See 206)



language acquisition device (LAD)	a biological endowment that enables the child to detect certain language categories, such as phonology, syntax, and semantics. (See 211)



memory	a central feature of cognitive development, pertaining to all situations in which an individual retains information over time. (See 200)



object permanence	the Piagetian term for one of an infant's most important accomplishments: understanding that objects and events continue to exist, even when they cannot directly be seen, heard, or touched. (See 194)



phonology	the study of a language's sound system. (See 207)



primary circular reaction	a scheme based on the infant's attempt to reproduce an interesting or a pleasurable event that initially occurred by chance. (See 193)



scheme	in Piaget's theory, a cognitive structure that helps individuals organize and understand their experiences. (See 192)



secondary circular reactions	Piaget's third sensorimotor substage, which develops between 4 and 8 months of age. In this substage, the infant becomes more object-oriented, or focused on the world, moving beyond preoccupation with the self in sensorimotor interactions. (See 193)



simple reflexes	Piaget's first sensorimotor substage, which corresponds to the first month after birth. In this substage, the basic means of coordinating sensation and action is through reflexive behaviors, such as rooting and sucking, which the infant has at birth. (See 193)



telegraphic speech	the use of short and precise words to communicate; young children's two and three-word utterances characteristically are telegraphic. (See 209)



tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity	Piaget's fifth sensorimotor substage, which develops between 12 and 18 months of age. In this substage, infants become intrigued by the variety of properties that objects possess and by the multiplicity of things they can make happen to objects. (See 194)



Wernicke's area	an area of the brain's left hemisphere that is involved in language comprehension. (See 210)

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