1: Intro Concepts and Questions Flashcards
cognition refers to
- the internal processes that support the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the self and the world
- the ability to think, learn + reason about the self and the world
basic cognitive processes *
- visual perception
- auditory perception
- coordination
higher level cognitive processes *
- communicating
- categorizing
- inferring
- memorizing
- planning/strategizing
- problem solving
development refers to
- how do internal thinking and reasoning processes CHANGE OVER TIME
- change in cognition we can see over time
4 developmental concepts
- change
- stability
- individual differences
- forces affecting development
developmental change
-how often (prevalence) or or how good (proficiency) of a given type of behavior increases/ decreases over time
Ex: memory decreases, spoken words increases with age
- change can occur in type of process and in proficiency of process
ex: a kid counts on fingers, adults groups numbers or do by memory
developmental stability
- prevalence/proficiency of behavior is stable over time
2. processes are stable over time
individual differences
- variations or deviations among individuals, in a given characteristic or behavior
- exist despite developmental trends
- even tho a 1 yr old speaks less words than a 2 yr old, a 1 yr old can know more words than another 1 yr old - individual differences in the strategy/ process or proficiency
- kids can use different strategies
forces of development
- environment
- genes
what about cognition is innate? 2 theories ?
- nativism
- empiricism
nativism
- the idea that certain ideas r abilities are innate to the human mind and do not need to learned
- we are born with everything
empiricism
- the idea that all human thought and knowledge ultimately come from sensory experience
- the mind is a blank slate
How do we categorize cog. development
- qualitative/stage-like
- quantitative/continuous
- improvement/decreasing ability
- critical/sensitive periods
qualitative/stage like
- development occurs in stages
- big jump stages
- change is huge and dramatic
Ex: egg –>larva–>pupa–>mosquito
quantitative/ continuous
-cog. development builds/ continues over time
Ex: bricks build up over time
improvement/ decreasing ability
- is change always about improvement
- do any abilities decrease with age
critical/sensitive periods
-are there critical periods for certain kinds of changes
domain specific
- idea that cog. functioning is divided into separate “domains” or “units” based on separate contexts
- only specific to one domain
- physical knowledge, biological knowledge, social knowledge, numerical/mathematical knowledge
domain general
- idea that there are basic processes required across contexts
- as these processes develop, cognition in ALL domains is affected
- ex: pattern detection, memory, control of attention, language
