2. Cognitive Development Flashcards
When looking at development we look at:
quantitative changes
qualitative changes
continuous development
discontinuous development
quantitative changes
result of growth
ex: height, weight, brain maturation, connections between synapses
qualitative changes
(harder to measure)
changes in how we behave; perceive the world; think about the world
continuous development
theories talking about constant change (vygotsky)
discontinuous development
stage theory (piaget)
nature nurture debate plus example
interaction of genes vs environment
ex: visual cliff experiment
ASD (autism)
- have diff w TOM
- often lack ability to engage with other children and this could limit their development
- is a developmental disorder w varying sympt expression
- diagnosed based on social and communication differences, as well as repetitive behaviours and limited interests
- decreased attention to faces
- reduced activity of fusiform gyrus during recognition
functional MRI
measure O2 within brain bc active neurons use more O2
- do a task and measure blood flows = higher transport of O2
Event related potentials (ERPs)
EEG - electrodes to measure currents during a task
cognition
thought/reasoning
use to understand and solve problems
perception
sensory input is organized
cognition is thinking about perceptions
cognitive development
how thinking develops an changes over the lifespan
- prefrontal cortex governs higher - level processes like planning and problem-solving - it develops throughout the lifespan into adolescence
what is thought
thought allows us to make sense of and interpret our world
unified activity of diff regions of the brain
internal dialogue
influenced by typicality
Why are categories fuzzy
bc boundaries can move
category
set of objects, mental representations we form of these categories called concepts
ememplar
an example that is cognitively labelled as being in a category
ex. of
category
concept
emplar
fuzzy
category - bird
concept - 1st association you made cardinal, sparrow, etc
exemplar - robin
fuzzy - emu
What are stage theories
stage or discontinuous theories, see our development as taking place as specific steps where changes may seem sudden; continuous development is a cumulative process where changes are constant and gradual
piaget
stage theory - discontinuous development
jean piaget studied infant/child reasoning
- kids develop knowledge schemas by assimilating (incorporating) new ideas and experiences
- existing knowledge related to the new knowledge, the child has to accommodate the new knowledge
- classified the development of reasoning into several discrete categories, through which all children must pass
sensorimotor
birth - 2 yrs
child explores its senses and its newfound mobility
schemas during this stage are primarily related to basic traits and events of the world
end of this they develop object permanence
preoperational
2-7 yrs
children able to express their knowledge verbally, and begin to understand more complicated sensorimotor stimuli
they can symbolize objects and events that are not physically present
do not understand operations (reversibility of events)
concrete-operational
7-12 yrs
child now can understand cause and effect relationships and reversibility
kid is capable of understanding the reason “how” things happen
during this stage that children begin to understand conservation of objects
formal operational schemes
12+ yrs
child/teen is now able to think theoretically and apply specific knowledge to general rules and vice versa
(ex: now learning algebra bc can now have abstract thinking)
criticisms of piaget’s theory
- ages suggested by piaget for diff stages, underestimate the abilities of younger children and overestimate the ability of older children
- no actual description of what causes the advancement to a new stage and/or what are the actual changes in the child
- understanding the role of social learning, thought the stages was relatively independent of social contexts, while research has shown that culture and social influences play an important role in reaching stages 3 and 4
- development isn’t necessarily continuous - children can be at different stages for different skill sets
- piaget did the majority of his research on his own children
vygotsky
continuous model
sociocultural theories
- children had an actual development level that represented their max current cognitive capacity
- capacity could be exceeded with the help of an
experienced teacher/helper by creating a zone of proximal development where the experience and guidance of the teacher could help the child tackle tougher mental tasks than they could alone
- suggested development was continuous and not based on a particular stage that someone was in
information processing theories
mind as a computer
david klar
describe cognitive processes that underlie changes in thinking and cognition during development
- we do not respond to our enviro, but encode and process the info we receive
the “nuture” connection to piaget
big criticism was piaget neglected the role of environment in shaping development
- social learning theory
- observational learning
social learning theory
broadens this to say individuals can learn via imitation without being directly rewarded by the environment
observational learning
praised as one of the more frequent and important sources of learning where no direct environmental reward is present -> we see the consequences of other people’s behaviour
phonemic awareness
ability to identify sounds in words is a crucial skill for learning how to read -> rhyming words
describe the major concepts of the TOM. how does it affect how we related to other ppl?
- we have to infer other people’s thoughts and feelings (we can’t see them)
TOM -> beliefs or emotions can be the cause of someone’s behaviour - take another person’s perspective (empathy)
- cooperate/negotiate/problem-solve w other ppl
category theory
prototypes is an overall of the whole thing
(exemplars, fuzzy’s, category, etc)
- sympt of ASD
- how is ASD diagnosed
- how does it relate to elements of the social brain
- ASD kids have diff initiating and understanding social interactions, lack ability to engage with other children - all could limit development
- usually emerges in 1st 3 yrs of life with lots of variety
- ASD kids have diff initiating and understanding social interactions, lack ability to engage with other children - all could limit development
- Diagnoses is combo of clinical observations and parental reports
- defined by diff w social interactions and communication, repetitive behaviours and limited interests (lack of eye contact, diff maintaining convos, diff w eye tracking, diff judging facial expression - ASD relate to diff of social brain - reduced activity in superior temporal sulcus (biological motion) and fusiform gyrus (related to perception of faces)
factors that influence development of TOM
- social interactions** - lets kid get insight into other ppl having knowledge and thoughts that differ than their own
- factors within child itself - language and cognitive abilities
a psychologist who studies mental strategies participants use when problem solving is most likely working in the field of:
a) behaviour psych
b) evolutionary psych
c) clinical psych
d) cognitive psych
d) cognitive psych
best def of cognition:
a) logic
b) instinctual behaviours acquired thru evolution of our species
c) mental activity associated with processing and understanding information
d) all mental activity
c) mental activity associated with processing and understanding information
in a game of peek-a-boo…this game most likely examines which stage of piaget’s theory of development and what principle of development:
a) sensorimotor, object permanence
b) sensorimotor, conservation
c) preoperational, object permanence
d) preoperational, conservation
a) sensorimotor, object permanence
