A2 Intellectual Development Flashcards
What is intellectual development?
- learning and how individuals organise their minds and ideas
What are the 5 aspects of intellectual development?
- language development
- problem solving
- memory
- moral development
- abstract thoughts/creative thinking
What happens in infancy and early childhood to intellectual development?
Rapid intellectual development
What happens in adolescence to intellectual development?
Development of logical thought, problem solving and memory recall
What happens in early and middle adulthood to intellectual development?
Think through problems and make judgments based on life experience
What happens in later adulthood to intellectual development?
Brain changes can cause short term memory decline and slower thought processing
What are the stages of language development in infancy to early childhood+ages?
- babbling (3mo)
- imitating sounds (12mo)
- 2 worded sentences (2yr)
- simple sentences (3yr)
- clear sentences (4yr)
- speak using adult grammar (5yr)
What are factors that affect language development?
- Prolonged illness
- Genetics (IQ)
- stimulating environment/books (income)
- siblings
- learning disabilities
- reduces hearing
How can language development be promoted in infancy?
- blow bubbles
- play with puppets
- watch and listen to other children
- rhymes and songs
- picture books
How can language development be promoted in early childhood?
- circle time
- group activities
- imaginary play
- share stories/rhymes
- word games
How has intellectual development occurred in early and middle adulthood?
- think logically
- find realistic answers
-thinking realistically and are pragmatic - in middle adulthood there may be a decline in the speed of processing information
What happens to intellectual development in later adulthood?
- memory loss and reduced cognitive ability
- longer to learn and recall information
- hormones and proteins that repair brain cells decline
- decreased brain blood flow changes cognitive skills
-short term affected not long term so much
What did Chomsky believe about language development?
- It was innate and we were all born to understand and acquire language
What was the critical period in Chomsky’s theory?
-Between infancy and the start of adolescence where it was essential that children learn language or it would be difficult later in life
What is a case study that supports Chomsky’s theory of the critical period?
-Genie Wiley
- She was isolated and had no interaction and when found at 13 she couldn’t speak
- She was only able to learn to put a few words together
(she passed the critical period so could not learn language)
What is universal grammar?
Chomsky believed that children all over the work acquired language in the same way
What is the device that Chomsky hypothesised?
The LAD
(Learning Acquisition Device)
How did Chomsky say the LAD worked?
Children needed to simply hear language to activate it and language isn’t learned
What evidence is there to support Chomsky’s theory of the LAD?
- Children making grammatical errors (sheeps) is the LAD getting to grips with the rules of language
- Would explain how children learn language so quickly during the critical period
- Children all over the world acquire language and grammar following the same pattern no matter the language
What are the criticisms of Chomsky’s theory?
- The LAD is hypothetical and can’t be proved so it’s not scientific
- Ignores nurture and environnemental factors
- Not applicable to children with learning difficulties
- Theory is outdated as it was developed in the 1950s
What are the strengths of Chomsky’s theory?
-Backed up by observations of language development as all children develop language similarly
- Evidence of similar patterns different children pass through these stages at different rates but follow the same sequence
What is the first part of Piaget’s theory?
Cognitive development
What are the 4 key stages of cognitive development in Piaget’s theory?
- sensorimotor (0-2 yr)
- pre-operational (2-7yr)
- concrete operational (7-11 yr)
- formal operational (11+ yr)
What happens in the sensorimotor stage?
- Children explore their environments with their senses and physical activity
- They learn through trial and error
- They learn about object permanence
What is object permanence?
Understanding that objects exist even though we cannot see them physically
What happens in the pre- operational stage?
- Children engage in symbolic play
- Development of make believe
- They are egocentric
What does egocentric mean?
Only being able to see from their own perspective and struggling to see from others
What study supports children being egocentric in the pre-operational stage?
- The three mountains task
-Mountains placed with objects in front of them in front of the children - Even when children moved around they still thought the other person could see what they could see
What is the evaluation of the Three Mountains Task?
- W — artificial task may not accurately represent what children can do
- S — scientific evidence makes his ideas more believable and it can be used in primary schools to test development
What happens in the concrete operational stage?
- At the start they may still need object to understand concepts
-At the end they are capable of some abstract thinking
-Children understand the concept of conservation
What is conservation?
The idea that the something stays the same in quantity even though its appearance changes
What study supports the idea of conservation?
-Conservation of number
- Two identical beakers w the same amount of water in front of child
- One beaker of water is poured into a different shaped beaker
- Child in concrete operational identifies it’s still the same amount
What is the evaluation of the conservation of number study?
- S — easy to replicate increasing validity and can be used in primary schools to test development
- W — study may be too complex for children to understand giving inaccurate results
What happens in the formal operational stage?
- Can think abstractly
- Can problem solve like an adult
- Can think through complicated problems mentally
- Teens think about moral, social and ethical issues
What is part 2 of Piaget’s theory?
Schemas
What is a schema?
A mental package of knowledge that contains information about an aspect of the world
What are the 4 stages of schemas?
- Assimilation
- Equilibrium
- Disequilibrium
- Accommodation
What happens in assimilation?
A child constructs an understanding or schema and/or new information is added into pre-existing schemas
What happens in equilibrium?
A child’s experience fits with their schema
What happens in disequilibrium?
New experiences present new informations upsetting schemas
What happens in accommodation?
New information is accommodated and original schemas are changed or modified so they reach a stage of equilibrium
What are the criticisms of Piaget’s schema theory?
- he only studied a small sample and they were white and middle class so can’t be generalised to all children
-he may have underestimated children
-he ignored the role of parents and their encouragement (Bruner)
-ignores children who’s intellectual development may be delayed so it’s not applicable for all
