AOS 1 - Cognitive development

Question 1

What is cognitive development?

Answer 1

Involves changes in an individual’s mental abilities (reasoning, problem solving, decision making)

Question 2

What is Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

Answer 2

Individuals move through a predictable sequence of different stages in developing our thinking.

Question 3

1ST stage of cognitive development

Age group

Cognitive changes (2)

Answer 3

Sensorimotor Stage - 0-2 years

Object permanence (objects still exist even though the infant may not be able to see the object)

Goal-directed behaviour

Question 4

2ND stage of cognitive development

Age group

Cognitive changes (2)

Answer 4

Preoperational Stage

2-7 years

Symbolic thinking (ability to use words and pictures to represent things that aren’t there)

Transformation

Question 5

3RD stage of cognitive development

Age group

Cognitive changes (2)

Answer 5

Concrete Operational Stage

7-12 years

Conversion (understand the conservation of mass)

Classification (classify objects based on a common feature)

Question 6

4TH stage of cognitive development

Age group

Cognitive changes (1)

Answer 6

Formal Operational Stage

12+ years

Abstract thinking (understand something without actually seeing, visualising or experiencing it)

Question 7

What is assimilation?

Example?

Answer 7

Process of gathering new information and fitting it into a pre-existing mental idea

A child sees a zebra and calls it a horse

Question 8

What is accomodation?

Example?

Answer 8

Changing a pre-existing idea to fit new information that has been gathered.

Child recognises that a zebra is different from a horse and calls it a zebra.