Ch. 3 Flashcards
cognitive development
changes over time in how people think, how they solve problems, and how their capacities for memory and attention change
Jean Piaget
influential Swiss developmental psychologist, best known for theories of cognitive and moral development
cognitive stage theory
period in which abilities are organized in a coherent, interrelated way through assimilation and accommodation
mental structure
organization of cognitive abilities into a single pattern, such that thinking in all aspects of life is a reflection of that structure
cognitive-developmental approach
approach to understanding cognition that emphasizes the changes that take place at different
maturation
process by which abilities develop through genetically based development with limited influence from the environment
schemes
structure for organizing and interpreting informatiom
assimilation
new information encountered in world is altered to fit an existing way of thinking (mental scheme)
accommodation
way of thinking or scheme changed to adapt to accumulation of new information incongruent w/ previous scheme
sensorimotor stage
cognitive stage in first 2 years of life that involves learning how to coordinate the activities of the senses with motor activities
preoperational stage
cognitive stage from ages 2-7 in which the child becomes capable of representing world symbolically
-limited in ability to use mental operations
mental operations
cognitive activity involving manipulating and reasoning about objects
concrete operations
cognitive stage from age 7 to 11 in which children born to use mental operations are limited to applying them to concrete, observable situations rather than hypothetical situations
formal operations
cognitive stage from age 11 up in which people learn to think systematically about possibilities and hypotheses
pendulum task
Piaget’s classic test of formal operations in which people are asked to figure out what determines the speed of the ball
abstract thinking
thinking in terms of symbols, ideas and concepts
metacognition
capacity for “thinking about thinking” that allows adolescents and adults to reason about thought processes and monitor them
complex thinking
thinking that takes into account multiple connections and interpretations, such as in the use of metaphor, satire and sarcasm
metaphor
non-literal meanings
2 categories of Piaget’s limitations
1) individual differences
2) cultural basis
individual differences
research approach that focuses on how individuals differ within a group
Labouvie-Vief’s postformal thinking
beyond formal operations, involving greater awareness of the complexity of real-life situations, such as in the use of pragmatism and reflective judgement
pragmatism
adapting logical thinking to practical constraints of real-life situations
-social and situational factors must be taken into account to solve life’s problems
dialectical thought
subconcept of pragmatism that develops in emerging adulthood, involving a growing awareness that most problems don’t have a single solution
-problems must often be addressed with crucial pieces of information missing
reflective judgement
capacity to evaluate accuracy and logical coherence of evidence and arguments
dualistic thinking
tendency to see situations and issues in polarized, absolute, black and white terms
multiple thinking
approach entailing recognition that there’s more than one legitimate view of things and that it can be difficult to justify one position as the true or accurate one
relativism
ability to recognize legitimacy of competing point of view but also compare relative merits of competing view
commitment
status in which people commit themselves to certain points of view they believe to be the most valid while at the same time being open to reevaluating views if new evidence is presented to them
information processing approach
understanding cognition that seeks to delineate steps involved in thinking process and how each step is connected to the next
-attention, processing, memory
discontinuous
view of development as taking place in stages that’re distinct from one another rather than one gradual, continuous process
continuous
view of development as gradual, steady process rather than taking place in distinct stages
componential apporoach
breaking down thinking process into components
selective attention
ability to focus on relevant info while screening out irrelevant info
divided attention
ability to focus on 1+ task at once
-increases with age but inferior to selective attention
short-term memory
memory for information that’s the current focus of attention
-retained for 30 seconds, levels out at 16 yrs.
long-term memory
memory for information that’s committed to longer-term storage
-can be drawn upon after a period when attention hasn’t been focused on it
-improvements are related to mnemonic devices
–organization and strategies related to metacognitive advances
working memory
aspect of short-term memory that refers to where information is stored as its comprehended and analyzed
ability to process information improves in areas of?
1) processing speed
2) automaticity
3) executive function
automaticity
degree of cognitive effort a person needs to devote to processing given a set of information
executive functioning
ability to control and manage one’s cognitive processes
reductionism
breaking up phenomenon into separate parts to an extent that the meaning and coherence of the phenomenon as a whole becomes lost
2 research areas on practical cognition in adolescence and emerging adulthood
1) critical thinking
2) decision making
critical thinking
involves not merely memorizing info but analyzing it
-making judgements about what it means
-relating it to other information
-considering ways in which it might be valid or invalid
Daniel Keating’s 3 reasons that critical thinking increases in adolescence and adulthood
1) wider knowledge range in long-term memory
2) working memory increases
-makes it possible to consider more ideas at once
3) metacognition increases enabling monitoring of one’s own comprehension
organizational core
term applied to cognitive development
-meaning cognitive development affects all areas of thinking, no matter what the topic
social cognition
how people think about others, social relationships, and social institutions
2 aspects of social cognition
1) perspective taking
2) adolescent egocentrism
perspective taking
ability to understand thoughts and feelings of others
Robert Selman
important early theorist on perspective taking
-analyzed interviews w/ children and adolescents about hypothetical situations
-concluded that adolescents understand that others may have a different view than theirs
-learning about other perspectives can increase understanding of an issue
mutual perspective taking
stage of perspective taking in early adolescence in which persons understand that their perspective-taking interactions w/ others are mutual
-each side realizes that the other can take their perspective
social and conventional system perspective taking
realizing that social perspectives of the self and others are influenced not just by their interaction w/ each other but by roles in larger society
prosocial
promoting the well-being of others
theory of mind
ability to attribute mental states to one’s self and others, including beliefs, thoughts and feelings
adolescent egocentrism
type of egocentrism in which adolescents have difficulty distinguishing their thinking about their own thoughts from their thinking about the thoughts of others
2 aspects of adolescent egocentrism
1) imaginary audience
2) personal fable
imaginary audience
belief that others are acutely aware of and attentive to one’s appearance and behavior
personal fable
belief in one’s personal uniqueness, often including a sense of invulnerability to the consequences of taking risks
optimistic bias
tendency to assume that accidents, diseases and misfortunes are likely to happen to other people than to one’s self
psychometric approach
attempt to understand human cognition by evaluating cognitive abilities using intelligence tests
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V)
intelligence test for children 6-16 with 6 Verbal and 5 Performance subtests
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WAIS-V)
intelligence test for people ages 16+, with six Verbal and 5 Performance subtests
intelligence quotient (IQ)
measure of a person’s intellectual abilities based on a standardized test
age norms
technique for developing a psychological test
-typical score for each age is established by testing a large random sample of people from a variety of geographical areas and social class backgrounds
median
in a distribution of scores, the point at which half of the population scores above and half below
relative performance
in IQ test score, compared to those of other people of the same age
absolute performance
in IQ tests, score compared to those of other people, regardless of age
fluid intelligence
mental abilities that involve speed of analyzing, processing, and reacting to information
-peaks in emerging adulthood and declines
crystallized intelligence
accumulated knowledge and enhanced judgement based on experience
-improve past 20’s
adoption
adopted children have IQ scores that correlate better with adoptive parents than their biological parents
-correlation decreases in adolescence
-birth parents aren’t as in control of environments they contact
-environmental effects on IQ still primary but are directed by genetics of individual, rather than family
transracial adoption
adoption of children of one race by parents of a different race
Vygotsky
Russian psychologist who emphasized cultural basis of cognitive development
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
cognitive development is a social and cultural process
2 of Vygotsky’s most influential ideas
1) zone of proximal development
2) scaffolding
zone of proximal development
gap between how competently a person performs a task alone and when guided by an adult or more competent peer
scaffolding
degree of assistance provided to the learner in the zone of proximal development
-gradually decreases as learner’s skills develops
guided participation
teaching interaction between 2 people (often a adult and a child or adolescent) as they participate in a culturally valued activity
cultural psychology
approach to human psychology emphasizing that psychological functioning can’t be separated from the culture in which it takes places
theory of multiple intelligences
Howard Gardner’s theory that there are 8 types of intelligence
fMRI
technique for measuring brain functioning during an ongoing activity
synapses
point of transmission between 2 nerve cells
neurons
cells of the nervous system, including the brain
overproduction of exuberance
rapid increase in production of synaptic connections in the brain
frontal lobes
part of brain immediately behind forehead
-known to be involved in higher brain functions such as planning ahead and analyzing complex problems
synaptic pruning
following overproduction, the process by which the number of synapses in the brain is reduced
-making brain functioning faster and more efficient but less flexible
-between ages 12-20, loss of 10% of brain’s gray matter
-too rapid synaptic pruning may heighten sensitivity to stress, making an individual more vulnerable to stress-related psychological issues like anxiety
myelination
process by which myelin, a blanket of fat wrapped around the main part of the neuron, grows
-myelin serves the function of keeping the brain’s electrical signals on one path and increasing their speed
cerebellum
structure in lower brain,
gray matter
outermost layer of the brain, composed mainly of the bodies of neurons and unmyleinated axons
-rapid pruning may be connected to the development of schizophrenia, anxiety and depression
white matter
part of the brain that consists of myleinated axons
-decreases at 40+
prefrontal cortex
foremost part of the frontal lobe, involved in distinctively human functions such as planning and reasoning
aging effects on cognition
-decline in divided attention, adults 65+ report decline in memory abilities
–most express concern, associating it with illness, loss of independence and mortality
-decline in working memory, accounted for by declines in processing speed and attentional resources
-
semantic memory
memory of facts, vocabulary and concepts
-increases through middle age and declines slightly late in life
episodic memory
recall of events, more affected by age, showing decline after 60
implicit memory
memory for skills, doesn’t decline much with age
factors that accelerate changes in cognition in older adults
chronic disease, medication, vision and hearing losses
cognitive assistance forms
computers and phones help seniors make and keep social connections
-games in a social setting encouraging physical or cognitive exercise
