CH 5 DEVELOPMENTAL

Question 1

what two cognitive processes can cause a gain or change in a schema?

Answer 1

assimilation: interpreting new experiences and info in terms of our current understanding
accomodation: as we interact with the world we construct and modify our schemas. make adjustment to fit particulars of new info

Question 2

what is the sensory motor stage?

Answer 2

0-2 years of age

• understanding of the world through sensory and motor interactions (touching, mouthing, looking, listening
• no idea of object permanence until 8 months
• • this theory was tested by the toy and doll test

Question 3

what is the pre-operational stage?

Answer 3

2-7 years of age

• not able to carry out mental operations that would require them to think logically
• think symbolically and use language
• inability to understand conservation - an object does not change weight, mass, vol, area simply because it changes shape.
• children are egocentric - inability to see the world from another’s perspective
• • this theory was tested by the 3 mountains task

Question 4

what is the concrete-operational stage?

Answer 4

7-11 years of age

• able to think logically and carry out mental operations with concrete objects
• understand conservation (tested by plasticine)
• have ability to classify: group by common features
• have ability to seriate: order with respect to common properties
• begin to use mental pictures instead of concrete materials to solve problems

Question 5

what is the formal-operational stage?

Answer 5

11+ years of age

• capable of abstract thinking
• can talk about concepts such as honesty and morality and can discuss possible outcomes of situations without experiencing them
• use logical thinking; strategies to work through problems systematically (hypothesis-test-solution)
• • this theory was tested by the pendulum problem
• • what factors effects the rate of the swing?
• • C-O stage: tested more than one factor at a time, barely found answer
• • F-O stage: tested one at a time, found the answer

Question 6

what are the three main criticisms of Piaget?

Answer 6

1. underestimated young minds
2. failure to distinguish between competence and performance
3. gave insufficient attention to social influences on performance