Question 1

What is perhaps the most basic principle of Piaget's theory?

Accepted Answer

Child as scientist: naturally curious, theorizes about world around them.

Question 2

Define assimilation and accommodation.

Accepted Answer

Assimilation: new experiences readily incorporated into existing theories. Accommodation: existing theories are modified based on experience.

Question 3

Assimilation and accommodation are usually in balance, or _____. When balance is upset, children reorganize their theories to restore this, a process Piaget called _____.

Accepted Answer

Equilibrium; equilibration.

Question 4

The process of equilibration results in what?

Accepted Answer

Qualitatively different and more advanced schemas - mental structures or concepts in the child’s mind.

Question 5

In Piaget's theory, _____ reorganizations of theories lead to _____ stages of cognitive development

Accepted Answer

3; 4.

Question 6

Describe how and when the sensorimotor stage begins and ends. What do children develop during this stage?

Accepted Answer

Spans from birth to 2 years of age. Begins with reflexive responding, ends with using symbols. Object permanence: understanding that objects exist independently.

Question 7

During the sensorimotor stage, what occurs at 8-10 months of age. 12 months?

Accepted Answer

8-10 months: intentional action towards world. 12 months: active experimenters.

Question 8

Describe how and when the preoperational stage begins and ends. What are the three errors of thinking in this stage?

Accepted Answer

Spans ages 2 to 7 years. Children use symbols to represent objects but there are many errors in thinking. Egocentrism: difficulty seeing the world from another's viewpoint. Animism: give inanimate objects animate properties. Centration: concentrate on one aspect of something, but completely ignore other equally relevant aspects.

Question 9

Describe how and when the concrete operational stage begins and ends

Accepted Answer

Spans ages 7 to 11 years. Thinking based on mental operations (strategies and rules that make thinking more systematic and powerful). Operations can be reversed. Focus on the real and concrete, not the abstract.

Question 10

What are three tasks assessing shift from Preoperational to Concrete Thought and what do each focus on?

Accepted Answer

Perspective Taking Tasks (Egocentrism). Conservation Tasks (Centration). Class Inclusion Tasks (Mental Operations).

Question 11

What is a critical component of class inclusion?

Accepted Answer

Understanding that a subclass cannot be greater than its superordinate class.

Question 12

Describe the formal operational stage. When does it begin? What does it entail?

Accepted Answer

Spans from roughly age 11 to adulthood. Increasingly able to think abstractly. Adolescents can think hypothetically and use deductive reasoning to draw appropriate conclusions from facts.

Question 13

List three of Piaget's contributions to child development.

Accepted Answer

The study of cognitive development itself. A new, constructivist view of children. Fascinating, often counterintuitive, discoveries.

Question 14

What is constructivism?

Accepted Answer

Children are active participants in own development who systematically construct more sophisticated understandings of their worlds.

Question 15

What are four weaknesses of Piaget's theory?

Accepted Answer

Underestimates cognitive competence in infants; overestimates in adolescence. Some components too vague to test. Stage model doesn’t account for variability. Undervalues influence of sociocultural forces.

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Ch. 6: Theories of Cognitive Development Flashcards

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