Chapter 6 Cognition Flashcards
Cognition
The activity of knowing and the processes through which knowledge is acquired and problems are solved and how it changes across the lifespan
Schemes
Cognitive structures – organized patterns of action, or thought that people construct to interpret their experience
Five ways cognition develops
Organization, adaptation, assimilation, accommodation, and Equilibration
Organization
Systematically combine existing schemes into new and more complex ones
Adaptation
The process of adjusting to the demands of the environment
Occurs through two complementary processes, assimilation and accommodation
Assimilation
The process by which we interpret new experiences in terms of existing schemes or cognitive structures
Accommodation
The process of modifying existing schemes to better fit new experiences
Equilibration
The process of achieving mental stability where our internal thoughts are consistent with evidence we are receiving from the external world
For distinct stages of cognitive development
- the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2yr)
- The pre-operational stage 2 to 7 years.
- the concrete operation stage 7 to 11
- formal operation stage 11+
Zone of proximal development
The gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what she can accomplish with the guidance encouragement of a more skilled partner
Guided participation
Actively participating in culturally relevant activities with the aid and support of their parents and other knowledgeable guides
Scaffolding
The more skilled person gives structured help to a less skilled learner, but gradually reduces the help as the less skilled learner becomes more competent
Private speech
Speech to oneself that guides ones thought and behavior
Neuroconstructivism theory
New knowledge is constructed through changes in the neural structures of the brain in response to experiences
Dynamic
Check it changes in response to changes in context
Skill
A persons ability to perform a particular task in a specific context
Developmental range
To better capture their findings that peoples abilities vary with context
Pretend play
Starting around age, one – play in which one actor object or action symbolizes or stands for another
Object, permanence, a.k.a. object concept
The fundamental understanding that objects continue to exist when they are no longer visible or otherwise detectable to the senses
A-not-B error
The surprising tendency of 8 to 12 month olds to search for an object where they last found it (A) rather than in its new hiding place (B)
Symbolic capacity
The ability to use images, words or gestures to represent or stand for objects and experiences
Primary circular reactions
One to four months. Infants, repeating actions relating to their own bodies that had initially happened by chance.
Secondary circular reactions
4 to 8 months. Infants, derived pleasure from repeatedly performing an action on an object.
Coordination of secondary schemes
8 to 12 months. Infants combined secondary actions to achieve simple goals, such as when they push an obstacle out-of-the-way in order to grasp a desired object.
Tertiary circular reactions
12 to 18 months. Infants experimented and varied ways with toys, exploring them thoroughly and learning all about their properties.
Perceptual salience
The most obvious features of an object or situation, means that preschoolers can be fooled by appearances
Conservation
The idea that certain properties of an object or substance do not change when that appearances altered in some superficial way
Decentration
The ability to focus on two or more dimensions of a problem at once
Centration
The tendency to center attention on a single aspect of the problem
Transformational thought
The ability to conceptualize transformations , or processes of change from one state to another
Transformational thought
The ability to conceptualize transformations , or processes of change from one state to another
Static thought
Thought that is fixed on and states rather than the changes that transform one state into another, as when the water is sitting in the two glasses, not being poured or manipulated
Egocentrism
Tendency to view the world solely from their own perspective, and to have difficulty recognizing other points of view
Class inclusion
The logical understanding that the parts are included within the whole
Seriation
Logical operation, which enables them to arrange items mentally along a quantifiable dimension, such as length or weight
Transitivity
The necessary relations among elements in a series
Hypothetical deductive reasoning
Reasoning from a general principle or rule to its specific implications
Confirmation bias
Seeking and interpreting new information so that it confirms our existing beliefs about something
Adolescent egocentrism
Difficulty differentiating ones own thoughts and feelings from those of other people
Imaginary audience
Phenomenon involves confusing your own thoughts with those of the hypothesized audience for your behavior
Personal fable
Tendency to think that you and your thoughts and feelings are unique
Post formal thought
Ways of thinking that are more complex than those of the formal operational stage
Relativistic thinking
Understanding that knowledge depends on its contacts and subjective perspectives of the nowhere
Dialectical thinking
Trying to reconcile contradictions and inconsistency among ideas
Information processing approach
To human cognition, emphasizes the basic mental processes involved in attention, perception, memory, and decision-making
