Chapter 8 - cognitive development

Question 1

what is cognition

Answer 1

activity of knowing and the mental processes used to acquire knowledge and solve problems

Question 2

what is cognitive development

Answer 2

changes that occur in mental skills and abilities over the course of life

Question 3

what is genetic epistemology

Answer 3

experimental study of the origin of knowledge

Question 4

what is intelligence

Answer 4

adaptation to environment
- achieving cognitive equilibrium
- child as a constructivist
- schemes

Question 5

what is a scheme

Answer 5

pattern of thinking or behaviour

Question 6

what are the cognitive processes

Answer 6

• organization
• adaptation
  - occurs through assimilation and accommodation

Question 7

what is organization in cognitive processes

Answer 7

• facilitates adaptation
• rearranging existing schemes into more complex ones

Question 8

what is adaptation in cognitive processes

Answer 8

• adjust to environmental demands
• occurs through assimilation and accommodation

Question 9

what is assimilation

Answer 9

• interpret new experiences with existing schemes
  ex. a child encountering a horse for the first time would say doggy

Question 10

what is accommodation

Answer 10

• modify existing schemes to interpret new experiences
  ex. child recognizes that the horse is not a dot and makes a new name or asks what it is

Question 11

what are piaget invariant stages of cognitive development

Answer 11

1. sensorimotor (birth to 2)
2. preoperational (2 - 7)
3. concrete-operational (7 - 11)
4. formal-operational (11 to 12 +)

Question 12

what is the sensorimotor stage

Answer 12

• birth to 2 years
• sensory inputs and motor capabilities become coordinated
• six substages
  - reflex activity
  - primary circular reactions
  - secondary circular reactions
  - coordination of secondary schemes
  - tertiary circular reactions
  - mental representations

Question 13

development of imitation

Answer 13

a milestone in the sensorimotor stage
- imitation of novel objects emerges between 8 and 12 months
- deferred imitation is thought to emerge between 18 and 24 months

Question 14

development of object permanence

Answer 14

a milestone in the sensorimotor stage
- things still exist even if hidden from view
- invisible displacement

Question 15

challenges to piagets theories

Answer 15

• piaget underestimated infants abilities
• neo-nativism (baillargeon)
  - even infants use symbolism
• theory theories
  - combine neo-nativism with constructivism
  - infants innately understand classes of information
  but then construct theories

Question 16

what happens during the preoperational stage

Answer 16

• 2 years to 7 years
• use of symbols increases
• pre conceptual period (symbolic function, symbolic/pretend play)
• deloache’s representational insight
  - model room studies, dual representation

Question 17

what are the challenges in Piagets preoperational stage

Answer 17

piaget underestimated the preoperational child
- more recent evidence on egocentrism
- more recent evidence on animism
- more recent evidence on conservation
- training

Question 18

theory of mind

Answer 18

• children’s developing concepts of mental activity
• our mental states are not always accessible to others
• belief-desire reasoning (grasp that our actions and actions of others are influenced by what we know
• the false belief task

Question 19

concrete operational stage

Answer 19

• more logical thinking about real objects and experiences
• conservation
• understand logic (ex. different containers can hold the same amount of liquid)

Question 20

formal-operational stage

Answer 20

• thinking more rationally and systematically about abstract concepts and hypothetical events
• hypothetico-deductive reasoning (specific conclusions from general principals, crime solving)
• inductive reasoning (hypothesis is formulated and tested. ex - touching a hot stove makes you feel pain)

Question 21

contributions to piagets theory

Answer 21

• founded discipline of cognitive development
• emphasized children’s active involvement in development
• attempted to explain; not just describe development
• provided overview of changes in thinking
• influenced other areas of development research (social, emotional)
• inspired much research

Question 22

Robbie Case’s Neo-Piagetian theory

Answer 22

• robbie case is best known neo-piagetian
• refined concepts of assimilations and accommodation
• existing knowledge is consolidated
• repeated practice is important for automization
• acknowledged role of experience and culture

Question 23

vygostsky’s sociocultural perspective

Answer 23

lev vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
- cognitive development is driven by collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society
- may vary from culture to culture

Question 24

sociocultural theory - zone of proximal development

Answer 24

difference between what a learner can accomplish alone and with guidance of a more skilled partner
- scaffolding (more experienced individuals adjust their capabilities to match lesser capabilities)
- guided participation (actively join culturally significant theories beside knowledgeable adults/peers)

Question 25

cooperative/collaborative learning in sociocultural theory

Answer 25

• educational implications
• active collaboration with family
• active collaboration with peers