Chapter 8 - Cognitive Development

Question 1

What is cognition?

Answer 1

mental processes by which humans acquire and use knowledge

the activity of knowing

Question 2

According to Piaget, what is intelligence?

Answer 2

basic life function that helps the child adapt to the environment

Question 3

What role do children play in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

Answer 3

active explorers

construct schemes to establish cognitive equilibrium between thinking and experience

Question 4

What are the processes through which schemes are constructed/modified?

Answer 4

organization and adaptation

adaptation contains:

• assimilation = fitting new experiences into existing schemes
• accommodation = modifying existing schemes in response to new experiences

organization = rearranging existing schemes into more complex ones

results in cognitive growth

Question 5

What are the stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

Answer 5

sensorimotor (0-2)
pre-operational (2-7)
concrete operational (7-11)
formal operational (11+)

Question 6

Describe the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.

Answer 6

understanding objects/events by acting on them

development of object permanence

6 substages

A not B error

building mental symbols/representation

Question 7

What is the A not B error?

Answer 7

look for something where last found, not where you watched them hide it

Question 8

Describe the pre-operational stage of cognitive development.

Answer 8

verbal skill development

egocentric (bad at putting self in someone else’s perspective)
- 3 mountains task

working on conservation tasks

increased use of symbols

Deloache’s representational insight

Question 9

What is the 3 mountains task?

Answer 9

3 mountains with cows on one slide, turn it so cows can’t be seen, ask where cows are

have a hard time figuring out cows are on the other side

Question 10

What are conservation tasks?

Answer 10

how something can be the same when property is changed

ex. same amount of playdough when its in a ball vs in a worm

Question 11

What is Deloache’s representational insight?

Answer 11

in model room studies when playing with normal objects then switching them for doll-sized objects children don’t modify behaviour

ex. try to get in tiny car - scale error

don’t make connections between symbols and objects (ex. soccer ball on trophys vs. actual soccer balls - dual representation)

Question 12

Describe the concrete operational stage of cognitive development.

Answer 12

begin to grasp abstract concepts

more logical thinking

conservation achieved gradually

Question 13

Describe the formal operational stage of cognitive development.

Answer 13

logical and systematic reasoning skills developed

rational, systematic thinking

hypothetical and abstract concepts

Question 14

What are 2 types of reasoning in formal operational cognition?

Answer 14

hypothetico-deductive reasoning: general to specific

inductive reasoning: specific to general
- form hypotheses

Question 15

What are some examples of cognitive tasks?

Answer 15

attention
reasoning
remembering
learning
thinking

Question 16

Describe Piaget’s theory component “genetic epistemology”.

Answer 16

genetic = developmental

epistemology = philosophy of knowledge (where does knowledge come from)

Question 17

What are the substages of the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 17

reflex activity (birth-one month)
- exercise inborn reflexes

primary circular reactions (1-4 months)
- repeat acts centred on their own body

secondary circular reactions (4-8 months)
- repeat acts centred on external objects

coordination of secondary schemes (8-12 months)
- combine actions to solve simple problems

tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)
- experimenting with or inventing new problem solving

mental representations (18-24 months)

• first evidence of insight
• solve problems at internal, symbolic level

Question 18

What is neonativism?

Answer 18

says Piaget underestimated children

processing capacity and biological factors

acknowledged role of experience, culture, and individual differences

no such thing as a purely sensorimotor period

Question 19

What is the theory of mind?

Answer 19

children’s developing concepts of mental activity

our mental states are not always accessible to others

false-belief task
- whiteboard marker box full of batteries, children are shown that they have batteries and assume everyone knows it has batteries regardless of if they were shown

Question 20

What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective?

Answer 20

collaborative dialogues with more knowledgable members of society teach values/beliefs/problem solving to successive generations

may vary culture to culture

occurs through guided participation

language plays a more important role

private speech/self-talk becomes self-guidance system that is internalized to become covert verbal thought

Question 21

What are the 4 levels of development used in Vygotskys sociocultural perspective?

Answer 21

ontogenetic = life-span development

microgenetic = short-term development

phylogenetic = evolutionary change

sociohistorical = culture, values, norms, technology

Question 22

What is horizontal decalage?

Answer 22

children’s inability to solve certain problems even though they could solve similar with same mental operations