Chapter 8 - Cognitive Development Flashcards
What is cognition?
mental processes by which humans acquire and use knowledge
the activity of knowing
According to Piaget, what is intelligence?
basic life function that helps the child adapt to the environment
What role do children play in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
active explorers
construct schemes to establish cognitive equilibrium between thinking and experience
What are the processes through which schemes are constructed/modified?
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
What are the stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
sensorimotor (0-2)
pre-operational (2-7)
concrete operational (7-11)
formal operational (11+)
Describe the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.
understanding objects/events by acting on them
development of object permanence
6 substages
A not B error
building mental symbols/representation
What is the A not B error?
look for something where last found, not where you watched them hide it
Describe the pre-operational stage of cognitive development.
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
What is the 3 mountains task?
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
What are conservation tasks?
how something can be the same when property is changed
ex. same amount of playdough when its in a ball vs in a worm
What is Deloache’s representational insight?
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)
Describe the concrete operational stage of cognitive development.
begin to grasp abstract concepts
more logical thinking
conservation achieved gradually
Describe the formal operational stage of cognitive development.
logical and systematic reasoning skills developed
rational, systematic thinking
hypothetical and abstract concepts
What are 2 types of reasoning in formal operational cognition?
hypothetico-deductive reasoning: general to specific
inductive reasoning: specific to general
- form hypotheses
What are some examples of cognitive tasks?
attention reasoning remembering learning thinking
Describe Piaget’s theory component “genetic epistemology”.
genetic = developmental
epistemology = philosophy of knowledge (where does knowledge come from)
What are the substages of the sensorimotor stage?
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
What is neonativism?
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
What is the theory of mind?
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
What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective?
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
What are the 4 levels of development used in Vygotskys sociocultural perspective?
ontogenetic = life-span development
microgenetic = short-term development
phylogenetic = evolutionary change
sociohistorical = culture, values, norms, technology
What is horizontal decalage?
children’s inability to solve certain problems even though they could solve similar with same mental operations
