Chapter 9 Flashcards
1
Q
Piaget’s preoperational stage basics
A
- ages 2-7
- gains in mental representation: make-believe play, symbolic thinking
- limitations in thinking: egocentrism, lack of conservation, lack of hierarchical classification
2
Q
Early childhood development of make-believe
A
- with age, make-believe gradually: detaches from real life conditions, becomes less self-centered, becomes more complex
- sociodramatic play develops
3
Q
Benefits of make-believe play
A
- contributes to cognitive and social skills
- strengthens mental abilities:
- sustained attention
- memory
- language and literacy
- creativity
- regulation of emotion
- perspective taking
4
Q
Representational play
A
- children substitute one object for another or imagine the object
- separation of meaning from object provides foundation for using symbols
- benefits for later learning: symbols help children learn vocabulary, learn to read and write, understand maps, use numerals and learn number conservation
5
Q
Self-regulation in dramatic play
A
- child follows chosen role and rules of that role, inhibiting impulses and emotional reactions in order to take part in the play
- benefits for later learning: self-regulation promotes children’s ability to think autonomously, consider and control behaviour, control impulses, apply slef-discipline, follow directions and rules, plan and stay on task, collaborate with peers, enhance decision-making skills
6
Q
Dual representation
A
- viewing a symbolic object as both an object and a symbol
- strengthens around age 3
- adults can help: experience w maps, photos, drawings, make-believe play; pointing out similarities of symbols to real world
- snoopy experiment (children see experimenter hide snoopy in model room and are asked to find him same place in real room; kids under 3 can’t do it)
7
Q
Egocentrism
A
- preoperational stage
- failure to distinguish others’ viewpoints from one’s own
- three mountains task (child has to describe what someone else can see from opposite side of a model, can’t if they’re still in preoperational stage)
8
Q
Animistic thinking
A
belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities
9
Q
Conservation
A
- understanding that physical characteristics remain the same when appearance changes
- children in preoperational stage fail to understand this bc of centration (focusing on one aspect to neglect of others) and irreversibility (inability to mentally reverse a series of steps)
10
Q
3 important characteristics of preoperational thought
A
- egocentrism
- centration (narrowly focused thought)
- appearance as reality
11
Q
4 year-olds’ naive theories of biology
A
- Movement: animals can move themselves but inanimate objects can’t
- Growth: animals and people grow and objects do not
- Internal parts: different in animals and inanimate objects
- Inheritance: animals inherit traits from parents, objects do not
- Healing: animals heal themselves, people have to fix objects
12
Q
Theory of mind
A
- a person’s understanding of the relations between mind and behaviour
- early awareness: infancy through age 3
- mastery of false-belief tasks: around age 4
- contributing factors: language, executive function, social experiences - some think kids w autism don’t have theory of mind, other research says this is not true!
13
Q
Executive functioning basic definition
A
set of cognitive abilities that enable intentional, self-regulated behaviour
14
Q
Deficits in theory of mind
A
- deficits in pretend play for children diagnosed with autism may be linked to deficits in theory of mind (Rutherford and Rogers)
- theory of mind deficits may be due to difficulties in executive functioning present early in life (Pellicano)
15
Q
False-belief task
A
- child has information but someone else does not (eg Sally and basket vs box)
- 4 year-olds know Sally will look in basket, 3 year-olds think she will look in box (bc that is the information that they have so they assume Sally has it too)
- 4 year-olds realize that people not only have thoughts and beliefs, but also that thoughts and beliefs are crucial to explaining why people do things
16
Q
Counterfactual thinking
A
- understanding that a situation or fact is counter or opposite to reality
- first demonstrated through engagement in pretend play
17
Q
Evaluation of Piaget
A
- many experts think development of logical operations is gradual, not in stages
- some support flexible stage notion: a related set of competencies develops over an extended period
18
Q
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
A
- development as a social relationship through which children collaborate with others who are more experienced
- private speech is essential in cognitive development
- scaffolding helps children in zone of proximal development