cognition and development Flashcards
piagets theory of cognitive development AO1
suggests that development of cognition depends on process of active discovery- child performing actions on world and devloping schemas as a result- ‘child as scientist’
SCHEMAS- packages of mental info formed from experience- when we gain new info about world that doesnt fit existing schema- stateof diseuqilibrium- to return to equilibrium we need to either use assimilation (new info aded to exiating schema) or accomodation (existing schema adapted to fit new info/ new schema formed)
suggested all children passed through biologically determined stages of development- identified by object permanence (understanding object exists when hidden from view), conservation ( understanding quantity of item stays same despitechange in appearance), egocentrism (inability to imagine world from diff perspective),class inclusion (categories of objects have subsets)
stage 1- sensorimotor- 0-2- learns through 1st performing intellectual reflexes- develops object permanence
stage 2- preoperational- 2-7- starts to talk, struggles with conservation and class inclusion, still egocentric
stage 3- concrete operational- 7-11- better at conservation, egocentrism and class inclusion
stage 4- formal operational- 11+- able to use abstract logic
piagets theory of cognitive development AO3
(+) ball and blanket study- object permanence- children play w ball then hidden under blanket- children under 8 months wouldnt search forit but over 8 month would- sensorimotor
(+) 3 mountains study- egocentrism- sat children infront of model of 3 moutains- each unique, and placed doll on opp side, found children older than 7 could decenter and choose correct image that showed dolls view- preoperational
(+) beaker task- conservation- water moved from 1 of 2 identical beakers to thinner and taller beaker, 7 yr olds failed conservation- said there was more water in the new beaker- preoperational
(-) much of the research assumes lack of ability equals lack of understanding- inference- may be that the children are simply unable to communicate effetively or misunderstood the nature of the tasks presented
vygotskys theory of cognitive development AO1
suggests that development of cognition depends on social interactions/ culture- child internalising the understanding of others by using the tools of that culture e.g. language and technology- ‘child s apprentice’
role of language important- helps the development of inner speech (thought) allowing higher mental functions
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)- distance between what the child is curently able to do independently and what they can do w the help of others- experts help child pass through ZPD by scaffolding (supportive framework to help child complete the task)- slowly withdraws support until child can complete task independently
vygotskys theory of cognitive development AO3
(+) practical applications- important role of 1on1 tuition in education- can also be applied by teachers allowing children to play a more active role in the classroom
(+) cross cultural differences in the concept development- supports the idea that cog development due to social interactions- also not culturally biased
(+) shows the child as active ppt in own development- piaget suggest child is more passive
(-) focuses on cognitive factors- ignores biological factors
baillargeons explanation of early infant abilities AO1
argues infants have ‘physical reasoning system’ (innate knowledge of physical world)- hard wired and gives basic understanding of physical principles e.g. object permanence, gravity, causality- helps infants navigate environment, interact w objects and predict outcomes- though to be innate but also develop rapidly within 1st year of life through experience and learning
used violation of expectation (VOE) research (test for physical reasoning system)
infants (21/2 months) look longer at events that violate their expectations-increased looking time interpreted as sign of suprision and confusion- suggests they have formed expectations about how the world should behave
baillargeons explanation of early infant abilities AO3
(+) strongly challenges piaget that suggests infants develop object permanence at 8 months- in piagets, they mightve just been unable to communicate effectively
(+) face validity- many animals have an innate ability to reason (e.g. zebras can run from predators as soon as theyre born)- makes sense that humans also have some basic preprogramming
(-) use of inferences- inference that increased looking indicates infants suprise that physical principle violated
(-) claims physical reasoning system present from birth BUT- sample 21/2 months old+- not new borns- could be learnt thrugh early experience not innate
development of social cognition selman AO1
SOCIAL COGNITION- mental processes that relate to social world- e.g. understanding others intentions, perspectives and emotions
happens by passing through levels of perspective taking- from egocentric to understanding others perspectives
STAGE 0- egocentric (3-6 yrs)- knows others have seperate thoughts but will confuse w own
STAGE 1-social informational role taking (6-8 yrs)- reliably consider someones perspective one person at a time
STAGE 2- self reflective role taking (8-10 yrs)- fully appreciate perspective of 1 person
STAGE 3- mutual/third party role taking (10-12 yrs)- simultaneously consider multiple peoples perspectives
STAGE 4- social and conventional system role taking (12+)- knows views influenced by culture/values
development of social cognition selman AO3
(+) selman and byrne found when presented w dilema tasks and asked to describe the viewpoints of the characters- correlation between age and stage of perspective in line w selmans theory
(-) criticised for not including role for understanding others emotions or feeling empathy when taking perspective of others- entire focus of theory is on childrens understanding of anothers perspective
(+) understanding stage a child is in has important implications for conflict resolution in schools (e.g. teachers better able to deal with issues relating to bullying) and also be applied to family therapy- help parents better understand behavioural issues in relation to their childs stage of social cognition
theory of mind AO1
TOM-most have innate theory of minf mechanism (cognitive process that helps us understand other ppl have. internal mental states such as emotions and intentions)
EXPLANATION FOR AUTISM- suggests people w autism suffer from ‘mind blindness’- lack of innate theory of mind mechanism- explains why autistic ppl struggle to appreciate emotional perspective/ intnention of others
SALLY ANNE STUDY- 20 autistic children, 14 w down syndrome and 27 children w typical functioning- shown 2 dolls ‘sally’ and ‘anne’- sally puts marble in basket and leaves, anne moves marble to box- child asked ‘where the marble is really’ (reality Q) ‘where wa the marble in the beginning (memory Q) ‘where will sally look for the marble’ (belief Q)- all passed Q1and2- only 20% autistic children could answer belief Q accurately- 85% of normally developed children could, 86% of down syndromechildren
theory of mind AO3
(+) TOM is helpful in understanding features of autism and helping develop coping mechanisms for ppl with autism and ppl who support them
(-) children who perform badly on false belief task like the sally anne study still enjoy tole-play based play- this requires a TOM suggesting its the complexity of these tasks that lead to poor performance - not lacking TOM
(-) TOM as an explanation for autiwsm can explain deficits but not the special abilities shown by autistic savants
mirror neuron system in social cognition AO1
accidentally found when a researcher reached for food in view of monkey, monkeys premotor cortex fired- same nuerons the monkey wouldve used to perform same action physically- some neurons act as mirror neurons to allow stimulation of physical acts of others to better understand intention
ROLE IN SOCIAL COGNITION- mirror neurons for stimulationg the emotional experience of others (empathy)
defective mirror neuron system could be axplanantion for autism- would contribute to lack of TOM
mirror neurons AO3
(+) if defective, mirror neurons responsible for social cognition and explain autism- opens the possibility for a biological drugtheray to improve the sense of emathy and ultimately scial communicatio in ppl with autism
(-) much of research on mirror neurons has been through looking at groups of neurons scanning machines e.g. fMRI- means little is known about mirro neuron activity at level of individual neurons
(-) suggestion that complex process of social cognition (particularly empathy) is due to automatic firing of mirror neurons is highly reductionist
baillargeon study
turck and ramp study:
infants shown toy truck rolling down ramp
in impossible stage- box placed on track in trucks way and box hidden by screen, infants looked longer when the truck seemed to pass through the box
indicates infants were suprised by the violation of expectation about solidity and they have object permanence
