Cognition and Development Knowledge Flashcards
What is Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
Piaget’s theory suggests that adults think differently than children, not just know more.
What are the two influences on cognitive development according to Piaget?
- Maturation
- Environment
What does maturation refer to in Piaget’s theory?
The effect of biological processes of ageing on cognitive development.
How does the environment influence cognitive development?
Through interactions that make children’s understanding of the world more complex.
What are the two motivations behind learning according to Piaget?
- Disequilibrium
- Equilibration
Define schemas in the context of Piaget’s theory.
Schemas are mental structures that help children interact with their environment and discover knowledge.
What is the ‘me-schema’?
A schema where all the child’s knowledge about themselves is stored.
What did Fantz (1961) aim to investigate?
Whether infants have innate schemas.
What were the findings of Fantz’s study?
- Newborns preferred human faces over bullseyes
- Two-month-olds looked twice as much at human faces
What is assimilation?
The process of incorporating new information into existing schemas.
Give an example of assimilation.
A child adds a new cat breed to their existing cat schema.
What is accommodation?
The process of altering existing schemas or forming new ones in response to new experiences.
Provide an example of accommodation.
A child learns that cats are a separate species from dogs and adjusts their animal schema.
What is equilibration?
The process of balancing existing schemas with new information.
What is disequilibrium?
An unpleasant state experienced when existing schemas do not make sense of new information.
How does cognitive development relate to equilibrium and disequilibrium?
Cognitive development involves a continuous process of moving between equilibrium and disequilibrium.
What limits can affect learning at different stages?
A young child’s mind may not be mature enough to accommodate new experiences.
What are the two processes involved in cognitive development according to Piaget?
- Assimilation
- Accommodation
True or False: According to Piaget, cognitive development is solely a result of biological maturation.
False
What are the stages of intellectual development according to Piaget?
- Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
- Pre-Operational Stage (2-7 years)
- Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
- Formal Operational Stage (11+ years)
Piaget proposed these stages as invariant and cross-cultural.
What is object permanence?
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
At what age does object permanence typically develop?
Around 8 months old.
What did Piaget’s 1963 study investigate?
At what age children acquire object permanence.
What were the findings of Piaget’s 1963 study on object permanence?
Infants under 8 months do not search for hidden toys, while those 8 months and older do search for them.
What characterizes the Sensorimotor Stage?
Children are egocentric, focus on physical sensations, understand others as separate, and develop object permanence.
What is egocentrism?
The inability to see a situation from another’s point of view.
What is conservation in Piaget’s theory?
The understanding that changing the appearance of something does not impact its mass, number, or volume.
What is class inclusion?
The understanding that some sets of objects can be subsets of larger classes.
What were the findings of Piaget’s 1952 study on conservation?
Children stated that a taller beaker contained more liquid, indicating they cannot conserve.
What does decentring refer to in the Concrete Operational Stage?
The ability to see things from the perspective of others.
What is animistic thinking in the Pre-Operational Stage?
The belief that inanimate objects are alive.
What age range does the Pre-Operational Stage cover?
2-7 years.
What is seriation in child development?
Arranging objects in order of size, location, or position.
What did Piaget and Inhelder’s 1956 study find about egocentrism?
Four-year-olds chose pictures matching their own view, while older children recognized other viewpoints.
What characterizes the Concrete Operational Stage?
Ability to conserve, decline in egocentrism, and understanding of class inclusion.
What is the age range for the Formal Operational Stage?
11 years and older.
What develops during the Formal Operational Stage?
Abstract reasoning and inferential reasoning.
True or False: All individuals reach the Formal Operational Stage by age 15.
False.
Fill in the blank: The understanding that some sets can be subsets of larger classes is called _______.
class inclusion.
What is the main conclusion from Piaget’s studies on conservation?
Pre-operational children do not understand that appearance changes do not affect quantity.
What is the significance of Piaget’s view of children as ‘scientists’?
Children test their own theories about the world.
What is the primary difference between Vygotsky and Piaget regarding cognitive development?
Vygotsky viewed cognitive development as a social process, while Piaget did not emphasize this aspect.
According to Vygotsky, how does cognitive development occur?
Cognitive development occurs first on a social level through interactions and then on an individual level within the learner.
What are the two levels of cognitive development identified by Vygotsky?
- Inter-psychological (social level)
- Intra-psychological (individual level)
What are elementary mental functions according to Vygotsky?
Elementary mental functions include basic processes such as perception and memory.
How are higher mental functions developed according to Vygotsky?
Higher mental functions are developed through cultural influence transforming elementary mental processes.
What is the role of ‘experts’ in a child’s cognitive development?
Experts guide the child through problem-solving experiences, initially taking responsibility and gradually transferring it to the child.
What does Vygotsky’s ‘child as an apprentice’ concept emphasize?
It emphasizes that cultural skills and knowledge are gained through collaboration with more knowledgeable individuals.
What is the significance of language in Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development?
Language is the primary semiotic system through which culture is transmitted from expert to child.
Fill in the blank: Vygotsky believed that _______ is the foremost semiotic system for transmitting culture.
[language]
How can cultural differences affect cognitive abilities in children?
Children acquire reasoning abilities and mental tools specific to their cultural and social environments.
What is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?
The ZPD is the distance between a child’s current ability and their potential ability where cognitive development occurs.
True or False: Vygotsky believed that learning occurs in the area of current development.
False
What is scaffolding in the context of Vygotsky’s theory?
Scaffolding is the process of providing temporary support to a learner as they navigate through the ZPD.
List the five aspects of scaffolding identified by Wood, Bruner, and Ross.
- Recruitment
- Reduction of degrees of freedom
- Direction maintenance
- Marking critical features
- Demonstration
How does the level of help in scaffolding change as a child progresses?
The level of help declines from high to low as the child becomes more capable of completing tasks independently.
What is an example of a level 5 help strategy in scaffolding?
Demonstration, such as a parent drawing an object with crayons.
Fill in the blank: In scaffolding, the strategy of _______ involves highlighting the most important parts of a task.
[marking critical features]
What did Baillargeon suggest about infants in the sensorimotor stage?
Infants may have a better developed understanding of the physical world than previously thought.
What is Piaget’s view on why infants do not reach for hidden objects?
Infants lack understanding of object permanence.
According to Baillargeon, why might infants not reach for hidden objects?
They might lack the necessary motor skills to complete the task.
What does PRS stand for in the context of infant physical reasoning?
Physical Reasoning System.
What is the nativist approach concerning infants’ understanding of the physical world?
It suggests humans are born with innate abilities.
What innate abilities do infants possess regarding object perception?
Perceive an object’s boundaries, perceive objects out of view, and predict movement of objects.
How do infants begin to identify event categories in their first few weeks of life?
Each event category corresponds to one way in which objects interact.
What are occlusion events?
Events where one object blocks the view of another.
What captures infants’ attention according to their PRS?
Impossible or unexpected events.
What is the purpose of the Violation of Expectation (VOE) technique?
To compare infant reactions to expected and unexpected events.
What indicates that an infant has lost interest in a repeated scenario during VOE studies?
The infant looks away.
List the three key areas tested in VOE studies.
- Containment
- Support
- Occlusion
What was the independent variable in Baillargeon and Graber’s (1987) study?
Whether the children saw a ‘possible’ or ‘impossible’ event.
What was the aim of Baillargeon and Graber’s (1987) study?
To investigate the age object permanence may occur.
What was the procedure in Baillargeon and Graber’s (1987) study?
24 infants were shown a tall or short rabbit passing behind a screen with a window.
What were the findings regarding infants’ reactions in Baillargeon and Graber’s (1987) study?
Infants looked longer at the ‘impossible’ condition (33.07 seconds) than at the ‘possible’ condition (25.11 seconds).
What conclusion can be drawn from Baillargeon and Graber’s (1987) study?
Infants demonstrate an understanding of object permanence at less than six months of age.
What was the independent variable in Baillargeon et al.’s (1985) study?
Whether the children saw a ‘possible’ or ‘impossible’ event.
What was the aim of Baillargeon et al.’s (1985) study?
To investigate children’s understanding of objects.
What was the procedure in Baillargeon et al.’s (1985) study?
5-month-old infants were familiarised with a drawbridge that moved through 180 degrees with a box placed in its pathway.
What were the findings regarding infants’ reactions in Baillargeon et al.’s (1985) study?
Infants spent longer looking at the ‘impossible’ event.
What conclusion can be drawn from Baillargeon et al.’s (1985) study?
Children develop an understanding of the properties of objects at a much younger age than Piaget thought.
What is Piaget’s belief about cognitive development?
Domain-general cognitive development, with physical and social perspective-taking occurring hand in hand.
Who proposed a domain-specific approach to cognitive development?
Selman
What method did Selman use to research children’s perspective-taking abilities?
A series of dilemmas exploring the child’s reasoning with conflicting feelings.
Describe the Holly dilemma in Selman’s research.
Holly falls from a tree and promises her father not to climb again, but must decide whether to rescue a kitten stranded in a tree.
What was the aim of Selman’s 1971 study?
To test the level of perspective-taking in children.
How many children were tested in Selman’s study?
60 children (30 boys and 30 girls)
What age groups were included in Selman’s study?
20 aged 4, 20 aged 5, and 20 aged 6.
What was the conclusion of Selman’s findings?
The level of role-taking correlated with age, indicating a clear developmental sequence.
What are Selman’s stages of development based on?
Children’s answers to questions about interpersonal dilemmas.
What characterizes the 0 - Socially Egocentric stage?
Children cannot reliably distinguish their emotions from others’.
What is the age range for the 1 - Social Information Role-Taking stage?
6 - 8 years
What can children do in the 2 - Self-reflective Role Taking stage?
They can appreciate another’s perspective but can only take one viewpoint at a time.
What ability is developed in the 3 - Mutual Role-Taking stage?
Children can consider their own and another’s viewpoint simultaneously.
What do young people understand in the 4 - Social and Conventional System Role-Taking stage?
Understanding others’ viewpoints may not always lead to agreement; social conventions are needed.
What is a significant outcome of perspective-taking?
The ability to deceive.
At what age can children typically begin to deceive others?
Around the age of three.
What did Cole (1986) find about children’s ability to hide disappointment?
Children could hide their disappointment when being watched but showed it when filmed secretly.
What did Schultz, Selman, and La Russo (2003) identify as aspects of social development?
Interpersonal understanding, interpersonal negotiation strategies, awareness of personal meaning of relationships.
What is interpersonal understanding in the context of social development?
Understanding social situations by taking different roles.
What does interpersonal negotiation strategies refer to?
Skills needed to respond appropriately in social situations and manage conflict.
What does awareness of personal meaning of relationships entail?
Reflecting on social behavior in the context of life history and relationships.
What is ToM?
ToM is a personal theory of what other people know or are feeling or thinking
Why is having a ToM important?
It provides the ability to predict and interpret the behaviour of others
At what age does the ability to manipulate and deceive others through ToM develop?
From three years of age
What research design did Meltzoff (1988) use in his study?
A lab experiment
What was the independent variable in Meltzoff’s (1988) study?
Whether the children saw the adult struggle or not with the task
What was the aim of Meltzoff’s (1988) study?
To assess the emergence of a simple ToM in toddlers
In Meltzoff’s (1988) study, what task did the children observe adults performing?
Placing beads into a jar
What was observed in the behaviour of the children in both conditions of Meltzoff’s study?
The toddlers placed the beads in the jar; they dropped no more beads in the experimental condition
What conclusion was drawn from Meltzoff’s (1988) study?
Children as young as 18 months understand adult intentions when carrying out simple actions
What type of experiment was conducted by Wimmer and Perner (1983)?
A quasi experiment
What was the independent variable in Wimmer and Perner’s (1983) study?
The age of the children, whether they were 3 or 4 years old
What was the aim of Wimmer and Perner’s (1983) study?
To assess whether children can understand that people can believe something that is not true
In the false-belief task by Wimmer and Perner (1983), what scenario was presented to the children?
Maxi left his chocolate in a blue cupboard and later it was moved to a green cupboard by his mother
What did most 3-year-olds incorrectly say about Maxi’s chocolate?
They said he would look in the green cupboard
What conclusion was drawn from Wimmer and Perner’s (1983) study?
ToM undergoes a shift and becomes more advanced at around four years
What type of experiment did Baron-Cohen et al. (1997) conduct?
A quasi experiment
What was the aim of the Eyes Task by Baron-Cohen et al. (1997)?
To assess ToM in adolescents and adults
How many people were tested in the Eyes Task study?
76 people
What was the mean score for people with ASD in the Eyes Task?
16.3
What conclusion was drawn from Baron-Cohen et al.’s (1997) study?
People with ASD possess an impaired ToM
Fill in the blank: The dependent variable in Meltzoff’s (1988) study was to see what the children did with the _______.
beads
True or False: Most 4-year-olds in Wimmer and Perner’s (1983) study identified the blue cupboard as where Maxi would look for his chocolate.
True
What does ToM stand for in the context of autism?
Theory of Mind
ToM refers to the ability to understand that others have different thoughts and feelings.
What is the suggested reason for children with autism seeming distant?
Absence of ToM
This absence may lead to difficulties in relating to others and understanding their perspectives.
Who first suggested that children with autism may not understand that others have different thoughts and feelings?
Frith (1989)
Frith introduced the concept of ‘mind-blindness’ in relation to autism.
What term did Frith use to describe the inability to understand others’ thoughts and feelings?
Mind-blindness
This term highlights a significant characteristic associated with autism.
At what age does ToM typically develop, according to Leslie (1987)?
Around two years of age
Leslie proposed that ToM is an innate ability that matures biologically.
What is the ToMM as proposed by Leslie (1987)?
Theory of Mind Mechanism
This mechanism is thought to be crucial for the development of ToM.
What task did Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) create to assess ToM?
Sally-Anne Task
This task involves a scenario with two dolls to test understanding of false beliefs.
In the Sally-Anne Task, what does understanding Sally’s false beliefs require?
Understanding that Sally does not know Anne moved the marble
This demonstrates the child’s ability to recognize another person’s perspective.
What was the independent variable in Baron-Cohen’s research design?
The label the participant was given
Labels included ASD, Down’s Syndrome, and ‘neurotypical’.
What was the dependent variable in the Sally-Anne Task study?
Whether the children could answer the false-belief question correctly
This measured the children’s ToM ability.
What percentage of ‘neurotypical’ children correctly identified where Sally would look for her marble?
85%
This indicates a strong understanding of ToM among typically developing children.
What percentage of children with Down’s Syndrome correctly identified where Sally would look for her marble?
86%
This shows that children with Down’s Syndrome also have a high understanding of ToM.
What percentage of children with ASD correctly identified where Sally would look for her marble?
20%
This low percentage highlights the ToM deficit in children with ASD.
What conclusion did Baron-Cohen and his colleagues reach regarding ASD?
ASD involves a ToM deficit
They suggested that this deficit might completely explain the characteristics of ASD.
What are mirror neurons?
Brain cells that activate both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action
Discovered by Rizzolatti et al. (2002) while studying monkeys.
What is the significance of mirror neurons in understanding intentions?
They respond not just to observed actions but to the intentions behind behaviors
Proposed by Gallese and Goldman (1998).
What did Iacaboni et al. (2004) investigate?
The link between mirror neurons and intention through fMRI scanning
They used different contexts of grasping actions in their study.
What were the three types of film clips used in Iacaboni et al. (2004)?
- Context only
- Action only
- Intention
The clips varied in the presence of contextual information related to actions.
What were the findings of Iacaboni et al. (2004) regarding grasping actions?
Observing grasping actions in context led to greater activity in mirror neuron areas than actions without context
This suggests a role in understanding intentions.
What is the relationship between mirror neurons and empathy?
Premotor mirror neuron areas are involved in understanding the intentions of others, which is the basis of empathy
This was concluded from Iacaboni et al. (2004).
How do mirror neurons relate to emotional experiences?
They activate when an individual experiences or observes emotions, allowing for empathy
For example, seeing disgust activates the same neurons.
What did Stuss et al. (2001) find about individuals with frontal lobe damage?
They often struggle to empathize and read intentions, indicating damage to the mirror neuron system
This highlights the importance of mirror neurons in social cognition.
What is Ramachandran’s view on the role of mirror neurons in human evolution?
He suggests that mirror neurons are crucial for understanding intention, emotion, and perspective, which shaped human social interactions
This is essential for living in complex social groups.
What is the ‘broken mirror’ theory of ASD?
It proposes that dysfunction in the mirror neuron system impairs children’s ability to imitate and understand social behavior
Proposed by Ramachandran and Oberman (2006).
What was the aim of Dapretto et al. (2006)?
To examine mirror neuron ability in children, particularly those with autism
It involved comparing high-functioning children with autism and neurotypical children.
What were the findings of Dapretto et al. (2006) regarding facial expressions?
Children with autism showed no mirror neuron activity related to facial expression recognition despite being able to imitate
There was a negative correlation between emotional understanding and autism symptom severity.
What conclusion did Dapretto et al. (2006) reach about autism and social cognition?
There are differences in the brain areas associated with mirror neurons between neurotypical children and those with autism
Suggests a biological component in the development of social cognition.
