cognitive development

Question 1

define cognitive development

Answer 1

process which human beings acquire, organise and use knowledge
explores the ability to think and reason

Question 2

define a schema

Answer 2

web of information collected to help you navigate new experiences

Question 3

what was Piaget’s ideas with schemas?

Answer 3

thought children were born with a small number of schemas (me-schema)
cognitive development found to be the development of complex schemas

Question 4

outline Piaget’s theory of the role of schema within motivation to learn

Answer 4

a new experience is encountered, if it appears similar to something a child already has a schema for (e.g. schema of a cat but seeing a dog for the first time) the child will assimilate and add to their existing schema
if someone corrects them or explains what the new experience is (e.g. an adult correcting a child that the animal they see is a dog), the child will go through disequilibrium and will have to equilibrate and adapt their understanding to create a new schema for this experience through accommodation

Question 5

define disequilibrium

Answer 5

an uncomfortable feeling being put in a position of unknowing

Question 6

define equilibration

Answer 6

adapting by exploring understanding of schema

Question 7

define assimilation

Answer 7

adding new info to an existing schema

Question 8

define accommodation

Answer 8

making a new schema to process the new information gained

Question 9

evaluate Piaget’s theory of the role of schema in motivation to learn

Answer 9

A: Howe studied children by making them watch and discuss movements of objects falling down a slope- had increased understanding of what happened but all came to different conclusions -> supports idea
C: Lazonder + Harmsen reviewed popular learning styles inspired by Piaget (discover learning) + found no firm evidence that learning styles were effective without input from others -> lacked validity

Question 10

what are Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development

Answer 10

sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational

Question 11

define Piaget’s sensorimotor stage in his theory of cognitive development

Answer 11

focus on physical sensations and babies not being able to see outside of object permanence

Question 12

define object permanence

Answer 12

understanding object continues outside of visual field

Question 13

define Piaget’s pre-operational stage in his theory of cognitive development

Answer 13

demonstrating errors in reasoning regarding conservation, egocentrism and class inclusion

Question 14

define conservation

Answer 14

quantity remaining constant despite change in appearance

Question 15

define egocentrism

Answer 15

only seeing word from own point of view

Question 16

define class inclusion

Answer 16

understanding categories but not subsections

Question 17

define Piaget’s concrete operational stage in his theory of cognitive development

Answer 17

performing better on tasks relating to conservation, egocentrism and class inclusion but bearer at looking into concrete situations (e.g. things they can physically see and interact with)

Question 18

define Piaget’s formal operational stage in his theory of cognitive development

Answer 18

capable of formal reasoning (focus on form of argument and not content)

Question 19

evaluate Piaget’s theory of the stages of cognitive development

Answer 19

C: 72% accuracy in conservation task during pre-operational ages (McGarrigle + Donaldson)
understood class inclusion when given feedback on choices made during study overtime (Siegler + Svetina)
90% accuracy in egocentrism task with 4yr olds when asked to move doll where the ‘police’ doll couldn’t see it
-> finding don’t align with Piaget’s theory as he says children should not be able to comprehend this at the stages- suggests maybe explaining the situation to the child in a better way produces a better outcome

Question 20

outline Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 20

• social mediated process- development happens with help of others
• children aquire knowledge through collaborative dialogues with MKO (more knowledgable other)
• Vygotsky thinks learning proceeds development- if you are taught the knowledge earlier, you can develop earlier

Question 21

define scaffolding in Vygotsky’s theory

Answer 21

help that MKO gives to support child to cross ZPD (zone of proximal development)

Question 22

outline the zones of Vygotsky’s scaffolding theory

Answer 22

ZAD (zone of actual development)- can do alone once gained knowledge
ZPD (zone of proximal development) -can do with help from MKO
out of reach- can’t do at all

Question 23

outline Wood, Burner and Ross’ further research into Vygotsky’s scaffolding theory

Answer 23

levels of help and nature of prompt: |
level 5- demonstration \/
level 4- preperation
level 3- indication of materials
level 2- specific verbal instructions
level 1- general prompts

Question 24

evaluate Vygotsky’s theory into cognitive development

Answer 24

A: Roazzi + Bryant: gave 4-5 year olds task of estimating number of sweets in a box (one condition alone, other had MKO)- MKO condition had more help and therefore were more accurate
A: Conner + Cross: observed 45 children doing problem solving task with help of mothers- mothers used less direct help overtime by giving prompts and children gained good experience from it
C: Howe: studied children watching and discussing movements of objects down slope- increased understanding by all but made different conclusions with what happened -> disagrees with theory by needing a MKO to learn