Cognitive development Flashcards
State the basic assumptions of Piaget’s theory
Child actively constructs knowledge (as a scientist) –> constructivist
Child learns on own, not just from others and is intrinsically motivated to learn
Explain the basic process of Piaget’s theory
Child understands the world with schemes. Cognitive structure that forms the basis of organising actions and mental representations so that we can understand and act upon the environment. Schemes change constantly
state and describe the 3 processes that propel development
- assimilation: taking in information compatible with what is already known, incorporating into existing schemas.
- accommodation: changing existing knowledge based on new knowledge; modifying schemas based on experience
- equilibration: balancing assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding; reorganizing schemes to achieve balance
What are the characteristics of stage theories
Discontinuous
Invariant sequence
Hierarchical
Domain-general
state Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor (0-2 years to infancy)
Preoperational (2-7 years)
Concrete operational (7-12 years)
Formal operational (12 years and beyond)
explain the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development
intelligence expressed through sensory and motor abilities
Integration of motor movements with sensory experiences
explain the substages of the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development
- modification of reflexes (0-1 months)
- Primary circular reactions: organize separate reflexes into larger behaviours - centered on own body, repetitive (1-4 months)
- secondary circular reaction: environment is included in reactions (4-10 months)
- intentional, coordinated behaviour (10-12 months) (means and end; cause effect)
- tertiary circular reactions: actively explore how objects can be used (12-18 months)
- Mental representations and combinations: 18-24 months
Explain the preoperational stage of cognitive development
Major advance: symbolic representation (2-4 years)
Using one object t stand for another.
what are the major weaknesses of the preoperational stage of cognitive development
Ego centrism. Difficulty seeing the world from others points of view
Centration. Narrowly focused thought; focus on a single feature of object or event, ignoring other features. e.g. class inclusion problems.
Define class inclusion
The ability to coordinate and reason about parts and wholes simultaneously in recognising relations between classes and subclasses
what is a child’s inability to conserve characterised by
centration
reversibility
Focusing on the end state (rather than on the means to the end
explain the concrete operational stage of cognitive development
egocentrism declines
Major advances - logical reasoning, ability to attend to multiple dimensions, solve conservation problems; class inclusion problems.
What is a major weakness of the concrete operational stage of cognitive development
Limited to concrete situations; not abstract or hypothetical ones
explain the formal operational stage of cognitive development
Able to think abstractly and hypothetically. Able to reason systemically about all possible outcomes
Stage not attained universally (unlike other 3 stages)
explain the weaknesses of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
Depicts children’s thinking as being more consistent than it is; Does not account for variability in children’s performance
Underestimates cognitive competence of infants and young children
Undervalue influence of sociocultural environment on cognitive development
Vague about cognitive processes and mechanisms
what are alternative theories to Piaget’s
Information-processing
Sociocultural
Core-knowledge
Dynamic systems
describe Case’s Neo-Piagetian theory
Cognitive change occurs as a series of four stages
Changes due to increases in central processing speed and working memory capacity
What is the increase of working memory capacity in the Neo-Piagetian theory based on
Brain development: neurological changes within the brain result in increased working memory capacity
Automatization: repeated practicing will lead to more automatic processing of these operations
Formation of central conceptual structures e.g. space, numbers
Describe Siegler’s overlapping waves theory
Child has a number of strategies that can be used to solve problems.
Over time less efficient strategies are replaced by more effective ones.
Describe what Lev Vygotsky said about cognitive development
Development is an apprenticeship. Children are social learners: they advance most when they collaborate with others who are more skilled
Name and describe the three main important concepts of sociocultural theory of cognitive development
Zone of proximal development - difference between what children can do with assistance versus alone
Social scaffolding - more competent people provide a temporary framework that supports children’s thinking at a higher level than children would manage alone
Private speech: children use self-directed speech to guide their thinking and planning
describe guided participation
Children’s ability to learn from interaction with others
Explain what Elizabeth Spelke said about core knowledge
Children have innate knowledge in domains of special evolutionary importance and domain-specific learning mechanisms for rapidly and effortlessly acquiring additional information in these domains.
What are the five systems of core knowledge
Objects and their motions
Agents and their goal-directed actions
Number and the operations of arithmetic
Space represents places in the spatial layout and their geometric relationships
Social partners represents social agents and their interactions with other agents (reciprocity, cooperation, group membership)
What did Spelke and Kinzler say about the systems of core knowledge
Each system centres on a set of principles that serves to individuate the entities in its domain and to support inferences about the entities’ behaviour.”
What are the limitations of the theory of core knowledge
Criticised for being unable to provide an adequate account of child development
What is the strength of the theory of core knowledge
It provides an account for infant’s and young children’s abilities to perceive and reason about objects properties, number and geometry
