cognitive development Flashcards
what is cognitive development
changes in abilities such as thinking, memories, attention, imagination and language
what are schemas
cognitive framework that helps people organise and interpret information
how to schemas work (step by step)
- you receive new information
- you attempt to assimilate into an existing schema
- if it can assimilate there is no change and there is equilibrium
- if it cannot assimilate there is disequilibrium
-you then either accommodate the new information by change or creating a new schema - there is then equilibrium again
disequilibrium
if a new experience does not fit existing knowledge
accommodation
how people adapt current knowledge structures in response to new experiences
assimilation
how people translate incoming information into a form they can understand
equilibrium
the balance for assimilation and accomodation to create stable understanding
invariant sequence
an order that is unchanging and theories the order in which the stages of development occur
these stages children must progress through sequentially
what are the 4 stages of piagets theory
sensorimotor stage
pre operational stage
concrete operational stage
formal operational stage
what age does sensorimotor stage occur
birth - 2
what age does pre operational stage occur
2 - 6
what age does concrete operational occur
7 - 11
what age does formal operational occur
12 +
briefly describe sensorimotor stage
- the infant explores the world through direct and motor contact
- object permanence and separation anxiety develop during this stage
how many substages are there of the sensorimotor stage
6
outline the A not B task (sensorimotor stage)
- experimenter hides a toy under the box A, the baby reaches for the toy under box A
-repeated
-experimenter moves toy to box B
-babies under 10 months make a preservation error and look under box A
-this demonstrates a lack of schema of object permanence
briefly describe the pre operational stage
- the child uses symbols and words to represent objects
- ability to pretend
- egocentric: everyone must see the world how they do
-anism: non living objects have feelings
outline the 3 Mountains task (pre operational)
- child sat at table with 3 different mountains
- child walks around table then sits down
- a doll is placed in a position
-the child is asked to pick one photograph from multiple that shows what the doll is seeing - if the child picks the correct doll they are no longer egocentric
- 7 years and up consistently choose the correct photo
briefly describe the concrete operational stage
- children can think logically about concrete objects and can conserve quantities
- seriation: organise objects in a logical order
outline the conservation of liquid and numbers task (concrete operational)
- 2 same size cups are shown with same amount of liquid
-“do they have the same amount or different amounts?” - water from one is poured into a small tall cup
- “do they have the same or different amount”
- coins close together vs spaced apart
-“do they have the same amount or different amounts”
briefly describe the formal operational stage
- adolescence can abstractly think in hypothetical terms
eg. division without actually diving anything up - think in a more sophisticated and higher way
outline the pendulum problem (formal operational)
- compare the motions of longer and shorter strings with different weights attached
- children below 12 perform unsystematic experiments and draw incorrect conclusions
- children in formal operational approached it systematically testing one variable at a time.
