Cognitive Development Flashcards
Sensory motor stage (0-2 years)
Infants construct their understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with motor abilities.
Cognitive development
Cannot be directly observed.
Object permanence
The understand that objects still exist even if they cannot be seen or touched.
Goal directed behaviour
Behaviour which is carried out with a particular purpose in mind.
Pre-operational stage (2-7 years)
Infants become increasingly able to internally represent event in their own mind.
Symbolic thinking
Increasing ability to use symbols, such as words and pictures to represent places offer events.
Egocentrism
Children are typically unable to see things from another persons perspective.
Decentred
The child is able to think about things from another persons perspective.
Animism
The belief that everything that exists has some kind of consciousness or awareness.
Transformation
Understanding that something can change from one state to another.
Centration
Infants can only focus on one object or thing at a time.
Reversibility
The ability to follow a line or reasoning back to its original starting point.
Concrete operational stage (7-12 years)
Revolves around what they know and what they can experience through their senses.
Conservation
An object does not change it mass, weight, volume or area when the object changes it’s shape or appearance.
Classification
The ability to organise information into categories based on common features that set them apart from other classes or groups.
Formal operational stage (12+ years)
More complex though processes become evident and thinking becomes sophisticated.
Abstract thinking
A way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see or visualise things in order to understand concepts.
Logical thinking
Individuals are able to develop strategies to solve problems, identify solutions, construct hypotheses, and systematically test solutions.
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg: suggested that moral reasoning progresses through a series of developmental stages
Pre conventional level (0-9 years)
Children have little awareness which is socially or culturally acceptable. They see rules as something they have to follow.
Conventional level (10-15 years)
Are considerate of the thoughts and feelings of others and seek to obey the rules set down by others.
Post conventional level (16+ years)
An individuals decision to do what is morally right and is guided by their conscience
