Cognitive Development

Question 1

Who proposed children’s cognitive abilities unfolded naturally, independent of all else happening in their lives?

Answer 1

Jean Piaget

Question 2

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development happens in stages. What are the stages?

Answer 2

• sensorimotor
• preoperational
• concrete operations
• formal operations

Question 3

Children’s minds constantly adapt to new experiences. They either ________ information into their existing mental categories, or sometimes __________ their new experiences.

Answer 3

• take in

- accomodate

Question 4

Describe: Sensorimotor Stage

Answer 4

• age 0-2
• infant learns through concrete actions (touching, looking, putting in mouth)
• “thinking” consists of coordinating sensory information with bodily movements

Question 5

What is the major accomplishment of the Sensorimotor Stage?

Answer 5

object permanence- understanding that an object exists even though you can’t see it or touch it

Question 6

Describe: Preoperational Stage

Answer 6

• age 2-7
• use of symbols and language accelerates
• lack cognitive abilities for understanding abstract principles
• lack mental operations(forward-backward thinking)
• egocentric
• do not grasp concept of conservation

Question 7

Define: Conservation

Answer 7

Belief that physical properties do not change form when their form or appearance changes.

Question 8

Define: Egocentric

Answer 8

Do not imagine that others see the world differently than their own frame of reference.

Question 9

Describe: Concrete Operations Stage

Answer 9

• age 7-12
• mental abilities are tied to concrete information
• make errors of reasoning tied to abstract concepts
• begin to understand conservation, reversiblity, and cause-and-effect
• learn how to categorize
• learn basic mental operations (+,-,X,/)

Question 10

Describe: Formal Operations Stage

Answer 10

• age 12-adulthood

- capable of abstract reasoning

Question 11

What are 4 ways Piaget’s view of cognitive development has been disproved:

Answer 11

• cognitive abilities develop in overlapping waves
• preschoolers are not as egocentric as Piaget thought
• children and infants reveal cognitive abilities much earlier than Piaget thought
• cognitive development is also influenced by culture

Question 12

Modern theories believe at ages 3-4 a child develops a “Theory of Mind”. Explain.

Answer 12

• beliefs about how their and others’ minds work and how other people are affected by their beliefs and emotions
• they understand another person may not behave the same as them
• they understand people lie and can have false beliefs