Cognitive Development in Early Childhood I. (Chapter 7)

Question 1

Myelination

Answer 1

-Nerve cells are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells which increases the speed at which information moves through the nervous system

Question 2

Preoperational Stage

Answer 2

-2nd major stage in Piaget’s theory
-children begin developing symbolic thinking and language skills
-use symbols like words and images to represent objects and ideas

Question 3

Conservation

Answer 3

-the idea that the amount of something remains the same despite changes in its form, shape, or appearance

Question 4

Stages of Conservation Development

Answer 4

• Stage 1 (3-4 years olds): non conservers
• Stage 2 (5-6 years old): transitional period
• Stage 3 (7 and above): mature conservation

Question 5

Limitations of Non-conserver’s Thinking

Answer 5

• Centration
  -Appearance-Reality Problem
  -Focus on States
  -Irreversibility

Question 6

Centration

Answer 6

-Focus on one aspect of a situation (height, length)

Question 7

Appearance-Reality Problem

Answer 7

-Confuse what is real with outward appearance (someone wearing a costume is actually the character they’re dressed as)

Question 8

Focus on States

Answer 8

• Failure to understand the transformation between states

Question 9

Irreversibility

Answer 9

-Failure to understand that some operations can be reversed (if you pour the water back from a short wide glass into a tall, narrow glass, the amount of water remains the same)

Question 10

Strategies of Mature Conservers

Answer 10

-Compensation: thinking about multiple aspects of situations simultaneously
-Identify: recognizing two things are actually the same material, even if they look different on the outside (ice and water)
-Nothing added or subtracted criterion: some changes can be undone to get back to the original state
-Reversibility

Question 11

Conservation Development (Piaget)

Answer 11

-Factors: physical growth, including brain development and personal experience

Question 12

Training Studies (Neo-Piagetian approach)

Answer 12

-Key Question: can conservationists be taught?
-Findings: 4 year olds cannot learn conservation; 6 year olds in transitional phase benefit from training
-Conclusion:Piaget’s belief in biological constraints is accurate; non-conservers and conservers think differently

Question 13

Preoperational Thinking: Other Aspects

Answer 13

-Classification: age 3 uses (group things solely by color or shape) one criterion; age 4 uses two criteria (consider multiple attributes)
-Causation: transduction
-Living and Non-living things: animism- common aspect of imaginative and symbolic thinking in early childhood

Question 14

Transduction

Answer 14

• Children mentally link two phenomena, even without logical or casual connection

Question 15

Animism

Answer 15

-Tendency to attribute life to non-living objects

Question 16

Egocentrism (preo. thinking)

Answer 16

-Piaget’s term for inability to consider another person’s point of view

Question 17

Revised Design for Studying Egocentrism

Answer 17

-Researchers use familiar tasks that are less likely to trigger egocentrism in children
-By using tasks that children are already comfortable with, it is easier to observe how they react to situations when their egocentrism is reduced
-Example: if you want to see how a child shares toys with a friend, you might chose toys they’re familiar with, as this familiarity can help reduce their egocentric tendencies

Question 18

Preoperational Thought’s Characteristics

Answer 18

-More symbolic than sensorimotor thought
-Inability to engage in operations; can’t mentally reverse actions; lacks conservation skills
-Egocentric (inability to distinguish between own perspective and someone else’s)
-Intuitive rather than logical

Question 19

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Answer 19

-Children are active in their learning and thinking
-Social interactions and specific culture practices play critical roles in the development of cognitive skills

Question 20

Vygotsky’s Processes of Cognitive Development

Answer 20

-A collaborate process
-Children’s learning is guided by adults or more skillful individuals
-Language helps children learn to plan and regulate their own behaviors

Question 21

Collaborative Process

Answer 21

-Children learn from social interactions)
Shared activities leads to internalization of society’s way of thinking and behaving

Question 22

Children’s Learning is Guided by Adults or More Skillful Individuals

Answer 22

-Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): the difference between what a child can do alone and with help
-Scaffolding: temporary support to help a child master a task

Question 23

Language Helps Children Learn to Plan and Regulate their Own Behaviors

Answer 23

-Private speech
-Inner speech

Question 24

Private Speech

Answer 24

-Audible speech that children direct to themselves in regulating their own behavior

Question 25

Inner Speech

Answer 25

-Children’s inaudible directives to themselves, used for behavioral regulation

Question 26

Vygosty’s View on Private Speech

Answer 26

*Private speech reflects internalization of behavior regulation
*Vygotsky’s theory highlights the role of language in cognitive development and how it evolves from a social and external tool for communication to an internal tool for regulating and organizing one’s own thoughts and actions.
-social speech
-private speech: regulation)
-inner speech
-thought

Question 27

Piaget’s Views on Private Speech

Answer 27

*private speech reflects children’s cognitive immaturity
suggests that during the early stages of cognitive development, children engage in private speech, exhibit egocentrism, and may not completely separate language (words) from the concrete actions or objects they signify

Question 28

Research Evidence

Answer 28

-Sociability of children: more use of private speech
-When children try to solve difficult problems: more use of private speech

Question 29

Theory of Mind

Answer 29

-Awareness and understanding of mental processes
-Significant development during early childhood

Question 30

Principles of Mind

Answer 30

-Minds exist
-Minds have connections to physical world
-Minds are separate and different the physical world
-Minds can represent objects and events accurately or inaccurately
-Minds are actively interpret reality and emotional experiences

Question 31

Theory of Mind (False Beliefs)

Answer 31

-Understanding that people can hold incorrect mental representations of reality

Question 32

Theory of Mind (Findings)

Answer 32

• 3 year olds often fail to recognize false belief
• By the end of early childhood, children usually have a good understanding of the principles of minds

Question 33

Theory of Mind (Deception)

Answer 33

-Cognitive advances

Question 34

Influences on Theory of Mind Development

Answer 34

-brain maturation
-parent’s talk or family discussion about mental states
-multiple siblings
-being the younger sibling
-pretend play

Question 35

Correlates of Theory of Mind Development

Answer 35

-Better social skills
-Advanced language development