Cognitive Development in Infancy Flashcards
Actions or mental representations that organize knowledge
Schemas
Behavioral schemes (physical activities) characterize infancy
Schemas
Occurs when children use their existing schemas to deal with new information or experiences
Assimilation
Seeing something you already know
Assimilation
Occurs when children adjust their schemas to take new information and experiences into account
Accomodation
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
- Sensorimotor
- Preoperational
- Concrete operational
- Formal operational
(0-2 yrs) - coordination of senses with motor responses, sensory curiosity about the world. Language used for demands and cataloguing. Object permanence is developed.
Sensorimotor
(2-7 yrs) - symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax, and grammar to express concepts. Imagination and intuition are strong, but complex abstract thoughts are still difficult. Conservation is developed.
Preoperational
(7-11 yrs) - concepts attached to concrete situations. Time, space, and quantity are understood and can be applied, but not as independent concepts
Concrete operational
(11 yrs old and older) - theoretical, hypothetical, and counterfactual thinking. Abstract logic and reasoning. Strategy and planning become possible. Concepts learned in one context can be applied to another.
Formal operational
- Infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical, motoric actions
- Reflexes, thumb sucking, cooing, hand eye coordination, imitating people they’ve seen
Sensorimotor stage
(birth - 1 month) - coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors
Simple reflexes
Identify what stage is implied:
rooting, sucking, and grasping reflexes; newborns suck reflexively when their lips are touched.
Simple reflexes
(1-4 months) - coordination of sensation and two types of schemes: habits (reflex) and primary circular reactions (reproduction of an event that initially occurred by chance). Main focus is still on the infant’s body.
First habits and primary circular reactions
Identify what stage is implied:
repeating a body sensation first experienced by chance (sucking thumb, for example); then infants might accommodate actions by sucking their thumb differently from how they suck on a nipple.
First habits and primary circular reactions
(4-8 months) - Infants become more object-oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation; repeat actions that bring interesting or pleasurable results.
Secondary circular reaction
Identify what stage is implied:
An infant coos to make a person stay near; as the person starts to leave, the infant coos again.
Secondary circular reaction
(8-12 months) - coordination of vision and touch – hand-eye coordination; coordination of schemes and intentionality.
Coordination of secondary circular reactions
Identify what stage is implied:
Infant manipulates a stick in order to bring an attractive toy within reach.
Coordination of secondary circular reactions
(12-18 months) - infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things they can make happen to objects; they experiment with new behavior.
Tertiary circular reactions, and curiosity
Identify what stage is implied:
A block can be made to fall, spin, hit another object, and slide across the ground.
Tertiary circular reactions, and curiosity
(18-24 months) - infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations.
Internalization of schemes
Identify what stage is implied:
An infant who has never thrown a temper tantrum before sees a playmate throw a tantrum; the infant retains a memory of the event, then throws one himself the next day.
Internalization of schemes
the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
Object permanence
Infant’s attention is strongly governed by novelty and habituation; less attention to things shown several times in a row
Habituation and Dishabituation
decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations
Habituation
increased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations
Dishabituation
two or more individuals focus on the same object or event
Joint attention
a form of communication - whether spoken, written, or signed - that is based on a system of symbols. Consists of words used by a community and the rules for varying and combining them
Language
language spoken in a higher pitch than normal with simple words and sentences
Child-directed speech
Infants can make fine distinctions among the sounds of the language
Recognizing language sounds
are used by about 8-12 months
Gestures
is considered an important index of the social aspect of language
Pointing
Infant vocabulary development at - months was linked to vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading accuracy, and reading comprehension 5 years later
16-24 months
How Language Develops
- Recognizing language sounds
- Babbling and other vocalizations
- Sequence of sounds
- First words
Sequence of sounds
- Crying
- Cooing
- Babbling
What are the brain regions used for language?
Broca’s area & Wernicke’s area
language production
Broca’s area
language comprehension
Wernicke’s area
claim language is a complex learned skill acquired through responses and reinforcements
Behaviorists
is linked to family socioeconomic status and the type of talk parents direct toward their children
Children’s vocabulary
Biology and experience contribute to language development
An interactionist view
