Cognitive Development in Infancy

Question 1

Actions or mental representations that organize knowledge

Answer 1

Schemas

Question 2

Behavioral schemes (physical activities) characterize infancy

Answer 2

Schemas

Question 3

Occurs when children use their existing schemas to deal with new information or experiences

Answer 3

Assimilation

Question 4

Seeing something you already know

Answer 4

Assimilation

Question 5

Occurs when children adjust their schemas to take new information and experiences into account

Answer 5

Accomodation

Question 6

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Answer 6

1. Sensorimotor
2. Preoperational
3. Concrete operational
4. Formal operational

Question 7

(0-2 yrs) - coordination of senses with motor responses, sensory curiosity about the world. Language used for demands and cataloguing. Object permanence is developed.

Answer 7

Sensorimotor

Question 8

(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.

Answer 8

Preoperational

Question 9

(7-11 yrs) - concepts attached to concrete situations. Time, space, and quantity are understood and can be applied, but not as independent concepts

Answer 9

Concrete operational

Question 10

(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.

Answer 10

Formal operational

Question 11

• 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

Answer 11

Sensorimotor stage

Question 12

(birth - 1 month) - coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors

Answer 12

Simple reflexes

Question 13

Identify what stage is implied:

rooting, sucking, and grasping reflexes; newborns suck reflexively when their lips are touched.

Answer 13

Simple reflexes

Question 14

(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.

Answer 14

First habits and primary circular reactions

Question 15

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.

Answer 15

First habits and primary circular reactions

Question 16

(4-8 months) - Infants become more object-oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation; repeat actions that bring interesting or pleasurable results.

Answer 16

Secondary circular reaction

Question 17

Identify what stage is implied:

An infant coos to make a person stay near; as the person starts to leave, the infant coos again.

Answer 17

Secondary circular reaction

Question 18

(8-12 months) - coordination of vision and touch – hand-eye coordination; coordination of schemes and intentionality.

Answer 18

Coordination of secondary circular reactions

Question 19

Identify what stage is implied:

Infant manipulates a stick in order to bring an attractive toy within reach.

Answer 19

Coordination of secondary circular reactions

Question 20

(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.

Answer 20

Tertiary circular reactions, and curiosity

Question 21

Identify what stage is implied:

A block can be made to fall, spin, hit another object, and slide across the ground.

Answer 21

Tertiary circular reactions, and curiosity

Question 22

(18-24 months) - infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations.

Answer 22

Internalization of schemes

Question 23

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.

Answer 23

Internalization of schemes

Question 24

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.

Answer 24

Object permanence

Question 25

Infant’s attention is strongly governed by novelty and habituation; less attention to things shown several times in a row

Answer 25

Habituation and Dishabituation

Question 26

decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations

Answer 26

Habituation

Question 27

increased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations

Answer 27

Dishabituation

Question 28

two or more individuals focus on the same object or event

Answer 28

Joint attention

Question 29

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

Answer 29

Language

Question 30

language spoken in a higher pitch than normal with simple words and sentences

Answer 30

Child-directed speech

Question 31

Infants can make fine distinctions among the sounds of the language

Answer 31

Recognizing language sounds

Question 32

are used by about 8-12 months

Answer 32

Gestures

Question 33

is considered an important index of the social aspect of language

Answer 33

Pointing

Question 34

Infant vocabulary development at - months was linked to vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading accuracy, and reading comprehension 5 years later

Answer 34

16-24 months

Question 35

How Language Develops

Answer 35

• Recognizing language sounds
• Babbling and other vocalizations
• Sequence of sounds
• First words

Question 36

Sequence of sounds

Answer 36

• Crying
• Cooing
• Babbling

Question 37

What are the brain regions used for language?

Answer 37

Broca’s area & Wernicke’s area

Question 38

language production

Answer 38

Broca’s area

Question 39

language comprehension

Answer 39

Wernicke’s area

Question 40

claim language is a complex learned skill acquired through responses and reinforcements

Answer 40

Behaviorists

Question 41

is linked to family socioeconomic status and the type of talk parents direct toward their children

Answer 41

Children’s vocabulary

Question 42

Biology and experience contribute to language development

Answer 42

An interactionist view