Cognitive Development Introduction and Piagetian Theory Flashcards
What are the 3 categories of cognitive development theories?
Empiricist theories
Rationalist theories
Socio-historic theories
How do empiricist theories view the development of knowledge?
the accumulation of writing on a blank slate - we are shaped by the knowledge we gain along the way
How do rationalist theories view the development of knowledge?
the enfolding of a masterplan - we are shaped by our ability to rationalize and think logically
How do socio-historic theories view the development of knowledge?
apprenticeship in a culture
Through what types of learning does a child’s mind develop - according to the Empiricist theories?
Perceptual learning - increasing ability to distinguish between different classes of empirical stimuli (e.g., sounds, smells, textures)
Cognitive learning - increasing ability to make associations between the classes of percepts
Transfer of learning - increasing ability to apply the empirical learning to new contexts
What is information processing?
An approach that tries to model what goes on inside the mind through the computer metaphor
It focuses on input-output - a computer builds its knowledge through the accumulation of input which it then works on
What is the innate reasoning framework?
The rationalist approach that states:
the child’s mind develops through an innate order-imposing mental structure which also develops with age
Knowledge/data is organized according to the internal framework
What is a language acquisition device (LAD)?
Who proposed it?
What kind of approach is it?
an innate mental framework for processing language - proposed by Chomsky - a nativist approach
What does the LAD go against?
Goes against Skinner’s argument that language is acquired through experience
According to socio-historic theories, through what does the child’s mind develop?
Social interaction with experts of the culture
Impact of institutions on child’s framework
Learning of mental tools for processing knowledge
Who was the major contributor to the rationalist approach?
Jean Piaget
Who was the major contributor to the socio-historic approach?
Lev Vygotsky
Who was the major contributor to the empiricist approach?
Robbie Case
What does cognition involve?
mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving
What are children’s drawings used for?
a measure of intelligence or creativity
projections of inner feelings about themselves and others
How do drawing skills progress from 0-4 months?
0-4 months - learn to track objects with their eyes and movement of arms
4 months - coordinate arm movement with tracking of objects - hence reaching out and grasping objects
How do drawing skills progress from 4-8 months?
learn to manipulate objects and bring them to their mouths
feeling and noticing color, brightness, smell, taste etc.
How do drawing skills progress from 8-12 months?
able to focus on the effect of manipulation on a 2nd object
e.g., making marks on a piece of paper with a crayon
How do drawing skills progress from 12-20 months?
learn to focus on the marks they make on the paper - produce a scribble
What are the goals of drawing skills through the years?
1-2 years - Learn to scribble
2-5 years - Representation of an object
5-10 years - Draw a scene
10-15 years - Coordinate scenes
How does the ability to represent an object through drawing develop through 2-5 years?
2-3 years - learn to form different patterns e.g., circles, lines
3-5 years - learn to combine patterns to make a representation e.g., a bike, the sun
How does the ability to draw a scene develop through 5-10 years?
5-6 years - draw the ground or sky in addition to people OR a differentiated representation of a person
7-10 years - draw objects in a transparent or parallel fashion
What is a limitation children between 5-10 years face when drawing?
are not able to focus on 3D (depth)
What does the integration of 2 scenes involve?
hierarchal integration of the ability to represent perspective
How long does the development of drawing go on?
continues to develop beyond the stage of physical maturation (20 years) - continues into old age
What are some measures of cognitive development?
Extensive records of what children can do at different ages
IQ tests
Bayley Scales of infant and toddler development
How did the Bayley Scales work?
3 scales administered through interaction with the child: cognition, language, motor
2 scales conducted with parent questionnaires: social emotional, adaptive behavior
Who was Jean Piaget?
Psychologist, researcher, theorist
Has a doctorate in zoology
Has work experience in hypnosis, free association and psychoanalysis
What did Piaget’s research consist of?
close observation and interaction with his own 3 children
main interest was to see what most children could do at different ages
interested in errors as an indication of their way of thinking
What type of theory was Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
Constructivist - knowledge is not ready made, we are continually creating our own knowledge and organizing what we know
What is Piaget’s theory?
The Stage Theory - our mind develops through 4 stages of thinking:
- Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
- Preoperational stage (2-7 years)
- Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
- Formal operational stage (11-15 years)
the sequence of stages is invariant - cannot be changed or skipped
What is the domain general structure?
a structure made up of the coordination of programs in the mind - schemes
e.g., Piaget’s stage theory
What is a domain?
an area of knowledge such as mathematics, language, logical thinking etc.
What is a schema?
the simplest mental representation of an action (both physical or mental)
What is adaptation?
children start controlling and changing schemas to fit the changes in the environment
e.g., distinguishing a dog from other 4 legged animals
occurs in 2 ways: assimilation and accommodation
What is assimilation?
absorbing new experiences into existing schemas
e.g., a child sees a 4 legged animal for the 1st time - existing schema is that his 4 legged pet is a dog - hence he calls the 4 legged animal is a dog
What is accommodation?
modifying or combining existing schemas when old ones no longer handle the data
e.g., existing schema is his 4 legged pet is a dog - someone points out the new animal is a cat - therefore realizes that not all 4 legged animals are dogs
What is equilibration?
periodic restructuring of schemas to create a balance between assimilation and accommodation
What Piagetian assumptions have been challenged?
Action realism
Domain generality
Stages of development
Late representation
What is action realism?
Piaget’s assumption that children actively construct their cognition in interaction with the environment from birth via equilibration
What is domain generality?
a strong assumption that a cognitive ability demonstrated in 1 domain should generalize to all domains
What is late representation?
Piaget’s claim that before language, children didn’t possess any ability for internalized thoughts or representation
Describe the sensorimotor stage
0-2 years
child develops coordination schemes for manipulating objects in the world
e.g., pushing a button to make an object move
consists of 6 substages
Describe the 6 substages of the sensorimotor stage
Substage 1 - 0-1 months - adaptation of reflexes e.g., grasping, sucking
Substage 2 - 1-4 months - reflexes are organized into larger, integrated behaviors - related to their own body e.g., grasping a rattle and bringing it to the mouth to suck
Substage 3 - 4-8 months - repetition of actions that bring pleasing results e.g., banging a rattle
Substage 4 - 8-12 months - coordination of actions e.g., removing a barrier to obtain an object (object permanence)
Substage 5 - 12-18 months - actively exploring the possible uses to which objects can be put e.g., banging a spoon to make a sound to get attention
Substage 6 - 18-24 months - able to form enduring mental representations
What are reflexes that are present at birth?
rooting reflex (turning mouth towards touch)
sucking reflex
Moro reflex (startle)
tonic neck reflex (fencing position)
grasp reflex
stepping reflex
Describe the pre-operational stage
2-7 years
child develops a symbolic representational system for their thinking
e.g., symbolic or make-believe play
Describe the concrete operational stage
7-11 years
child learns to carry out concrete operations (tasks that require logical thinking) - evident in the reversibility of concepts
e.g., Piaget’s tests of conservation of liquid, solids, and numbers
the term “concrete operational” is coined because reasoning is tied to the concrete situation
e.g., can reason about the quantities they can see
Describe the formal operational stage
11-15 years
involves abstract operations
e.g., algebra, abstract relations in similarities, variables in scientific thinking, thinking of situations contrary to what they can see
Why was Piaget’s domain general assumption criticized?
children might acquire higher level thinking in some domains and not in others
the formal operations stage wasn’t reached by many, especially unschooled people
Why was Piaget’s theory of adaptation criticized?
it was too vague to be tested
