COGNITIVE THEORY CH4 Flashcards
Accommodation
in cognitive developmental theory, the process of changing existing schemes in order to account for novel elements in the object or event
Adaptation
- A process by which living things develop structures and problem-solving mechanisms that enable them to thrive in a specific environment; 2. In cognitive developmental theory, a process of gradually modifying existing schemes and operations in order to take into account changes or discrepancies between what is known and what is being experienced
assimilation
in cognitive developmental theory, the process of incorporating objects or events into existing schemes
Attention
the ability to focus on an object or task as well as to shift or redirect focus from one object to another
Autonomous Morality
a relatively mature moral perspective in which rules are viewed as a product of cooperative agreements
Casual Schemes
the ability to anticipate that specific actions will have specific concequences
Causality
basically-cause and effect; causality is when an event occurs due to the effects of another event
Central Conceptual Structures
a theory of cognitive development which identifies networks of semantic modes and relations that have broad applications within a domain, and which emerge in a progressive manner as a result of maturing central processing capacities and executive functions
Classification
the action of grouping objects according to some specific characteristics they all have in common, including all objects that show the characteristic and none that do not
cognition
the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. Some of the many different cognitive processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving
Concrete Operational Thought
in cognitive developmental theory, a stage of cognitive development in which rules of logic can be applied to observable or manipulable physical relations
Conservation
the concept that physical changes do not alter the mass, weight, number or volume of matter
Conventional morality
a stage of moral reasoning in which right and wrong are closely associated with rules created by legitimate authorities such as parents, teachers, or government officals
Decentering
gaining objectivity over ones point of view
Disequilibrium
a condition in which changes in the organism or changes in the environment require a revision of schemes or mental structures
Egocentrism
the perception of oneself and ones thoughts as central and compelling; the notion that others base their views and behaviors on ones perceptions
equilibration
efforts to reconcile new perspectives and ideas with existing views
Equilibrium
a sense of balance in which ones schemes and structures provide effective ways of understanding and interacting with the environment
Executive Control
cognitive capacities associated with maturation of the prefrontal cortex; includes the ability to reject irrelevant information, formulate complex hypothetical arguments, organize an approach to a complex task, and follow a sequence of steps to task completion
Formal Operational Thought
in cognitive developmental theory, the stage of development characterized by advanced reasoning, hypothesis generating and testing, the ability to consider the interaction among multiple variables, and the ability to take a probabilistic view of the future
Heteronomous morality
a view of morality in which rules are viewed as fixed and unchangeable insofar as they are established by a higher power of authority
Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning
a method of reasoning in which a hypothetical model based on observations is first proposed, and then tested by logically deducing the implication sor consequences implied by the model
Identity
in cognitive developmental theory, the concept that an object is still the same object even though its shape or location has been changed; in psychosocial theory, a meaningful integration of one’s roles and a view of oneself for the future that is acceptable and valued by society
Imaginary Audience
a psychological state where an individual imagines and believes that multitudes of people are enthusiastically listening to or watching them
Information Processing
- how individuals make sense of the great amount of information that is present in their environment, how they analyze tasks in order to perform them effectively, how they translate their analyses into plans for action, and how they implement their plans
Insight
the ability to arrive at the solution to a problem through mental experimentation such as trial and error rather than having to try out each step in reality
Knowin
having awareness and knowledge; knowing is sometimes differentiated between knowing about and knowing how
logico-mathematical knowledge
abstract concepts such as quantity, or similar or different which are foundational to mathematical reasoning an problem solving
Long term memory
a complex network of information, concepts and schemes related by association, knowledge, and use that can be drawn upon over time as needed
mental operation
A mental operation, in the Piagetian way of thinking, is the ability to accurately imagine the consequences of something happening without it actually needing to happen. During a mental operation, children imagine “what if” scenarios which involve the imaginal transformation of mental representations of things they have experienced in the world; people, places and things. The ability to perform mental arithmetic is a good example of an operation.
Metacognition
thinking about ones own thinking
Moral Reasoning
a cognitive aspect to morality based on assessments of intention, fairness, justice, and social obligations
Object Permanence
in cognitive developmental theory, a scheme achieved in infancy in which children are aware that objects continue to exist even when hidden or moved from place to place
Operation
an action or mental action that is preformed on an object or set of objects
Organization
in cognitive developmental theory, the capacity to reduce information by creating structure or systems and then integrating or coordinating those systems
Organizational Strategies
techniques that help preserve and retrieve information, manage more information by chunking or grouping bits of information together, and link new information with information that has already been stored
Personal Fable
a belief held by many adolescents telling them that they are special and unique, so much so that none of lifes difficulties or problems will affect them regardless of their behavior
Perspective talking
the ability to consider a situation from the point of view of others than ones own
Pre-Conventional morality
the most advanced form of the moral reasoning in which moral decisions are based on an appreciation of the social contract that binds members of a social system, and on higher values such as fairness and justice
Preoperational thought
in cognitive developmental theory, the stage in which representational skills are acquired; reasoning is based largely on perceptions rather than logic
post-conventional morality
occurs when an individual develops their own set of ethics and morals to drive their decisions and actions
post-formal thought
a stage of development that occurs in early adulthood which a person gains the ability to synthesize opposing ideas or feelings into more complete understanding
Reciprocity
a scheme describing the interdependence of related dimensions such as height and width
Representational Thinking
implies the development of a symbolic function, i.e., the differentiation of signifiers and signified,* since it entails the evocation of what is not present, which it can do only by means of differentiated signifiers
Reversibility
a scheme describing the ability to undo an action and return to the original state
Scheme
in cognitive developmental theory, the organization of actions into a unified whole; a mental construct
Semiotic Thinking
an investigation into how meaning is created and how meaning is communicated. Its origins lie in the academic study of how signs and symbols(visual and linguistic) create meaning.
Sensorimotor intelligence
in cognitive developmental theory, the first stage during which schemes are built on sensory and motor expereinces
Short-term memory
the capacity to encode and retrieve five to nine bits of information in the span of a minute or two
Signs
something that represents something else, usually in an abstract way, such as a word representing an object
Social Cognition
knowing about and understanding interpersonal behavior and the point of view of others
Social perspective-taking
occurs any time you share space with others, even in the absence of active social interactions. We use social perspective taking before, during, and after a social encounter to help us figure out our social responses, based on our own and others social goals in a situation
Stages of cognitive development
in cognitive developmental theory, distinct periods of life during which a persons ability to understand and reason about the self, objects and their relationships, and others undergoes substantial, qualitative change
Symbols
an object or image that represents something; often it incorporates a feature of the concept it represents
Theory of Mind
an integrated set of ideas about what a person understands about someone else’s beliefs and desires
