dev 2

Question 1

_ classical theoretical questions

Answer 1

2

1= what are the relative contributions of maturation and experience

2= is development a continous or discountinous process

Question 2

__ theoretical approaches to cognitive development

Answer 2

2

1= maturation (Nature) 
2= Experience (nurture)

Question 3

what determines development of humans

Answer 3

social and environmental influences

Question 4

cognitive development results from

Answer 4

need to interact with other members of the species

Question 5

The “classic” theorists =

Answer 5

2

1= Jean Piaget
2= Lev Vygotsky

Question 6

Jean Piaget

Answer 6

a classical theorist

propsed a ‘stage’ theory
stages are maturationally determined

Question 7

Lev Vygotsky

Answer 7

a classical theorist

stressed the role of social interaction

development proceeds from “outside in”

Question 8

Piaget’s principles _

Answer 8

5

child actively seeks knowledge

1= children’s thought processes differ from adults

2= children do not behave randomly = use coherent logical systems that differ from adult logic

3= analysis of errors can uncover the child’s system

4= goal = to adapt to the environment

5= responses to the environ. become increasingly complex and have a greater reliance on mental representation and symbol manipulation

Question 9

constructivist view

piaget’s principles

Answer 9

during development, children use basic cognitive processes to form increasingly complex cognitive structures or “schemata”

Question 10

define

schema=

Answer 10

organised group of interrelated ideas, strategies and associations that the child uses to try to make sense of a situation

Question 11

if a child comes across something that doesn’t make sense to them =they will

Answer 11

strive to understand it, and actively try to fit it in with what they already know

Question 12

piaget’s principles

motivation of the child is to achieve =

changes occur when =

Answer 12

equilibrium between environment and current stage of cognition

current cognitive processes and schemata cannot handle environmental input

Question 13

processes to achieve equilibrium =

Answer 13

piaget’s principles

2

assimilation = child adds new information into existing schema

accommodation = child alters existing schema to fit new information

Question 14

children’s earliest schemata take the =

Answer 14

form of innate reflexes and related patterns of physical action that let them interact with the environment

Question 15

a major cognitive step forward

Answer 15

= is when the child moves from using predominantly physical schemata to mental ones

Question 16

piaget’s stages of cognitive organisation =

Answer 16

4

1 sensorimotor birth-2
2 pre-operational 2-7
3 concrete operations 7-11
4 formal operations 11+

stages follow in sequence and include the cognitive processes of the preceding stage

Question 17

define

sensorimotor

Answer 17

birth-1

earliest adaptations of reflexes

focused on sensory input and motor behaviours

stage ends with beginnings of representational thought

characterised by = lack of object permanence ‘egocentric’ thought

e.g when a toy hidden with cloth = child lose interest = no attempt to retrieve it

Question 18

define

object permanence

Answer 18

the awareness that objects continue to exist when they’re not visible

Question 19

define

preoperational

Answer 19

2-7

characterised by centration

4

1=language development
2=foundations for logical thought
3=increasing ability to take another’s perspective
4=development of internal mental representations

Question 20

define

centration

Answer 20

tendencyy to focus on only one aspect of a complex situattion or problem and inability to conserve quantity

Question 21

____ is defined by centration

Answer 21

preoperational 2-7 yrs

Question 22

define

conservation

Answer 22

understanding that something stays the same in quantity, even though its appearance changes

7 types

Question 23

__ types of conservation

Answer 23

7

7-8yrs
1= number
2 = liquid
3= mass

8yrs
4=length

9-10yrs
5=weight

10-11yrs
6=area

11-12yrs
volume

Question 24

define

concrete-operation

Answer 24

7-12yrs

internal manipulation of mental representations

the beginning of logical thought

children become much more flexible in their thinking

ability to perform mental operations on representations of concrete objects

e.g conservation of quantity

requires understanding of reversibility

not yet capable of formal inductive and deductive reasoning

Question 25

children can succeed at many types of problems, but only if=

Answer 25

the problems are physically instantiated and present

difficult when abstract

Question 26

piaget’s balance test=

Answer 26

make the weight times the distance equal on both sides of center

Question 27

define

formal operation

Answer 27

stage of cognitive development 11+

6
1= can acquire knowledge without direct experience
2=ability to perform mental operations on abstract symbols and thoughts
3=greater use of mathematical reasoning and formal logic
4=fully able to adopt other’s perspectives
5=systematic approach to problem solving
6=increased linguistic sophistication

Question 28

criticisms of piaget’s theory=

Answer 28

4

1= environment can affect development of stages
2=ages are too high an estimate for stages
3=experiments too hard for children to understand
4= additional ‘5th’ stage is needed