Developmental psychology Flashcards
What are the four stages of Piaget’s theory of child development?
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
What did Piaget suggest about the Sensorimotor stage?
Thinking was limited to a link between senses and actions
What did Piaget suggest about the preoperational stage?
Children develop mental representations and symbolic thought
What did Piaget suggest regarding the concrete operational stage?
Children develop the ability to preform operations over mental representations
What did Piaget suggest about the Formal operational stage?
Thinking becomes abstract and is no longer bound to the real world or examples
Name two overall features of Piaget’s theory
No innate knowledge
Develop as a single learning mechanism
How does Meltzoff and Moore challenge Piaget’s theory?
They challenge the idea of no innate knowledge
What were Meltzoff and Moore’s finding (1997)?
Babbies from the ages of 12 days old are able to imitate their primary caregiver suggesting innate abilities such as recognition of mothers and responding to them
What is the basic premise of Vygotsky’s theory?
Development is the internalisation of the child’s social interactions with others from a shared culture
What is the name of Vygotsky’s theory of child development?
The sociocultural theory of cognitive development
What is an elementary mental function?
An innate, universal and biological maturation outside of out control
What is meant by higher mental function?
the voluntary controlling of elementary functions which produces social interaction
What is meant by a mediator?
Symbolic systems that allow mental functions to extend beyond elementary functions
State three examples of mediators
Language, counting and systems of time
What did Vygotsky mean by “language as the fundamental mediator”
Language acts as a psychological tool for coordinating ones thoughts
