Domain One - Cognitive Development from Birth Through Adolescence Flashcards
Conservation
Conceptual tool that allows a child to recognize that when altering the appearance of an object, the basic properties do not change
**young children can mistake this because of how things appear
Assimilation
The way children incorporate new information with existing schemes in order to form a new cognitive structure
Fitting new knowledge into an existing schema
Example: a little kid calls a lion “doggie” because they only know that type of four-legged animal
Accommodation
Children take existing schemes and adjust them to fit their experience
Accommodate new information to fit the experience
Example: kid plays keys on a piano to hear different noises, then tries an electric keyboard and quickly learns that it must be turned on before it is played
Piaget’s Cognitive Learning Process
All thinking begins at a Balanced Mental State of Equilibrium —> child receives new information —> child adapts new information assimilation; child adapts new information accommodation —> new thought (schema) is formed
Four Assumptions of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
- Children are organically inspired to think, learn, comprehend
- Children see the world differently than adults
- Children’s knowledge is ordered into mental structures called schemas
- All learning consists of assimilation and accommodation
Stage One: Sensorimotor period (infancy: birth-2 years)
Behavior is based upon the infant’s physical responses to immediate surroundings
Mentally organize and perceive the world through their sensory systems
Discover that physical reflexes have an impact on the world around them (reflexive actions to representational (symbolic) thought
Egocentrism (center of the universe)
Stage 2: Preoperational period (early childhood: 2-7)
Development of symbolic thought and imagination is boundless
Around age 5, “why?” Questions attempt to explain the world
Reason intuitively, representational thought
Still making mistakes in spoken language
Stories, songs, nursery rhymes are loved at this age
Independent and cooperative play is important
Language increases rapidly; learning new words every day
Stage 3: Concrete Operations Period (Middle Childhood: 7-11)
Child is able to solve simple problems while thinking about multiple dimensions of information
Metacognition (think about thinking)
Understand the world through trial and error
Cannot yet think abstractly, but they understand the distinction between appearance and reality if presented in terms of tangible objects
Ability to set own values as they become more subjective in moral judgments
Stage 4: Formal Operations Period (Adolescence: 12-adult)
Mental transformations are logical and continue to progress
Marked by ability to reason abstractly and solve complex problems, expanding possibilities for understanding the world
Have the ability to perform hypothetical-deductive reasoning and can integrate what they have learned in the past to consider many future possibilities
Educational Implications of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
- Provides an alternative to behavior theorists’ belief that children are merely passive learners; they actively move through operational stages
- There are predictable and orderly developmental accomplishments; can be tested at each stage to verify their level of cognitive understanding
- Children’s minds seek a state of equilibrium; each stage, children form a new way to operate and adapt to the world
- Teachers can avoid presenting material in the classroom that is beyond the child’s cognitive ability
Animism
Believing that no living objects have lifelike qualities; can be demonstrated in imaginary friends (preoperational, ages 2-4)
Example: rain = the sky is pouring water on me
Causal Reasoning (causality)
Preschool = children cannot think in cause and effect, believe their thoughts can cause actions, with or without a causal relationship, reason by transduction reasoning (preoperational)
Changes over time
- level one (age 3): reality is defined by appearance
- level two (age 5): child appeals to an all-powerful force
- level three (age 7): child appeals to causes in nature
- level four (age 10): child now approaches an adult explanation
Centration
Tendency for a child to focus on only one piece of information while disregarding the rest of it (preoperational)
Egocentrism
Until around age 5, young children cannot differentiate between their own perspectives and feelings, and someone else’s
Equilibrium
Development is motivated by the search for a stable balance (equilibrium) toward effective adaptations
Three phases:
- Children begin in a state of balance
- Thought changes and conflict emerges
- Through assimilation and accommodation, a more sophisticated mode of thought arises
Irreversibility
Make errors in their thinking because they cannot understand that an operation moves in more than one direction
Cannot understand that the original state can be recovered
Example: if a child has a ball of clay that is given back flattened, they may think they were given less back
Metacognition
Child’s awareness of knowing about one’s knowledge]helps children plan their own problem-solving strategies (concrete operations)
Object Permanence
Recognition that objects and events continue to exist even when they are not visible; usually starts at about eight months old
Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning
Formulating a specific hypothesis from any given general theory (formal operations)
The ability to form ideas about “what might be”; this is done by mentally forming a logical and systematic plan to work out the right solution after considering all the possible consequences
Example: noticing only tall kids get picked for bball, short kid deduces that he will not be picked for bball
Inductive Reasoning
Drawing conclusions from specific examples to make a general conclusion, even when the conclusion is not accurate (concrete operations)
Example: all balls on the playground are round, concludes all balls are round (not true, football)
Transductive Reasoning
Mentally connect specific experiences, whether or not there is a logical causal relationship (Preoperational); thinks that thoughts will cause something to happen
Example: mean to sister, sister gets sick, concludes that they made sister sick
Schemes (schemas)
Ways that children mentally represent and organize the world
Form mental representations of perceptions, ideas, or actions to help them understand experiences
Can be very specific or elaborate
Example: infant drops cup over and over, concludes someone else will pick it up
Seriation
Ability to arrange objects in logical progression (concrete operations)
Sticks from smallest to largest
Symbolic function substage
Child uses words and images (symbols) to form mental representations to remember objects without the objects being physically present
Example: dog is lost, child pretends stuffed animal is the missing dog
Transitive inference
Ability to draw conclusions about a relationship between two objects by knowing the relationship to a third object (concrete operations)
If A = B and B = C, then A = C
Moral development
Internalized set of subjective rules influencing the feelings, thoughts, and behavior of an individual in deciding what is right and wrong
Moral Development (Piaget)
Morality of constraint (heteronormous): 4-7 years; children see their moral world through the eyes of justice and rules which are unchangeable
Morality of cooperation (autonomous): 10 years; children view each dilemma and consider the consequences before making amoral decision
Lawrence Kohlberg Moral Development: Level I: Preconventional (4-10 years)
Children obey because adults tell them to; judge morality strictly on the basis of consequences (fear of being punished or expecting to be rewarded)
Lawrence Kohlberg Moral Development: Level II: Conventional (10-13 years)
Most concerned about the opinions of their peers; want to please and help others, while developing their own internal idea of what it means to be a good person
Lawrence Kohlberg Moral Development: Level III: Postconventional (13 - adult)
Judged in terms of abstract principles, not by existing rules that govern society; rise above the laws of society; individuals look within themselves for answers rather than basing moral decisions on external source as of authority
** many people never enter this level
IQ
Mental age / chronological age x 100
130+ very superior (97th percentile)
90 - 109 average (50th percentile)
69 and below extremely low (2.275 percentile)
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB-5)
Ages 2 to 85
Measures patterns and levels of cognitive development including verbal, nonverbal, quantitative, and memory
Useful assessment to help diagnose childhood developmental disabilities and provides info for special education interventions IEP, IFSP
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
Ages 6 to 16
Measures verbal and performance abilities, including verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed; each subtest is scored separately to help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence
Proposes a pluralistic view of a child’s mind; recognizes that children have many different cognitive strengths, as well as contrasting cognitive styles; intelligence has roots in evolutionary history (intellectual strengths to cope with environmental challenges)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Linguistic-Verbal Ability
Ability to think in words and to use language to express meaning (poets, authors, journalists, speakers)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Logical-Mathematical Ability
The ability to carry out mathematical operations (scientists, engineers, accountants)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Spatial Ability
The ability to think three-dimensionally (architects, artists, engineers)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Bodily-Kinesthetic Ability
Ability to solve problems using the body and physical skill (surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, athletes)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Musical Ability
Sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone (composers, musicians, sensitive listeners)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Interpersonal Ability
Ability to understand others, a people person who has good conversation skills and knows how to interact with others (teachers, mental health professionals, salespeople, politicians)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Intrapersonal Ability
Ability to understand oneself and effectively direct one’s life (theologians, psychologists)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence: Naturalist Ability
Ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-made systems (farmers, botanists, ecologists, landscapers)
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
People who are intelligent possess a high level of common sense and have the ability to succeed according to their personal definition of success, within the limits of their culture and society
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence: Analytical (componential)
Measures the same elements that are measured by traditional intelligence tests, such as memory, critical thinking, and problem solving
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence: Creative (experiential)
Consists of the ability to create, design, imagine, or invent; high score in this area usually means insightful/creative (usually does not relate well to the academic demands of school)
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence: Practical (contextual)
Focuses on the ability to use, apply, implement, and put something into practice; child who scores high typically “street-smart”; does not usually work well with the demands from school
Learning disabilities (LD)
Often children with average to above-average intelligence who exhibit emotional and/or physical maladaptive behavior; do not outgrow, but rather, develop coping methods
Visual-Perceptual Disability (dyslexia)
See letters and numbers in different positions; may confuse right or left when reading, may skip or reverse words; sometimes observed as having difficulty with physical coordination due to their difficulty with eye-hand coordination; most recognized of this type is dyslexia where letters are perceived in the reverse
Auditory-Perceptual Disability
Hearing difficulty
May find it difficult to distinguish between the differences in sounds; often observed as being lost or confused when called upon; often seen as not paying attention, when they are actually struggling to hear; even subtle disabilities in this area may prevent the child from understanding the full content of classroom material
Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders
ADHD- show symptoms of both in attention and hyperactivity, some are inattentive and do not show signs of hyperactivity (ADD)
Hyperactive behaviors: (1) have a difficult time paying attention (2) distracted easily (3) show hyperactivity (4) become frustrated easily (5) have difficulty controlling muscle or motor activity; always moving (6) have difficulty staying on task (7) show inappropriate overactivity
Often observed speaking out loud, forgetting responsibilities, and giving up easily when they don’t have a resolution to a problem
Boys are diagnosed more than girls; severe ADHD or ADD is treated by a physician who may prescribe Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall
Perceptual-Motor Disability
Difficulty with coordination and may often appear clumsy or disoriented; sometimes their hands are in constant motion and may get in the way of their activity
Mental Retardation (educationally Delayed)
Subnormal cognitive functioning at an IQ level of 70 or below (mild: 55-70, severe: below 25)
Maladaptive behavior in learning, social adjustment, and maturation
May be organic in nature
Affects 1-2% of the population with most being mild
With intervention programs, can usually function well in society; show significant improvement with early diagnosis and guidance from a supportive educational environment
