Emotional and Cognitive Development Flashcards
What is the difference between cognitive development and intelligence?
Cognitive development refers to how a child’s thinking changes with age or experience, and becomes more complex
Intelligence= person’s innate cognitive abilities to learn from experience + to be able to adapt to one’s environment
Which components are needed for cognitive development?
Maturation: Growth and development of brain before its able to handle certain tasks
Equilibration: Exposure to new experiences, info, and ideas. The brain must ‘equilibrate’ this new info
Jean Piaget, Swiss Psychologist (1896- 1980)
He observed his children to understand cognitive development
What points did he make?
Cognitive development results from child interacting and therefore enabling adaptation to their environment
*
Operations: internal cognitive rules that allow a child to make sense of the environment
Adaptation occurs via equilibration. This= if a child’s mode of thought fits their environment e.g. 4 legs+tail=dog
Transitions to another stage causes disequilibrium due to shortcomings in the child’s mode of thought when new challenges beyond cognitive level arise E.g. 4 legs+ tail+ noise (bark)=?
Here the child attempts to restore equilibrium via ‘assimilation’ and accommodation
**operation> equilibration > disequilibrium > assimilation & accomodation
**
the child attempts to restore equilibrium via ‘assimilation’ and accommodation
What is this?
- Assimilation: modification of the environment to fit existing knowledge structures
o E.g.4legs+tail+noise(bark)=dog - Accommodation: modification of the knowledge structure to fit the new
environmental challenge
o 4 legs + tail + noise (meow) = not dog=cat
The 4 stages of Piaget’s model for cognitive development:
* Sensorimotor (0-2yo) – baby/toddler
* Preoperational (2-7y0) – preschool
* Concrete operational (7-11yo) – primary
* Formal operation (12+) – secondary
Describe sensorimotor and perioperational
Differentiates self from object “I’m not that pencil”
Recognises self as agent of action and acts intentionally- “Move hand ∴ will reach”
Develops object permanence “ball exists even if I’m not aware of it”
Preoperational: starts thinking symbolically and learn to use words & pics to represent objects
Egocentric + animistic; “My doll will see as I do from my pov” - therefore struggles to see things from others perspective
Objects classified by a single feature – “That is a square”
Achieves conservation of numbers (6yo)
The 4 stages of Piaget’s model for cognitive development:
* Sensorimotor (0-2yo) – baby/toddler
* Preoperational (2-7y0) – preschool
* Concrete operational (7-11yo) – primary
* Formal operation (12+) – secondary
Describe concrete and formal operational
Concrete operational: think logically about events (recount vibes)
Understands **concept of conservation **
Objects classified by many features + able to order them in series along a single dimension (e.g. size) – “That is a blue square with a dark background”
Realise their thoughts/state of mind= unique to them
Formal operational: think logically about abstract ideas
Can make hypotheses, think about the future and have a philosophical approach to ideas
2 disadvantages of Piaget’s model?
Little emphasis on social factors
Little emphasis on interactions in learning and upon the mechanisms responsible for different levels of development
What is the Lorenz theory on social development and attachment?
Lorenz: imprinting theory – suggests organisms have a biological tendency to form attachments to a single subject. Specialised form of early learning during critical period where there is an innate predisposition to acquire specific info.
this is irreversible and leads to life-long retention. E.g. baby geese innately ALWAYS follow mum
What is the Bowlby attachment theory?
Children pre-programmed to form
attachments with others to help them
survive.
Innate behaviour – species specific
‘social releasers’ eg crying, smiling to ensure proximity and contact with
mother.
Instinctive behaviour activated by
situations threatening proximity.A child has an innate need to attach to
one main attachment figure (ie
monotropy)
A child needs continuous care from this
figure for the first 2 years
Disruption or loss leads to ‘Maternal
Deprivation.
Long term consequences of this
include ‘affectionless psychopathy’,
depression, decreased intelligence etc
What is the Harlow study on social development and attachment?
Harlow: Hard mother vs. Soft mother – Rhesus monkey studies
Monkeys separated from mother at birth
Given wire monkey with milk/cloth monkey (no food)
Cloth monkey chosen every time (soft mother preferred)
After return to normal habitat, they had impaired behavioural and social skills
∴ shows intimate care at young age + social contact = important
Ainsworth and Bell theory of social development and attachment?
Ainsworth and Bell: observed children’s attachment behaviour using the ‘Strange Situation Classification’ (SSC):
o Mother leaves child in unfamiliar environment
o Child is approached by stranger
o Mother returns
Looks at separation protest, stranger anxiety and reunion behaviour
There are different types of attachment: Secure vs. Insecure.
What are the characteristics of SECURE attachment?
Safe Haven: When the child feels afraid, they can return to the caregiver for comfort
Secure Base: caregiver provides a secure, dependable base for the child to explore the world
Proximity Maintenance: child strives to stay near the caregiver, thus keeping the child safe
Separation Distress: child will become distressed when separated from caregiver
For this reason a caregiver must:
* Be available and responsive
* Intervene judiciously
* Provide a secure base, encourage exploration from base
What are the later impacts of insecure attachment?
- Poor self-esteem and regulation of emotion
- Influences the pattern of relationships throughout life and hence alters experiences
- Chronic stress in early life can affect regulation of immune system, brain development and genetic expression
What are the theories for language development?
( Behaviourists – rewarded for imitating
Chomsky – innate ability to learn language needing only exposure to language
Piaget – reflection of thought. Language did not contribute to thought
Vygotsky – language and thought interacted; a child’s egocentric speech= precursor to a child thinking in words
Intentionality – interactions generated by the child promote language learning )
Describe Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development + the 3 levels
Development proceeds from a selfish desire to avoid punishment (personal), to a concern for group functioning (societal), to a concern for the consistent application of universal ethical principles (moral)
