Exam 2 Flashcards
Piaget created stages based on detailed observations of his own children’s developments, basically the way the mind developments/grows
Cognitive Development
(0-2 years) infant is a blank slate (no innate knowledge), intelligence is expressed through sensory and motor abilities
Sensorimotor stage
Object hidden in cloth 1, baby searches and finds it, now under cloth 2, baby searches for it in cloth 1
A-not-B task (AB search task)
for the first 8 months, infants fail this task
object permanence task
when does object permanence arrive?
8 months
when does the AB search error disappear (the infant will now look where object was last hidden)?
12 months
what do infants have by 24 months?
mental representations and deferred imitation
(2-7 years) major innovation is symbols, language, mental imagery
preoperational stage
what happens in the preoperational stage?
drawing/art, pretend play, maps
what are the limitations in the preoperational stage?
egocentrism-others have different pov, centration/absence of conservation- focus on one feature/unable to incorporate multiple features, preop children will say the tall skinny glass has more liquid, number length, volume
(7-12 years) Logical reasoning about concrete features of the world
concrete operational
what happens in the concrete operational stage?
conservation- same liquid, pass mountain test
what is the mountain test and the results?
ask children which view the doll will see, younger preop children choose their own view and older children may choose another view but likely not get it right
what are the limitations in the concrete operational stage?
reasoning limited to observable situations, poor reasoning about hypotheticals (do not understand why a feather would not break glass), do not approach problems systematically (pendulum problem: different lengths of string or weight determines how fast it swings)
When is the formal operational stage?
12 and up
what happens in the formal operational stage?
hypothetical reasoning, abstract reasoning, systematic approach to problem solving
the process by which people adapt current knowledge structures in response to new experiences
Accommodation
the process by which people translate incoming information into a form that fits concepts they already understand
Assimilation
Four weaknesses of Piaget’s theory
- vague about processes of change (assilimation, accommodation)
- underestimate abilities (core knowledge theories)
- social and cultural factors (contrasts with sociocultural views/Vygotsky)
- stage theory
break down tasks into more basic cognitive processes and actions
task analysis
what are the basic processes?
associating, recognizing, recalling, generalizing, encoding
the process of representing in memory information that draws attention or is considered important
encoding
the process of attaining a goal by using a strategy to overcome an obstacle
Problem-solving
memory system that involves actively attending to, maintaining, and processing information
Working memory
information retained on an enduring basis
Long-term memory
What are the 3 executive functions
inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility
resist distractions habits or temptations
Inhibitory control
hold manipulate and encode info in our minds for a short period
Working memory
adapt to new situations, switch between tasks, or change strategies when solving a problem
Cognitive flexibility
What do EFs predict?
Academic achievement (positive)- math and reading scores
Social (societal) problems (negative)- crime, incarnation, lost productivity, teacher burnout, costs of medication
Psychological problems (negative)- ADHD depression
two people share a common understanding about something
Intersubjectivity
two people focus on the same thing at the same time often while communicating about it
Joint attention
a more knowledgeable person helps a learner by guiding them through a task or activity
Guided participation
putting the support at the right level, changes with child’s abilities
social scaffolding
the range of tasks a person cannot do alone but can achieve with help
Zone of proximal development
what is the core knowledge theory?
Existence of core concepts
Built in or innate (not blank slate)
what is the core knowledge theory an example of?
Nativism
there are innate concepts; simple, starter (innate) concepts (core knowledge theory)
Nativism
there are not innate concepts, concepts are learned only with general learning mechanisms
Empiricism
is a tool with multiple specialized functions, like a knife, screwdriver, and scissors. Similarly, Core Knowledge Theory proposes that the brain has different, specialized mental tools for solving specific problems.
Swiss army knife concept
what is the marshmallow test?
used inhibitory control for kid to resist eating the marshmallow to get another one
What was the tools of the mind study?
treatment group: teacher training with 40 EF-promoting activities
control group: regular curriculum
used Dots Task and Flanker Task to test
results: children in the treatment group outperformed children in the control group, effectively improved preschoolers’ EF
What is the Dots Task?
congruent- push same side as heart
incongruent- push opposite side as flower
mixed- use both congruent and incongruent as once
what is the flanker task?
standard flanker- press shape corresponding to shape inside
reverse flanker- press shape corresponding to shape outside
a form of learning that consists of associating an initially neutral stimulus with a stimulus that always evokes a particular reflexive response
Classical conditioning
learning the relation between one’s own behavior and the consequence that result from it
Instrumental (or operant) conditioning
Observational learning
imitation (of goals, not behaviors)
using prior knowledge to knowledge to understand and predict the future
Rational Learning
the process of unconsciously detecting patterns and regularities in the environment by observing and analyzing information. It’s a natural way the brain learns without needing explicit instruction.
Statistical learning
identifying words in continuous speech
speech segmentation
Head turn preference procedure (Saffran et al)
Speaker plays sound, baby looks, keeps playing as baby is looking, other speaker plays
Infants listened significantly longer to non-words, showing a novelty preference
core domain of physical objects
1.take up space (4 months)
2.move in continuous path (4 months)
3.cannot move on own (but animates can)(7months)
Baillargeon’s landmark study
Violation of expectation / “looking time”
Object permanence with 4-month olds?
Clown box sliding to the right (nothing below)
3 months is not surprising, before 6.5 months is not surprising
when is gravity known?
3 months
when is support known?
6.5 months
forming categories on basis of number
core domain of number
Probing infants knowledge of (approximate) number experiment
6 month olds
Habituated to images with eight (or sixteen) dots in different configurations
Images of eight objects continue in random order until infant reaches habituation criterion, after habituating to images of 8 dots, looked longer at 16, in different trials if habituated to images of 16 dots, looked longer at 8
Mccrick and wynn (addition)
10 items went behind the screen. The screen lifts. Infants were surprised to see 5 items, but not 10
Also worked opposite
Same limitations as Xu and Spelke; 5 v 10 okay for 6 month olds (but 3 month olds needed 4 v 12)
6-month-olds (Probing infants knowledge of number)
8 v 16 (also 4 v 8, 12 v 24, 16 v, 32)→ worked
8 v 12, 16 v 24 → failed
9-month-olds more sensitive
(Probing infants knowledge of number)
8 v 16→ worked
8 v 12, 16 v 24→ worked
9 v 12, 18 v 24→ worked
0-6 month olds (less sensitive) (Probing infants knowledge of number)
0-6 month olds
8 v 16 → failed
4 v 12, 6 v 18→ worked
mathematical concept that refers to the number of elements in a set or group. In simpler terms, it means understanding how many things are in a group.
Cardinality
stable order of the counting sequence (on, two, three, four)
One to one correspondence
infants cannot discriminate numbers with ratios less than 2:1 until 9 months
approximate number system
5 month olds can discriminate 3 versus 2
small/exact number system
evidence for core knowledge of living things- especially people
1.Newborns prefer faces to other complex stimuli-Preference for general facial configuration
(“Top heavy”)
2.Newborns imitate facial expression (Meltzoff)
What is the Theory of Mind?
knowing that others have emotions, desires, perceptions, beliefs
When do infants have social referencing?
10 months
Using another’s emotional reaction to gauge a situation
Social referencing
goldfish/broccoli experiment
bowl of crackers and a bowl of brocolli
experimenter askes child to give her one, same desire (easy), different desire (hard), 18 month olds give broccoli, 14 month olds give goldfish
what is the apple hiding task
hiding apple behind a screen, fail at 2 1/2 years and pass by 3 years
a belief that someone holds that is not true
fasle belief
Sally-Anne task: basket box test
sally puts ball in a box and leaves room, anne moves it to basket…
3 year olds predict sally looks in basket (fail false belief task)
4 year olds predict sally looks in box (pass false belief task)
candy pencil test
put pencils in a candy box… 3 year olds think the box is filled with pencils, 4 year olds think box is filled with candy
Looking time studies: Onishi & Baillargeon
Tested whether 15 month old infants could recognize when someone else has a false belief
Familiarization: infants repeatedly observed woman placing toy inside green box
Belief induction: both woman and infant watched as toy moved from green to yellow box
When woman leaves, the toy moves back from the yellow box to the green box
Woman returns, which box will the woman look in?
Two different trials- woman reaches into yellow box (consistent with false beliefs) or woman reaches into green box (inconsistent with false belief)
15 month olds look longer when woman reaches into green box
Suggests that even at 15 months old, they have some knowledge of another person’s beliefs
Babies are surprised (look longer) if the person reaches into the green box compared to yellow, implying they know the person has a false belief
Chomsky’s (1959) review of Skinner started a revolution
1.Input to children is noisy
2.We understand novel sentences
3.Children produce novel forms, exhibit rules
Holded, goed, mans
Over Regularizations
missing articles,prepositions, forms of the verb be (is, was), endings
telegraphic speech
how many sentences are there?
infinite number of sentences
an infinite number of sentences is generate by a finite set of syntactic rules
generativity
what does it mean for language development?
1.imitation not sufficient
2.instead, syntax (grammar)
3.no systematic, explicit instruction of rules
Nativist stance on language
Since there are an infinite number of possible sentences and children do not get instruction on correction…
Impossible for child to be certain whether learned the right rules (think of “filled the glass with water” example)
innate, abstract set of rules that govern all languages
Universal Grammar
when does comprehension begin?
6-10 months
How do children learn what a new word refers to?
the “mapping” problem-
Mapping words to objects (reference)
child looks at visible object, experimenter looks at visible object and says word
Follow-in condition
cognitive processes that influence that ability to think and learn on all intellectual tasks
g (general intelligence)
ability to think on the spot to solve novel problems
Fluid intelligence
Crystalized intelligence
factual knowledge about the world
seven abilities proposed by Thurstone as crucial to intelligence
Primary mental abilities
what are the 7 primary mental abilities?
Verbal Comprehension - Understanding and reasoning using written and spoken language (e.g., understanding vocabulary and reading comprehension).
Word Fluency - The ability to quickly generate words, particularly words that fit specific criteria (e.g., rhyming or starting with a certain letter).
Number Facility - Skill in performing mathematical operations and solving numerical problems.
Spatial Visualization - The ability to mentally manipulate and visualize spatial relationships, like mentally rotating objects.
Memory - The ability to recall information, such as lists, numbers, or experiences.
Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately recognize visual details and patterns.
Reasoning - The capacity for logical thinking, identifying patterns, and solving novel problems.
Why do we measure intelligence?
Individual difference
Predicts “important outcomes”
Educational resources
How is intelligence typically measured?
IQ tests-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
widely used test designed to measure the intelligence of children 6 years and older
IQ tests-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
Verbal comprehension in IQ test
Vocab: tell me what a carpet is? What is a helicopter
Similarities: how are a mountain and river alike?
General info: how many oz in a lb? What day of the week comes after thursday?
visual/spatial processing in IQ test
block design
Fluid reasoning in IQ test
picture concepts
working memory in IQ tests
digit span
Processing speed in IQ test
Coding: under each square, put a plus. Under each circle put a minus, under each triangle put an x
Symbol search: does the figure to the left of the vertical line also appear to the right of the vertical line?
a statistical estimate of the proportion of the measured variance on a trait among individuals in a given population that is attributable to genetic differences among those individuals
heritability
Environmental sources of variance in IQ are as large as genetic sources
School: grade>age
consistent rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the past 80 years in many countries
Flynn effect
Encourage exploration; mentor basic skills; celebrate developmental advances; rehearse and generalize new skills; protect from inappropriate disapproval; communicate richly and responsively; guide and limit behavior
Abecedarian project - increase IQ and success
