Exam 2: Chapter 9 (book) Flashcards
piaget focuses on this type of force on cognitive development in early childhood:
maturation
Vygotsky focuses on this type of force on cognitive development in early childhood:
social forces
what is executive function
the cognitive ability to organize and prioritize the many thought that arise from the various parts of the brain, which allow the person to anticipate, strategize and plan behavior
executive function dramatically improves in early childhood
what are the three foundations of executive function?
- memory
- inhibition
- flexibility
describe memory in executive function
-memory for what was seen a minute ago/yesterday NOT years ago
children with better memory skills tend to be come better…
students at age 15
describe inhibition in executive function
-the ability to control responses, to stop and think for a moment before acting or talking
what is flexibility in executive function?
the ability to see things from another perspective rather than getting stuck in one idea
-very hard at age 2 but possible by age 6
example of flexibility
when a child wants a toy another child is playing with, they are able to shift their interest to another toy rather than staying stuck focusing on the toy in use.
advances in executive function enable young children…
to gain “core skills critical for cognitive, social, and psychological development” that allow “playing with ideas, giving a considered response rather than an impulsive one, and being able to change course or perspectives as needed, resist temptations, and stay focused
what are the tests for each foundation of executive function?
-memory: shown a series of barnyard animals and asked to remember them in order
-inhibition: kids push a button when they see a fish, but not a shark
-flexibility: kids alternate stamping on a picture of a dog and one of a bone
what are the two key points regarding executive function?
- Executive function skills are foundational. They undergird later cognitive abilities and academic achievement, including in reading and math
- Executive function skills are not determined at conception. They are developed during childhood.
what is an example of an activity designed to promote executive functioning?
two children develop a pretend scenario together, they get to decide their roles and actions and then carry out the play with memory, inhibition, and flexibility in response to their playmates actions
what is the impact of video games on executive function
they are a detriment: they merely promote rapid response with is the opposite of memory, inhibition, and flexibility.
what is the “theory-theory” explanation?
the idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories
pre-schoolers have intuitive theories about the world that help them think and remember
what is an example of the theory theory explanation in action?
theory- everyone intends to do everything correctly
ex. when kids are asked to repeat something ungrammatical, they will correct the grammar as they expect all adults intend to speak grammatically but failed to do so
what is the “theory of mind”
the theory of mind is when a child begins to have a theory about how other minds work.
example of the ToM at work
a puppet puts a toy dog into a red box,, while the puppet is removed the toy dog is moved to a blue box. The child is then asked where the puppet will look for the toy when he gets back.
3year olds will confidently say the red box because they assume the puppet knows what they do
6 year olds will correctly say the blue bc they have ToM
then development of ToM can be seen when…
children begin to lie in order to escape punishment
without theory of mind, children do not know how to fool others
experiment that shows evidence of brain maturation
children are asked to say day when shown a picture of the moon and night when shown picture of the sun. their success in this task indicated advanced executive functioning and therefore maturation of the prefrontal cortex
that is piagets theory of cognition in early childhood?
preoperational thought
what is symbolic thought?
-a major accomplishment of preoperational intelligence that allows a child to think symbolically, including understanding that words can refer to things not seen and that an item, such as a flag can symbolize something else
language is an example of…
symbolic thought
example: prior to preoperational thinking, when a child hears the word “dog” it only refers to the family dog licking them. But, when preoperational intelligence is acquired, the term dog becomes symbol and can refer to a stuffed dog, the neighbors dog, the family dog, or a plastic dog
symbolic thought helps explain…
animism
what is animism
the belief of many young children that natural objects are alive and that nonhuman animals have the same characteristics as humans, especially people the child knows best
what are some obstacles to logic/characteristics of preoperational intelligence in early childhood?
centration/egocentrism
focus on appearance
static reasoning
irreversibility