Introduction to Understanding Human Development (contd.)

Question 1

What are the three theories of cognitive development?

Answer 1

1. Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory;
2. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory;
3. Information processing perspectives.

Question 2

What specifically did Piaget think about development?

Answer 2

Piaget: Children actively constructi understanding – universal stages

Question 3

What was Vygotsky concerned with?

Answer 3

Influences of socio-cultural context on development of thinking

Question 4

Adaptation: the developmental process

Answer 4

Adaptation involves movement between states of:
equilibrium > disequilibrium > equilibrium

Adaptation is comprised of two processes:
assimilation + accommodation

Question 5

What is assimilation?

Answer 5

The individual deals with a new event by incorporating it into existing structures.

Question 6

What is accommodation?

Answer 6

The individual’s structures change to deal with a new event.

Question 7

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Answer 7

Universal stages with an invariant sequence

Described in terms of achievements and limitations of thinking

Question 8

The Sensori-Motor Stage (birth- 2 years)

Answer 8

Development of intelligence from basic reflexes to simple mental representations.

Initial state - reflex actions on self and immediate environment.

By 2 years performing internal actions
Thinking = Internal action

Question 9

What are the important achievements in the sensori-motor stage?

Answer 9

Intentional actions.
Internal representations of the objects and events.

Object permanence:
Recognition that objects exist apart from one’s actions or observation of the object.

Question 10

What are operations according to Piaget?

Answer 10

Operations:
are internalised (mental) actions,
can be manipulated and transformed,
can be returned to their original form.

Question 11

The Pre-Operational Stage

Answer 11

Two sub-stages: pre-conceptual and intuitive

Develops the tools for logical thought - language, symbols, mental imagery.

But thinking does not demonstrate logical operations.

Question 12

What are the four features of the pre-operational stage?

Answer 12

1. Centration: centering on one striking perceptual feature.
2. States vs Transformations: making judgements from end states.
3. Non-reversible thought: does not return mental action back to its starting point.
4. Ego-centrism - Thinking about the external world in terms of their own perspective or point of view (see Three mountains experiment).

Question 13

Concrete Operations- Logical Thought

What are the four features of this stage?

Answer 13

Decentration: freed from dependence on perceptually salient features

Co-ordination of states and transformations into a logical unit

Reversibility: can reverse an action back to its starting point internally.

Conservation: the amount remains the same even with transformations of appearance.

Question 14

Formal Operations

Answer 14

Internal Manipulation with logical forms.

Operations on operations - thinking about thinking.

Hypothetico-deductive reasoning (e.g. pendulum problem)
Isolating variables.

Mental manipulation of possible combinations.

Question 15

What are the criticisms of Piaget’s theory?

Answer 15

Underestimates young children’s reasoning abilities and

Overestimates the reasoning abilities of adolescent and adults.

Question 16

Vygotsky

Answer 16

Vygotsky: Influences of socio-cultural context on development of thinking

Cognitive growth a socially mediated activity – one in which children gradually acquire new ways of thinking and behaving through cooperative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society. (apprenticeship model)

Rejected notion of all children progressing through same stages of cognitive growth.

Question 17

How do information processing theories view cognitive development?

Answer 17

Information-Processing theories view cognitive development in terms of a detailed analysis of thinking processes

Adopt the perspective that the human mind is a continuously developing, symbol-manipulating system – similar to a computer into which information flows, is operated on, and is converted to output (answers, inferences, and solutions to problems).

Question 18

What is Ethology?

Answer 18

Ethology: The study of behaviour within an ecological context. Ethologists believe that a variety of innate behaviour patterns were shaped by evolution just as physical characteristics were.

Question 19

Ethological and Evolutionary theories (imprinting)

Answer 19

“Imprinting” is a process in which newborns of many species become attached to the mother at first sight and stay near her.

Human newborns do not “imprint,” but they are drawn to visual and emotional connection with others.

Question 20

Systems

Answer 20

Focus: Development as outcome of complex interactions within systems

Bronfenbrenner: Ecology of development – from the microsystem to macrosystem

Question 21

What do ecological theories of development emphasise?

Answer 21

Foremost issue is the interaction of nature and nurture.

Emphasize the importance of socio-cultural context.

Emphasize the continuity of development.

Children’s active role in their own development is a central focus.

Question 22

What is Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Model?

Answer 22

Bronfenbrenner conceptualizes the environment as a set of nested structures, each inside another.

Each structure emphasizes a different level of influence.

The environmental forces at each level vary in effect on each child.

There is complex interconnectedness among the levels, which are called systems.