LECTURE 6 - COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Question 1

What is cognitive development?

Answer 1

The development of mental processes like memory, language, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Question 2

What is cognition?

Answer 2

The mental processes leading to knowledge, understanding, and awareness.

Question 3

Who proposed the stages of cognitive development?

Answer 3

Jean Piaget.

Question 4

What are the four stages of Piaget’s cognitive development theory?

Answer 4

Sensorimotor (0-2 years), Preoperational (2-7 years), Concrete Operational (7-12 years), and Formal Operational (12+ years)

Question 5

What characterizes the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 5

Infants learn through sensory experiences and interactions with objects but lack object permanence.

Question 6

What is object permanence?

Answer 6

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when not visible.

Question 7

At what age does Piaget claim object permanence develops?

Answer 7

Around 8-9 months.

Question 8

How has research challenged Piaget’s view on object permanence?

Answer 8

Studies using looking-time methods suggest object permanence appears as early as 3.5 months.

Question 9

What characterizes the preoperational stage?

Answer 9

Children develop language and mental imagery but are egocentric and struggle with conservation and reversibility.

Question 10

What is egocentrism in Piaget’s theory?

Answer 10

The inability to understand that others may have different perspectives.

Question 11

What is conservation in cognitive development?

Answer 11

Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance.

Question 12

What characterizes the concrete operational stage?

Answer 12

Children use logical operations for concrete problems but struggle with abstract thinking.

Question 13

What is abstract thinking?

Answer 13

The ability to understand complex, hypothetical, or symbolic ideas not tied to concrete experiences.

Question 14

What characterizes the formal operational stage?

Answer 14

Adolescents develop deductive reasoning and systematic problem-solving abilities.

Question 15

What is Theory of Mind (ToM)?

Answer 15

The ability to attribute mental states, beliefs, and intentions to others and understand that these may differ from one’s own.

Question 16

How is Theory of Mind tested?

Answer 16

Using false-belief tasks, like the Sally-Anne task.

Question 17

At what age do children typically pass false-belief tasks?

Answer 17

Around 4 years old.

Question 18

What did Onishi and Baillargeon (2005) demonstrate about ToM?

Answer 18

Infants as young as 15 months show signs of understanding false beliefs through looking-time experiments.

Question 19

What is symbolic play?

Answer 19

Non-literal use of objects or actions for fun, such as pretending a banana is a phone.

Question 20

At what age does symbolic play begin?

Answer 20

Around 12 months.

Question 21

How is symbolic play related to language development?

Answer 21

More symbolic play is associated with faster language acquisition.

Question 22

What is anchoring bias?

Answer 22

Focusing decisions on irrelevant, concrete data points (e.g., a discounted price).

Question 23

What is survivorship bias?

Answer 23

Drawing conclusions from successful cases while ignoring failures.

Question 24

Why is object permanence important?

Answer 24

It helps infants understand continuity and causality in the physical world.

Question 25

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 25

Using logical steps to derive conclusions from general principles.

Question 26

How did Baillargeon et al. (1985) test object permanence?

Answer 26

Using a “violation of expectation” paradigm where infants looked longer at impossible events.

Question 27

How does symbolic play show abstract thinking?

Answer 27

It involves using objects/actions as symbols for something else, indicating mental imagery.

Question 28

What are the limitations of Piaget’s research?

Answer 28

Small sample size, lack of statistical rigor, and reliance on observational methods.

Question 29

What is the novelty preference in infant research?

Answer 29

Infants are drawn to new and unfamiliar stimuli over familiar ones.

Question 30

What is the main critique of Piaget’s stages?

Answer 30

Modern research suggests cognitive abilities develop earlier and more gradually than Piaget proposed.

Question 31

Why is abstract thinking important?

Answer 31

It supports planning, problem-solving, theory building, and navigating social interactions.

Question 32

What evidence supports abstract thinking in younger children?

Answer 32

Pretend play and imaginative activities starting around 12 months.

Question 33

What is the relationship between symbolic play and abstract thinking?

Answer 33

Symbolic play is an early form of abstract thinking and correlates with cognitive development.

Question 34

What did Wimmer and Perner (1983) find about ToM?

Answer 34

Four-year-olds correctly attributed false beliefs, while three-year-olds struggled.

Question 35

How is cognitive development studied in infants?

Answer 35

Using methods like looking-time experiments to infer knowledge without relying on language.

Question 36

What is spatial contiguity in object permanence?

Answer 36

The understanding that objects do not appear in two locations without traveling between them.

Question 37

What are the implications of cognitive biases like anchoring?

Answer 37

They can distort decision-making by overemphasizing irrelevant information.

Question 38

How does abstract thinking evolve during adolescence?

Answer 38

Adolescents develop the ability to reason hypothetically and solve systematic problems.

Question 39

What is the key takeaway about cognitive development?

Answer 39

Many cognitive skills develop earlier than Piaget suggested, driven by both innate abilities and learning.