Module 2: Exploring Cognition

Question 1

accommodation

Answer 1

a term developed by psychologist Jean Piaget to describe what occurs when new information or experiences cause you to modify your existing schemas

Question 2

assimilation

Answer 2

a cognitive process that manages how we take in new information and incorporate that new information into our existing knowledge

Question 3

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 3

the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes

Question 4

cognitive perspective

Answer 4

an approach that focuses on the process that allows people to know, understand and think about the world

Question 5

concrete operational stage

Answer 5

the stage in which children can think logically about real (concrete) events, have a firm grasp on the use of numbers and start to employ memory strategies, lasts from about 7 to 11 years old

Question 6

conservation

Answer 6

the idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size as long as nothing has been removed or added, usually develops during the concrete operational stage

Question 7

egocentrism

Answer 7

the child is not able to take the perspective of others, typically observed during the preoperational stage

Question 8

formal operational stage

Answer 8

the fourth, and last, stage in Piaget’s theory and lasts from about age 11 to adulthood. Children in the formal operational stage can deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations

Question 9

information-processing approach

Answer 9

an alternative to Piagetian approaches, a model that seeks to identify the ways individuals take in, use, and store information

Question 10

object permanence

Answer 10

the understanding that even if something is out of sight it still exists, develops between 5 and 8 months old

Question 11

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 11

a description of cognitive development as four distinct stages in children: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal

Question 12

preoperational stage

Answer 12

the stage in which children can use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas, which is why children in this stage engage in pretend play, lasts approximately 2 to 7 years old

Question 13

reversibility

Answer 13

objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form or condition, typically observed during the concrete operational stage

Question 14

schemas

Answer 14

an existing framework for an object or concept

Question 15

sensorimotor stage

Answer 15

the stage in which children learn about the world through their senses and motor behavior, lasts from birth to about 2 years old

Question 16

theory-of-mind (TOM)

Answer 16

explains how children come to understand that people have thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are different from their own, develops during the preoperational stage