Paper 3: Cognitive Development Flashcards
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is a schema
A schema is a cognitive framework or unit of knowledge that organizes and interprets information, serving as the building block for thought.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is assimilation?
give an example of assimilation
Assimilation is the process of incorporating new information into an existing schema without altering its structure
When a child sees a new breed of dog, they incorporate it into their existing
“dog” schema without altering their fundamental understanding of what a dog is.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is accommodation?
Give an example of accommodation.
Accommodation is the process of modifying an existing schema or creating a new one when new information cannot be fitted into existing schemas.
When a child tries to fit a square peg into a round hole and fails, they adjust their understanding and create a new schema that differentiates between square and round shapes.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is disequilibrium?
the state of cognitive imbalance that arises when new information conflicts with existing schemas, prompting the need for learning.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
what’s equilibration?
the process of restoring cognitive balance after assimilation or accommodation, leading to a new, stable state of understanding
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
what is object permanence?
the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight, a concept typically developing in infancy.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is egocentrism in Piaget’s theory?
Egocentrism refers to the difficulty young children have in distinguishing their own perspective from that of others, a common feature of early cognitive development.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is constructivism as applied in Piaget’s theory?
Constructivism is the learning theory that suggests knowledge is actively constructed by the learner through experience and interaction with the environment.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is cognitive development?
Cognitive development is the study of how mental processes such as thinking, reasoning, and understanding evolve over a person’s lifetime, particularly during childhood.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
How does schema development occur according to Piaget?
through the processes of assimilation, where new experiences are added to existing frameworks, and accommodation, where schemas are modified when new information doesn’t fit.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What are the educational implications of Piaget’s theory?
education should be developmentally appropriate, promoting active, discovery-based learning that aligns with the child’s cognitive stage, rather than relying solely on direct instruction and memorization.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
How does Piaget see the nature/nurture debate with regard to cognitive development?
Piaget views cognitive development as an interaction between nature and nurture: children are born with basic, innate schemas (nature) that are continuously refined and expanded through experiences (nurture).
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What does Piaget see as the role of ‘others’ in a child’s learning process?
While Piaget acknowledged that social interactions can introduce cognitive conflict, he believed that a child’s learning is primarily self-constructed through active engagement with their environment, with others acting mainly as facilitators rather than direct sources of knowledge.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What are some criticisms of Piaget’s theory?
- an underestimation of infants’ abilities
- limited attention to social and cultural factors
- potential oversimplification of stage progression
- concerns over sample representativeness.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
strengths
P: Piaget’s theory is its effective explanation of discovery learning in cognitive development.
Eg: Howe et al. (1992) tested 9-12 year old children who watched the motion of an object sliding down a slope and discuss what they had seen. Despite all seeing the same motion, each child reported different details and had a different understanding of the motion.
ex: This demonstrates that understanding had not become more similar to each other, due to individual differences in pre-existing schemas influencing how new information is accommodated, leading to the formation of unique mental representations.
L: supports the validity of Piaget’s concepts of assimilation and accommodation, thereby reinforcing the theory’s applicability in understanding cognitive development.
- Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Limitations
P: his sample showed an ethnocentric bias.
Eg: Dasen’s (1977) cross-cultural research found that cognitive development is not as universal as Piaget suggested. Aboriginal children in Australia excelled at spatial awareness but developed conservation skills much later.
Ex: Piaget’s sample, drawn from a University of Geneva nursery, was predominantly made up of white, middle-class Swiss children with ample educational opportunities. Children from poorer backgrounds might show different levels of intellectual curiosity, affecting their ability to achieve equilibrium.
L: Therefore, the restricted sample undermines the generalizability of Piaget’s findings and may limit the validity of his theory in explaining cognitive development across varied socio-economic contexts.
P: A limitation of Piaget’s theory is that he underestimated infants’ cognitive abilities, particularly regarding object permanence.
Eg: Baillargeon (1985) provided evidence that object permanence develops earlier than Piaget suggested. Piaget claimed infants lack object permanence until around 8 months, but Baillargeon’s violation-of-expectation studies showed that infants as young as 3-4 months exhibited surprise at impossible events.
Ex: Piaget’s use of the A-not-B task relied on motor actions (e.g., reaching for an object), which may have underestimated cognition due to undeveloped motor control. Baillargeon’s use of eye-tracking provided a more accurate measure of infant cognition.
L: This suggests that Piaget’s rigid stage model may be a reflection of his methods, and the implication that infants’ cognitive abilities are innate rather than developed through experience undermines the validity of Piaget’s theory. It suggests that cognitive abilities emerge earlier and are more advanced than Piaget initially believed.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What are the four stages of Piaget’s cognitive
development, and what are their age ranges?
Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
Pre-operational (2-7 years - often split into Pre-Conceptual [2-4 years] and Intuitive [4-7 years])
Concrete Operational (7-11 years)
Formal Operational (11 + years).
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Describe the features of the sensorimotor stage
- 0-2 years
- characterized by infants exploring the world through direct sensory and motor interaction.
- They learn via trial and error, develop basic language skills, and form object permanence (the understanding that objects continue to exist even when not seen).
- Separation anxiety also emerges in this stage.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Describe the features of the pre-operational stage
- 2-7 years
- characterised by the emergence of symbolic thinking. Children begin using words and images to represent objects but do not yet developed logical thinking.
- They exhibit egocentrism, struggle with conservation tasks, and show centration (focusing on one prominent aspect of a situation).
- subdivided into the pre-conceptual phase (2-4 years) and the intuitive phase (4-7 years).
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Describe the features of the concrete operations stage
- 7-11 years
- children develop logical thinking about concrete objects.
- They understand conservation (recognizing that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance), can perform mental operations like addition and subtraction, and show reduced egocentrism —though their reasoning remains tied to tangible situations.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Describe the features of the formal operations stage
- 11+ years
- characterized by the emergence of abstract, hypothetical, and systematic reasoning
- Adolescents can think scientifically, form hypotheses, and solve problems using logical reasoning-demonstrated by tasks such as syllogisms and the pendulum task
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is the ‘A, not B error’?
occurs when an infant, after repeatedly finding an object in one location (A), continues to search for it there even after it has been hidden in a new location (B).
This error reflects a developing understanding of object permanence during the sensorimotor stage.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
How did Piaget test conservation of mass/volume?
Piaget presented children with two identical containers filled with equal amounts of liquid.
He then poured the liquid from one container into a differently shaped container (e.g., taller or thinner) and observed that pre-operational children often thought the quantity had changed.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is reversibility, and how does it apply to the pre-operational stage?
the ability to understand that actions can be reversed to return an object or situation to its original state.
Pre-operational children typically lack this ability, which contributes to their difficulty with conservation tasks.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Describe the 3 mountains task and findings
involves showing children a model of three distinct mountains and asking them to select a picture representing the view from another perspective (often a doll’s viewpoint).
Most pre-operational children choose the view reflecting their own perspective, demonstrating egocentrism.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is the syllogism task and what is its relevance to Piaget’s theory?
The syllogism task presents a logical puzzle (e.g., “All yellow cats have 2 heads. Thave a yellow cat named Charlie. How many heads does Charlie have?”). It tests abstract logical reasoning. Pre-operational children often answer concretely, while those in the formal operations stage can apply abstract reasoning
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is the pendulum task and what is its relevance to Piaget’s theory?
requires children or adolescents to systematically vary factors (such as string length or weight) to determine what affects a pendulum’s swing. Success on this task indicates the capacity for abstract, systematic reasoning— a hallmark of the formal operations stage.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What did Piaget mean by readiness?
the idea that children should be introduced to new concepts only when they have reached the appropriate cognitive stage to understand them. This ensures that instruction is developmentally appropriate.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Piaget described children’s learning as child-as-scientist’ - what did he mean by this?
children actively construct their understanding of the world through exploration, experimentation, and trial and error, much like scientists who form and test hypotheses.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is object permanence and during which stage does it develop?
Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. This concept develops during the Sensorimotor stage (around 8 months).
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Define conservation in
Piaget’s theory and provide an example.
the realisation that the quantity or volume of an object remains the same despite changes in its appearance or arrangement.
For example, when liquid is poured from a short, wide glass into a taller, thinner one, pre-operational children often believe the quantity has changed.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
How does the concrete operational stage differ from the pre-operational stage?
In the concrete operational stage, children develop logical thinking about concrete objects. They understand conservation, can perform mental operations such as addition and subtraction, and overcome egocentric thinking-though their reasoning is still limited to tangible, present objects.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What characterizes the formal operational stage of cognitive development?
The formal operational stage is marked by the emergence of abstract and hypothetical thinking. Adolescents can perform tasks like syllogisms and engage in systematic problem-solving (e.g., the Pendulum Task) that requires isolating and testing variables.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Describe Piaget’s process of schema development.
Schema development involves three key processes: assimilation (integrating new information into existing schemas), accommodation (modifying existing schemas when new information doesn’t fit), and equilibration (the drive to restore balance in understanding after experiencing cognitive conflict).
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
How does Piaget’s theory inform modern educational practices?
Piaget’s theory supports stage-appropriate teaching. It emphasizes readiness to learn, discovery learning, and active exploration. Educators tailor activities to the cognitive stage of students-for example, using hands-on materials for pre-operational children and abstract problem-solving tasks for formal operational adolescents.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is egocentrism in the context of the pre-operational stage, and how is it demonstrated?
Egocentrism is the tendency of young children to view the world solely from their own perspective. It is famously demonstrated in tasks like the Three Mountains Task, where children cannot accurately describe what
another person sees.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
What is centration, and how does it affect a child’s performance on conservation tasks?
the tendency to focus on one prominent aspect of a situation while ignoring others. This focus can cause children in the pre-operational stage to make errors in conservation tasks, such as focusing solely on the height of liquid in a container and neglecting its width.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Explain class inclusion and its significance in Piaget’s theory.
the understanding that an object can simultaneously belong to a subset and a larger category (e.g., recognizing that dogs are nimals). Young children often struggle with this concept, tending t ocus on the subset (e.g., saying there are more dogs than animals
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
Strength
P: One strength of applying Piaget’s theory to education is that it revolutionized teaching methods, shifting from rote memorization to a more active, student-centered approach.
E: Inhelder & Piaget (1958) demonstrated that children think differently at different stages, emphasizing the need for stage-appropriate teaching strategies.
E: As a result, many primary schools now use discovery learning, where children explore concepts through hands-on activities rather than passively receiving information. This approach aligns with Piaget’s theory that children develop cognitive skills through active exploration, allowing them to build knowledge based on their developmental stage.
L: This demonstrates that Piaget’s theory has had a profound and lasting impact on modern education, validating the idea that children should be introduced to concepts appropriate for their cognitive development, leading to better understanding and retention of information.
- Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development
limitations
P: A limitation of Piaget’s research is that his experimental methods were flawed and could have misled participants.
E: For example, McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974) found that when coins were moved “accidentally” by a “naughty teddy,” 60% of six-year-olds showed conservation, compared to only 16% in Piaget’s original study.
E: Piaget’s deliberate spread of coins and repeated questioning may have led children to believe the quantity had changed, affecting their responses. Furthermore, his lack of standardization and failure to perform statistical analyses raised concerns about the reliability of his findings.
L: These issues suggest that Piaget’s flawed methods reduce the reliability of his conclusions, highlighting the need for clearer instructions and more rigorous controls.
P: A limitation of Piaget’s concept of egocentrism is that it has been challenged by contradictory findings.
E: Hughes (1975) found that three-year-olds could successfully hide a doll from a single policeman, contradicting Piaget’s notion of egocentrism.
E: Hughes’ study used a more intuitive setup compared to Piaget’s abstract “three mountains” task, likely reducing confusion and showing children had more perspective-taking abilities than Piaget proposed.
L: This suggests Piaget may have underestimated children’s abilities, limiting the validity of his conclusions about egocentrism.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development?
cognitive development is a social process where learning occurs through interactions with more knowledgeable others (MKOs) and is mediated by cultural tools such as language.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
How does Vygotsky’s theory differ from Piaget’s?
While both theorists agree that reasoning abilities develop sequentially, Vygotsky stresses that development is socially mediated and heavily reliant on language and cultural context, whereas Piaget emphasizes individual discovery and maturation.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD)?
The ZPD is the range between what a child can do independently (current ability) and what they can achieve with guidance (potential ability), representing the optimal “sweet spot” for learning.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What is scaffolding in Vygotsky’s theory?
Scaffolding refers to the temporary support provided by a more knowledgeable other to help a learner complete tasks within their PD.
This support is gradually removed as the learner gains competence.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What role does language play in Vygotsky’s theory?
Language is a primary cultural tool in Vygotsky’s theory. It begins as external speech for communication, evolves into egocentric speech for self-guidance, and is eventually internalized as inner speech that underpins internal thought and reasoning.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What does internalization mean in this context?
Internalization is the process by which external, social interactions and language are transformed into internal cognitive functions, forming the basis for higher mental processes.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What are Vygotsky’s stages of concept formation?
the Vague-Syncretic Stage (a trial-and-error approach)
the Complex Stage (using systematic strategies without yet isolating key attributes
the Potential Concept Stage identifying individual attributes)
the Mature Concept Stage (integrating multiple attributes into an abstract concept).
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
What does the “Child as a
Scientist” vs “Child as an Apprentice” analogy illustrate?
highlights that while children actively construct knowledge like scientists through exploration and discovery, they also learn effectively through guided practice and social interaction like apprentices.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
strengths
P: A strength of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the emphasis on social interaction in learning, supported by research on scaffolding.
E: Roazzi and Bryant (1998) found that children who worked with an older peer or adult to estimate the number of sweets in a box performed significantly better than when working alone.
E: This supports Vygotsky’s concept of the ZPD, showing that children can reach higher cognitive levels when guided by a more knowledgeable other. It highlights how social collaboration aids cognitive development by internalizing problem-solving strategies.
L: This demonstrates that Vygotsky’s theory provides a valid explanation of learning, emphasizing the role of social interaction in cognitive growth, making it highly applicable in educational settings.
P: A strength of Vygotsky’s theory is its focus on the role of knowledgeable others in learning, supported by research on peer tutoring.
E: Van Keer and Verhaeghe (2005) found that seven-year-olds who received tutoring from ten-year-olds made greater progress in reading comprehension than those who worked independently.
E: This supports Vygotsky’s concept of the ZPD, highlighting how expert guidance accelerates cognitive growth and reinforcing Vygotsky’s view of learning as a collaborative process.
L: However, Liu and Matthews (2005) found that Chinese classrooms with over 50 students still achieved high academic performance with limited individual scaffolding, challenging Vygotsky’s universality. This suggests that other models of learning may also contribute to cognitive development.
- Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development
limitations
P: A limitation of Vygotsky’s theory is its overemphasis on socio-cultural influences while neglecting biological factors in cognitive development.
E: cross-cultural studies show that children progress through cognitive stages in the same sequence, suggesting a biologically driven process rather than one solely shaped by culture.
E: This implies that Vygotsky underestimated the role of innate cognitive structures and maturational processes, which are essential for higher mental functions. By downplaying biological influences, his theory lacks explanatory power for universal patterns of intellectual growth.
L: Therefore, while Vygotsky’s focus on social and cultural influences is valuable, his theory doesn’t fully address the interaction between biological maturation and social experience, limiting its validity in explaining cognitive development comprehensively.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
What is the main difference between Piaget’s and Baillargeon’s views on object permanence?
Piaget argued that object permanence develops gradually during the sensorimotor stage (around 8-12 months) and is measured by observable behaviors like searching, whereas Baillargeon’s research shows that infants as young as 3.5-5 months exhibit an understanding of object permanence, as revealed by longer looking times in violation of expectation tasks.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
What is the Violation of
Expectation (VOE)
paradigm and how is it used in infant cognition research?
The VOE paradigm presents infants with both expected and unexpected events, measuring their looking times. Longer looking times at unexpected events suggest that infants are surprised when events violate their innate expectations about physical laws.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
How did Baillargeon et al. (1985) design their study on infant object permanence?
Infants were shown a series of events where an object behaved either consistently with or in violation of physical laws. The study used looking time as the dependent variable to assess whether infants noticed when an event contradicted expected physical behaviour.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
What were the key findings regarding looking times in Baillargeon’s VOE study?
The study found that infants looked longer at unexpected events (an average of 33 seconds) compared to expected events (around 25 seconds), indicating that infants detected a violation of their expectations about object continuity.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
define the PRS - Infant Physical Reasoning System
The PRS is an innate or early-developing system that equips infants with core knowledge about the physical world, including basic rules such as object permanence and how objects should behave.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
define object permanence
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible; traditionally believed to develop around 8-12 months, but shown by Baillargeon to emerge as early as 3.5-5 months.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
Define Containment
A concept in which an object is placed inside a container and is expected to remain there, helping researchers assess infants’ understanding of physical consistency.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
Define Occlusion Paradigm
An experimental setup in which an object is partially or completely hidden by another object, used to assess infants’ understanding of object permanence.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
Define Core Knowledge Theory
The idea that infants are born with an inherent, basic understanding of the world, which serves as a foundation for later learning rather than being entirely acquired through experience.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
define Violation of Expectation (VOE) Paradigm
A research method that presents infants with expected and unexpected events; longer looking times at unexpected events indicate that infants notice when physical laws are violated.
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
strengths
P: A strength of Baillargeon’s violation of expectation (VOE) method is its more accurate measure of infant cognition by removing motor demands.
E: Piaget’s task required active searching, potentially underestimating cognitive ability. The VOE method, requiring only observation, shows infants as young as three to four months look longer at impossible events, suggesting earlier awareness of physical principles.
E: Bowers & Wishart (1972) found that infants searched for objects in the dark, implying object permanence.
L: However, looking time may reflect perceptual novelty rather than cognitive understanding, limiting its validity.
P: A strength of the Physical Reasoning System (PRS) is evidence suggesting it’s universal, indicating an innate foundation for understanding the physical world.
E: Infants show early cognitive behaviors like sucking and gripping, and quickly grasp basic physical principles like gravity and object permanence.
E: Hespos and van Marle (2012) found core physical principles evident early, supporting the idea of innate cognitive structures.
L: This universal evidence strengthens the claim that the PRS is innate, providing a foundation for learning about the physical world
- Baillergon’s Explanation of Infant Abilities
limitations
P: A limitation of Baillargeon’s violation of expectation (VOE) research is the difficulty in drawing causal conclusions about infant cognition.
E: Differences in looking time between possible and impossible conditions may not indicate reasoning about physical principles. Variations in visual attention could be due to stimulus novelty, perceptual salience, or curiosity, not cognitive understanding.
E: Baillargeon assumes infants react to violated expectations in a way that reflects cognitive understanding, but it’s unclear whether infants even form expectations about physical events.
L: This casts doubt on the validity of the VOE paradigm as a definitive measure of cognitive reasoning and challenges the conclusions drawn about early cognitive abilities.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
What is social cognition and why is perspective-taking considered a key element of it?
Social cognition refers to the mental processes by which individuals understand and process information about themselves
and others. Perspective-taking is key because it enables individuals to make sense of social situations by considering different viewpoints.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
How does Selman’s theory of perspective-taking differ from Piaget’s view of cognitive development?
Piaget proposed a domain-general approach, suggesting that physical and social perspective-taking develop simultaneously. In contrast, Selman argued that social perspective-taking is a domain-specific process that develops independently.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
What was the primary aim of Selman’s 1971 study on perspective-taking?
to investigate how children’s ability to take another person’s perspective develops with age and to determine whether their understanding of social situations improves as they mature.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
Describe the procedure used by Selman (1971) to assess perspective-taking in children.
-involved 30 boys and 30 girls across different age groups (4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds).
-Children were presented with scenarios-such as the “Holly” scenario— in which they were asked to predict and explain how different individuals might feel or think in a given situation.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
What were the key findings of Selman’s
1971 study regarding children’s perspective-taking abilities?
younger children (around 4-6 years) were largely egocentric, struggling to see others’ viewpoints. Older children (around 7 and above demonstrated more advanced skills, supporting the idea of a stage-like progression in perspective-taking.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
What characterizes
Stage 0 (Egocentric) in Selman’s model, and what is its typical age range?
occurring from about 3 to 6 years of age. Children at this stage assume that everyone thinks and feels the same way they do, showing little or no ability to see things from another’s perspective.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
What defines Stage 1 (Social-Informational) in Selman’s model, and what is the age range for this stage?
typically seen in children aged 6-8 years, children begin to understand that others may have different perspectives-but they often attribute these differences solely to a lack of information rather than considering multiple viewpoints simultaneously.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
Describe Stage 2 (Self-Reflective) in Selman’s theory and indicate its age range.
ages 8-10 , children start to step into another person’s shoes and appreciate another’s thoughts and feelings. However, they generally can only consider one perspective at a time-either their own or that of the other person.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
What are the defining features of Stage 3 (Mutual) in the development of perspective-taking?
aged 10-12, is marked by the ability to consider multiple perspectives at the same time.
Children in this stage can even incorporate a neutral third person’s viewpoint when evaluating a situation.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
Explain Stage 4
(Societal/Conventional ) in Selman’s perspective-taking stages.
aged 12 and above, adolescents and adults understand that perspectives are influenced by broader social, cultural, and moral factors. They recognise that differing social groups may hold conflicting viewpoints based on these factors.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
strengths
P: A strength of Selman’s theory is its application in understanding atypical development, particularly in conditions like ADHD and autism.
E: Marton et al. (2009) found that children with ADHD struggled with perspective-taking tasks, linking these difficulties to atypical development.
E: This supports Selman’s theory by showing how perspective-taking issues contribute to social difficulties in ADHD and autism, emphasizing the theory’s relevance for understanding neurodivergent individuals.
L: However, perspective-taking difficulties may also involve emotional regulation and executive function deficits, so while Selman’s theory is useful, it may not fully capture the complexity of these conditions.
P: A strength of Selman’s theory is its real-world application in conflict resolution and education.
E: Walker and Selman (1998) showed that encouraging perspective-taking can reduce aggression, and Selman’s theory aids in determining when children are ready for teamwork in sports.
E: This demonstrates the practical use of Selman’s stages in promoting empathy and collaboration, highlighting its impact in both educational and social contexts.
L: However, the effectiveness of Selman’s theory may also depend on emotional and social factors beyond cognitive development, suggesting it may need to be integrated with other approaches for full effectiveness.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
limitation
P: A limitation of Selman’s theory is that it may underestimate the role of cultural influences in perspective-taking development.
E: Wu and Keysar (2007) found that Chinese children performed better on perspective-taking tasks than matched American children, suggesting cultural factors influence social cognition.
E: This challenges Selman’s theory, which emphasizes cognitive maturation, by highlighting how cultural norms and socialization impact perspective-taking ability.
L: Therefore, while Selman’s theory is useful, it may lack generalisability, as it overlooks the cultural and environmental factors that also shape perspective-taking, indicating the need for a broader approach.
- Social Cognition 1: Selman’s Levels of Perspective-Taking
Define Domain-General Cognitive Development and Domain-Specific Cognitive Development
Domain-General Cognitive Development: Piaget’s theory that cognitive abilities develop uniformly across different areas, meaning that both social and physical reasoning emerge together.
Domain-Specific Cognitive Development: The idea, championed by Selman, that social perspective-taking develops separately from other cognitive abilities.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
What is Theory of Mind (ToM) and how is it defined?
Theory of Mind is the ability to attribute mental states-such as beliefs, desires, intentions, and emotions-to oneself and others, recognizing that these states may differ between people. This definition was originally introduced by Premack & Woodruff (1978).
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
At what age do children begin to show aspects of ToM?
basic intentionality can be observed as early as 7-9 months (Baron-Cohen, 1991) while 18-month-old toddlers, as demonstrated by Meltzoff (1988), begin to understand and copy adult intentions. Full ToM abilities are typically evident by the age of 3-4 years.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
How do the findings from the Sally-Anne Task contribute to our understanding of autism?
The task demonstrates that many individuals with autism struggle with attributing false beliefs, which may underlie their difficulties with social interaction and communication, thereby providing a potential explanation for the social challenges seen in autism.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
What are false belief tasks and what do they assess?
False belief tasks are designed to test whether children recognize that others can hold beliefs that are not true.
A classic example is the Maxi chocolate task, where younger children (around 3 years) wrongly choose a new location for the chocolate, whereas older children (around 4 years) correctly recall its original location.
(Wimmer & Perner, 1983)
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
What does intentional reasoning in toddlers involve?
IR involves understanding that behavior is driven by intentions. For example, toddlers may predict actions (like expecting someone in a green coat to take their dog for a walk) and imitate adults to capture the intended outcome of an action.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
What is the Sally-Anne Task and how does it work?
requires children to predict where a character (Sally) will look for a hidden object based on her false belief. In the study by Baron-Cohen et al. (1985), 85% of neurotypical children and children with Down syndrome answered correctly, compared to only 20% of children with autism, indicating a specific ToM impairment in autism.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
What is the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task and what does it reveal?
This task asks participants to infer emotions from just the eye region of faces. The study by Baron-Cohen et al. (1997) found that adults on the autism spectrum had a lower mean score (16.3 out of 25) compared to neurotypical participants (20.3 out of 25), highlighting subtle deficits in social cognition.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
Define Biological maturation
The idea that ToM develops in tandem with natural brain and cognitive growth. Evidence includes observations that children typically pass false belief tasks around age 3-4, suggesting ToM emerges alongside neural development.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
Define Social-Interactionist Perspective
Emphasizes the role of interpersonal experiences
and communication in shaping ToM. Interaction with caregivers, peers, and broader social contexts provides the scaffolding needed for the child’s understanding of others’ mental states.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
Strengths
P: A strength of the innate theory of ToM is that there is robust evidence linking its development to biological maturation.
E: Perner et al. (2002) and Piaget’s framework show that as children’s brains mature, more sophisticated ToM abilities emerge. This is supported by cross-cultural studies like Liu et al. (2004), which find a consistent developmental sequence across cultures.
E: This supports the idea that ToM is an innate ability linked to neurological growth, rather than solely shaped by environmental factors.
L: However, a Vygotskian interpretation, such as Astington’s (1998), suggests social interactions also play a crucial role, indicating that while biological factors are foundational, social experiences are also important in ToM development.
- Social Cognition 2: Theory of Mind
Limitations
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What are mirror neurons, and how were they first identified?
-specialised brain cells observed to fire both when an individual performs an action and when that same action is merely observed in someone else.
-initially found by researchers studying the premotor cortex in monkeys, where certain cells became active during both execution and observation of a grasping movement.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Why were these cells given the term “mirror” neurons?
named “mirror” neurons because they reflect or “mirror” the actions of others in the observer’s own motor system, as though the observer is mentally simulating the action they see.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
How might mirror neurons be linked to understanding the intentions behind actions?
mirror neurons allow a person to simulate someone else’s actions in their own motor system. By doing so, the person can infer the goals or intentions behind what they observe, helping them interpret why another individual is performing a particular action.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
In what way could mirror neurons support perspective-taking and theory of mind?
By firing in response to both observed and personally performed actions, these neurons could create a shared neural experience that fosters an understanding of someone else’s point of view. This simulation of another’s emotions, intentions, or thoughts may support higher-level social abilities, such as theory of mind.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
How might mirror neurons have been important in human evolutionary development?
they facilitated complex social interactions by enabling individuals to decode and predict the actions and emotional states of others.
This capacity for sophisticated social understanding is thought to have helped humans cooperate in large groups and develop intricate cultural practices.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What does the “broken mirror theory” of autism propose?
suggets dysfunctions in the mirror neuron system may disrupt the normal ability to imitate and interpret social cues. From early childhood, these neural differences could make it more challenging to understand others’ expressions and intentions, contributing to social and communication difficulties.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What evidence supports the idea that mirror neurons are involved when people imitate or understand facial expressions?
Recordings from individual neurons in certain brain regions have shown that the same cells fire when people produce a facial expression and when they watch someone else produce it. This indicates a close connection between personal experience of an expression and the observation of that expression in others.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Which brain regions have been commonly associated with mirror neuron activity in humans?
-the inferior frontal gyrus
-the premotor cortex
These areas consistently show increased activity when people observe or perform actions, including those that convey intentions and emotional states.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What is mu desynchronization, and how does it relate to mirror neurons?
Mu desynchronization is a reduction in a certain EEG rhythm (8-13 Hz) recorded over sensorimotor regions of the scalp. It happens when a person performs an action or observes another person performing the same action, offering indirect evidence that the motor system is engaged during action observation.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
How does brain imaging research suggest a connection between mirror neurons and empathy?
Studies have reported increased activity in regions rich in mirror neurons when individuals witness actions or experiences that elicit an empathetic response, such as yawning or inferring someone’s emotions. This pattern of activation implies a neural mechanism for sharing or resonating with others’ states.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What patterns have been identified in individuals on the autism spectrum regarding mirror neuron-related brain regions?
Structural differences like reduced volume in certain frontal areas, as well as decreased activation in these regions when viewing emotional expressions, have been reported. These findings point toward a possible link between atypical mirror neuron function and the social challenges seen in autism.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What limitations exist in studying mirror neurons solely with methods such as
MRI or EEG?
MRI measure broad changes in blood flow rather than pinpointing individual neuron activity.
EEG can detect electrical changes over large brain areas but lacks precise spatial resolution. Both are considered indirect measures, so it can be difficult to confirm which exact cells are firing.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Why are single-unit recordings in humans rare, and what do they show about mirror neuron activity?
They require direct access to the brain, typically possible only in clinical contexts like pre-surgical mapping for epilepsy. These rare opportunities have shown that individual neurons in certain frontal and temporal areas can respond during both executed and observed actions, supporting the existence of mirror-like responses in humans.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Why is there debate about whether mirror neurons are the definitive explanation for autism?
While some findings point to functional or structural differences in mirror neuron areas in autism, others are inconsistent or difficult to interpret. It remains challenging to isolate mirror neuron dysfunction as the sole or primary cause, so more research is needed to draw firm conclusions.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
How have some proposed strengthening the mirror neuron system in individuals on the autism spectrum?
One suggestion is the use of imitation or mirroring
exercises, where individuals practice copying the actions or facial expressions of others. The idea is that repeatedly engaging the mirror neuron system could enhance its functioning and potentially improve social skills.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What broader significance do mirror neurons have for social cognition research?
They offer a possible neural basis for how individuals understand and learn from each other, influencing theories about empathy, language development, intention reading, and the complexity of human social interaction. However, the extent of their contribution continues to be investigated.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
What is an example of a behavior often linked to mirror neurons that many people experience in daily life?
Contagious yawning.
Observing someone yawn can trigger a yawn in oneself, highlighting a possible mirror mechanism that aligns observation with internal motor plans.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Why is correlational evidence from imaging studies not enough to confirm a causal role of mirror neurons in social cognition?
Imaging typically shows that certain brain regions activate alongside specific tasks or experiences, but activation alone does not prove these neurons cause the behavior or experience. Other factors could be contributing, and direct manipulation or more precise measurement is needed to establish causation.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Strengths
P: A strength of the evidence on mirror neurons is the robust link to social cognition.
E: Haker et al. (2012) and Iacoboni et al. (2005) found increased activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (rich in mirror neurons) during tasks like contagious yawning and interpreting hand gestures, supporting their role in empathy and intention understanding.
E: This suggests that mirror neurons are crucial for processing social cues and understanding others’ mental states.
L: However, since these studies are correlational, further research is needed to confirm a causal relationship between mirror neuron activity and social cognition.
P: A strength of the motor neuron hypothesis in autism is the identification of brain anomalies linked to the mirror neuron system.
E: Hadjikhani (2007) and Dapretto et al. (2006) found structural and functional abnormalities in the inferior frontal gyrus, which may explain social deficits in autism.
E: These findings suggest a biological basis for autism’s social and communication challenges.
L: However, Hamilton’s (2013) review found inconsistencies in the imaging evidence, requiring further validation of these findings before making conclusive links between mirror neurons and autism.
- Social Cognition 3: Mirror Neurons
Limitations
P: A limitation of mirror neuron research is the difficulty in studying these neurons due to the reliance on non-invasive imaging techniques.
E: Most evidence comes from fMRI studies, such as Iacoboni et al. (2005), which tracks blood oxygenation rather than directly measuring neuronal activity. Mukamel et al. (2010) used single-unit recordings to observe mirror neuron activity, but this study involved pre-surgical epileptic patients, limiting its generalizability.
E: Other techniques, like EEG studies on mu desynchronization, lack the spatial resolution to confirm cellular activity, further limiting the precision of the findings.
L: Therefore, while fMRI and EEG provide valuable insights, the lack of spatial resolution in these methods hinders our ability to fully understand mirror neuron activity and its validity.
