Piaget And Vygotsky Walk Into A Bar Flashcards
What is Piaget’s Constructivist Theory?
Cognitive development relies on biological maturation and experience; it is an active process where a child constructs knowledge by interacting with the environment.
What motivates cognitive development according to Piaget?
Equilibration, an innate drive toward a state of equilibrium between current ways of thinking and the environment.
What are the two processes involved in adaptation?
- Assimilation
- Accommodation
Define assimilation in Piaget’s theory.
When a child attempts to understand a new object or situation using an existing cognitive schema.
Define accommodation in Piaget’s theory.
When a child modifies an existing cognitive schema or creates a new schema to fit a new object or situation.
What are Piaget’s four universal stages of cognitive development?
- Sensorimotor
- Preoperational
- Concrete operational
- Formal operational
What is the age range for the sensorimotor stage?
Birth to about 2 years of age.
What is object permanence?
The ability to recognize that people and objects continue to exist even when they can’t be seen or heard.
What is representational thought?
The ability to use mental images, gestures, and words to represent people, objects, and events.
What occurs during the preoperational stage?
Children engage in representational thought and more sophisticated make-believe play.
What is egocentrism?
The inability to understand that other people don’t experience things the same way one does.
What is magical thinking?
The belief that just thinking about something can make it happen.
What is centration?
The tendency to focus on one aspect of an object or situation to the exclusion of all other aspects.
What is the age range for the concrete operational stage?
About 7 to 12 years of age.
What is conservation in cognitive development?
The understanding that certain physical characteristics of an object stay the same when the object’s outward appearance changes.
What is horizontal decalage?
The gradual development of a skill within a single stage of development.
What is the age range for the formal operational stage?
Begins at about 12 years of age and continues into adulthood.
What is hypothetical-deductive reasoning?
The ability to derive and test alternative hypotheses to determine the solution to a problem.
What are the two characteristics of adolescent egocentrism identified by Elkind?
- Imaginary audience
- Personal fable
True or False: Piaget’s theory suggests cognitive development is a continuous process.
False
What criticism has been made regarding Piaget’s theory?
It underestimates the abilities of infants and young children.
Fill in the blank: Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are classified as _______.
discontinuous
What is deferred imitation?
The ability to remember the actions of other people and imitate those actions at a later time.
What does the preoperational child’s thought process lead to?
Transductive reasoning and limitations in conservation.
What role do peers play in cognitive development according to Piaget?
They help children reach new conclusions and adopt new perspectives.
What does Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory emphasize about cognitive development?
Cognitive development is influenced by social and cultural factors
Vygotsky proposed that cognitive development occurs first on an interpersonal level and then on an intrapersonal level.
What is private speech according to Vygotsky?
Speech that children utter aloud to guide their actions
Frequent use of private speech is associated with more effective problem-solving.
At what age does private speech begin to be replaced by inner speech?
About 7 years of age
Older children, adolescents, and adults may revert to private speech when faced with difficult tasks.
What is the zone of proximal development?
The gap between what a child can do independently and with assistance
Learning is most rapid when it occurs within this zone.
What is scaffolding in the context of Vygotsky’s theory?
Assistance provided to a child by another person
Effective scaffolding involves prompts, questions, and feedback rather than just providing answers.
What is the definition of Theory of Mind (ToM)?
The ability to explain and predict others’ behavior by attributing independent mental states
These states include beliefs and desires.
What age range is associated with the development of Theory of Mind?
Between 3 and 5 years of age
False-belief tasks are used to assess ToM development.
What is the misinformation effect?
When memories of an event are altered by exposure to misleading information
This effect contributes to the inaccuracy of eyewitness testimony.
How does suggestibility in eyewitness testimony change with age?
Suggestibility declines with increasing age
Young children’s testimony tends to be the least accurate.
What is childhood amnesia?
The inability of most adults to recall events from before the age of 3 or 4
Several explanations for this phenomenon have been proposed, including limited language skills and undeveloped sense of self.
What is the reminiscence bump?
Increased memory for events that occurred during mid-adolescence to mid-20s
This period is significant for adult identity formation.
Which type of memory experiences the greatest age-related decline in older adults?
Recent long-term (secondary) memory
This is followed by declines in working memory.
What are the two primary aspects of long-term memory?
Declarative and nondeclarative memory
Declarative memory includes episodic and semantic memories.
What is self-defining memory (SDM)?
Memories that contribute to the construction and maintenance of personal identity
SDMs are characterized by emotional intensity, vividness, and connections to enduring concerns.
How do older adults’ self-defining memories compare to those of younger adults?
Older adults’ SDMs are rated as more vivid and positive
They often include statements addressing lessons learned about themselves.
What is the synchrony effect?
Age-related differences in optimal performance times for cognitive tasks
Older adults perform better in the morning while younger adults peak in the late afternoon and evening.
Fill in the blank: According to Vygotsky, learning is most rapid when it occurs within a child’s _______.
zone of proximal development
True or False: Older adults show significant decline in semantic memory with age.
False
Semantic memory shows little or no age-related decline.
What have studies found regarding sex differences in cognitive abilities and personality traits?
Reliable differences are rare and, when they occur, are relatively small.
How do girls and boys compare in mathematical abilities by adolescence?
Girls outperform boys in computational skills; boys outperform girls in mathematical reasoning and problem-solving strategies.
In terms of verbal abilities, how do girls and boys perform?
Girls score higher on measures like speech fluency and reading; boys outperform girls on verbal analogies.
Which sex generally scores higher in visual/spatial abilities?
Boys obtain higher scores, especially in tasks requiring mental rotation.
What trend is observed regarding aggression between boys and girls?
Boys engage in more physical aggression from age 2; studies on relational aggression show inconsistent results.
What has research shown about self-esteem differences between genders?
Self-esteem is higher among males than females starting in late childhood, persisting into late adulthood.
Describe the lifespan trajectory of self-esteem for both genders.
Self-esteem is high in childhood, drops in adolescence, increases from late adolescence to middle adulthood, then declines in late adulthood.
How does the gender gap in self-esteem vary across cultures?
Larger in individualistic, developed countries; smaller in collectivistic, less developed countries.
What developmental vulnerabilities do boys face compared to girls?
Boys are more vulnerable to pre- and perinatal hazards, diseases, and developmental problems.
What are some developmental problems boys are more likely to experience?
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Intellectual disability
- Speech defects
What role do social and cultural factors play in cognitive abilities and personality traits?
They contribute to differences, alongside innate biological differences, influenced by gender-role stereotypes.
How do parents’ gender-role stereotypes affect their children’s math abilities?
- Expect sons to outperform daughters
- Attribute sons’ successes to ability, daughters’ to effort
What impact do children’s internalization of parental views have on their math skills?
Boys feel confident; girls tend to underestimate and feel anxious about their math skills.
What are the consequences of girls believing they lack math ability?
They tend to be uninterested in math and are less likely to take math classes or pursue math-related careers.
When does gender-typing by parents often begin?
Even before the birth of their offspring.
How do parents often prepare for the arrival of their infants based on biological sex?
- Choosing gender-stereotyped clothing and toys
- Decorating infants’ rooms in gender-consistent ways
How do parents perceive and treat newborns differently based on gender?
- Describe daughters as soft, delicate, and pretty
- Describe sons as strong, alert, and well-coordinated
As described by Piaget, the ability to conserve emerges during the concrete operational stage and depends on which of the following?
the emergence of reversibility of thought, decentration, and transformational thinking.
