Problem 2

Question 1

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

Answer 1

1. Sensorimotor intelligence (0-2y)
2. Preoperational thought (2y - 7y)
3. Concrete operational thought (7y - 11y)
4. Formal operations (11y - adulthood)

Question 2

What are the phases of the Sensorimotor intelligence?

Answer 2

1. the use of reflexes; 0 - 1m
2. primary circular reaction (repeated actions liks sucking on hand); 1m - 4m
3. secondary circular reactions (more delibarate actinos and objects get involved); 4m - 10m
4. coordniation of secondary schemas (kids start using schemas and shos more complicated behaviour); 8m - 12m
5. tertiary circular reactions (plays with toys in different ways; objec permanence); 12m - 18m
6. beginning of mental representation (kids learn to create mental paths and leart to connect words); 18m - 2y

Question 3

What is the preoperational thought?

Answer 3

• symbolic play
• kids are egocentric
• three mountain study
• two substages: symbolic function + intuitive thought)

Question 4

What is symbolic substage?

Answer 4

Child begins to mentally represent objects when they are not present

Question 5

What are the limitations of thought in the symbolic function substage?

Answer 5

• egocentrism: inability to distinghuis between one’s own persepctive and someone else’s persepective
• animism: the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action

Question 6

What is the intuitive thought substage?

Answer 6

Characterized by child asking a lot of questions about why somehting happens or is as it is also characeterized by centration

Question 7

What is centration?

Answer 7

Happens in intuitive thought substage of stage 2 (=preoparational thought), means childs focuses their attention on one charactersitic and exclude all other characteristics

Question 8

What is the concrete operational thought stage?

Answer 8

• 7y - 11y
• dominated by logic to solve real, actual problems
• reversiblitiy: reversible thinking on real conrete objects, mentally reverse things that happen in real life
• characterized by classification, seriation and transitivity
• getting to know the understanding of the interrelation among sets and subsets

Question 9

What is seriation?

Answer 9

Ordering of stimuli along a quantitive dimension, like lenght

Question 10

What is transivitiy?

Answer 10

Ability to reason about and logically combine the relationships

Question 11

What does the formal operations stage entails?

Answer 11

• Go from concrete to more abstract understandings, see a bigger picture than just their own experiences/phuscial world aroung them
• characterized by abstract thinking, idealism, logical thinking, adolescent egocentrism

Question 12

What is abstract thinking?

Answer 12

Verbal problem-solving ability, thinking about thought itself

Question 13

What is idealism?

Answer 13

Qualities one desires in themselves and in others = comparisons

Question 14

What is logical thinking?

Answer 14

Devising plans to solve problems and systematically testing solutions –> hypothetical-dedictive reasonging: develop hypotheses, or best guassses, and systematically deduce, or conlcude, which is the best path to follow in solving the problem

Question 15

What is adolscent egocentrism?

Answer 15

• In puberty you are very self consicoius and it feels like everyone is always awar of you and your presence
• imaginiary audience: you feel like you have to perfro attention-getting behiaovur because you have a need to be noticed
• personal fable: feeling of uniqueness and invicbility

Question 16

Assimiliation

Answer 16

incoporating new information into an existing scheme

Question 17

Accomodatino

Answer 17

adjusting scheme to fit new information into it

Question 18

Conservation

Answer 18

The realization that altering an object’s or substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties

Question 19

Critiques on Piaget’s theory

Answer 19

• very rigid on age (some babies have some idea of conservation befor Piaget theorised and some adults never fully develop into stage 4)
• underestimates abilities of children (especially regarding empathy)
• culture has more impact on development than Piaget thought

Question 20

What is the neo-piagetian theory?

Answer 20

• Piaget original model combined with cognitive information-processing
• more about social/environmental factors that impact development

Question 21

What is the zone of proximal development?

Answer 21

The range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alon but can be learned trhough guidance and assistance of an adult or child with more skilss

Question 22

What is scaffolding?

Answer 22

• how adult and older children try to advance a child’s abilities
• means changing the level of support, adjusting the amount of guidance to fit the child’s current performance over the coures of teaching session

Question 23

What is Vygotsky’s view on education?

Answer 23

• education plays a cenral role, helping children learn the tools of the culture
• learning drives development

Question 24

What is Piaget’s view on eduaction?

Answer 24

Education merely refines the child’s cognitive skills that have already emerged

Question 25

What is the role of teachers according to Vygotsky?

Answer 25

The teacher is a facilitator and guide, not a directior. The teacher establishes many opportunities for children to learn with the teacher and more-skilled peers.

Question 26

What is the role of the teacher according to Piaget?

Answer 26

Teacher is a facilitator and guide, not a director. The teacher provides support for children to explore their wordl and discover knowledge

Question 27

Difference between social constructivism and cognitive constructivism

Answer 27

• Piaget = cognitive constructivism
• Vygotsky = social constructivism
• sc concerned with the ways in which knowledge is constructed through social interactoin
• cc concerced with understanding metnal represtations –> schemes

Question 28

What is private speech and what are the views of Piaget and Vygotsky?

Answer 28

• private speech = language children use to plan, guide and monitor their behaviour, it is a form of self-regulation
• Piaget –> private speech is egocentric and immature
• Vygotsky –> private speech is an important tool of thought during early childhood

Question 29

What are the critiques on Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 29

• not specific enought about age related changes
• overemphasised the role of language and thinking
• doesn’t adequaltey describe how change in socio-economic abilities contribute to cognitve development