test 2 Flashcards
what is cognition
the activity of knowing and the processes through which knowledge is acquired
cognition development
changes that occur in mental abilities over the lifespan
- attention and perception
- learning, thinking, and remembering
how similar are humans and primates
99% genetically similar
similarities shown in the video
ability to do simple problem solving, using tools, social politics, imitate
what sets humans and chimps apart
social skills (working together), abstract thinking
methods the video used to demonstrate the differences between human and chimp thinking
pointing, having young children and chimps do the same task and showing differences
what is the primates awareness of the mind and of others
they don’t think of others as thinking cognitive creatures and refer to them as part of the environment
primate stealing food
always took from the one that wasn’t looking
what are the four stages of Piaget’s Cognitive Development
- the sensorimotor stage
- the preoperational stage
- the concrete operational stage
- the formal operational stage
the sensorimotor stage
birth -2
development of problem-solving abilities
imitation
object conception
the preoperational stage
2-7 realizing one thing represents another language pretend play egocentrism-perspective taking
the concrete operational stage
7-11
- internal mental activity to modify symbols to reach a logical conclusion
- conservation: capable of decentering and reversibility
the formal operational stage
11- and up
-detuctive reasoning
ability to generate hypothesis and use deductive reasoning
an evaluation of Piaget’s theory
founded cognitive development
stated children construct their knowledge
first attempt to explain development
challenges to Piaget
failed to distinguish competence from performance
does cognition development really occur in stages
Vygotsky
- believed that children acquire their cultures
- cognitive development involves dialogues with skilled partners may be less adaptive in some instances than others
- more a perspective, not a theory with as many testable hypotheses as Piaget
ontogenetic development
development of an individual over his or her lifetime
micro-genetic development
changes over relatively brief periods of time
phylogenetic development
changes over evolutionary time
sociohistorical development
changes in one’s culture
summary of Vygotsky
more of a perspective, not a theory with as many testable hypotheses as Piaget
information processing theory
analogy of the mind as a computer
information flows through a limited-capacity system of mental hardware and software
hardware
brain and nervous system
software
mental rules and strategies
mental intelligence
a trait (or set of traits) that allows some people to think and solve problems more effectively than others
influences of mental intelligence
heredity and environmental factors
temperament
individual differences in emotional, motor, and attentional reactivity and self-regulation
types of temperament
fearful, distress, irritable distress, positive affect/sociability, activity level, attention span? persistence, rhythmicity
how to define temperament
stability of temperament (activity levels and behavior inhibition)
emotional development
displaying emotions
emotions present at birth
interest, distress, disgust, contentment
emotions present at 2-7 months
anger, sadness, joy, surprise, and fear
emotions present at the middle of second year
embarrassment, shame, pride, guilt, and envy
how children learn emotional reactions
they learn through watching their parents reactions to certain situations, they also learn through how parents react to their reactions
attachment
strong affectional ties that we feel with special people in our lives
types of attachment
the Asoscial phase, the phase of indiscriminate attachment, the specific attachment phase, the phase of multiple attachment
The Asocial Phase
(0-6 weeks)
social and nonsocial stimuli produce positive reactions
the phase of indiscriminate attachment
(6 weeks -6/7 months)
favor people, but any person is OK
the specific attachment phase
(7-9 months)
first true attachment, favor one person, secure base for exploration
the phase of multiple attachments
(9-18 months)
attachment to other people, additional family members, regular babysitter
