The expected patterns of cognitive development

Question 1

What does cognitive development mean?

Answer 1

Developing the skills that are linked to thinking. These include information processing, which is about the way information is taken in using our senses (sensory processing) and stored in our memories. The ability to remember or retrieve information is linked to this process.

Question 2

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 0-12 months?

Answer 2

• Be able to focus on objects up to 30cm away.
• Becoming aware of physical sensations such as hunger and thirst
• Increasing interest in the environment and playing with objects
• from 8 months, looks for an object that has been seen and then
  hidden in front of them (object permanence)

Question 3

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 1-2 years old

Answer 3

• Understanding and responding to simple instructions from others
• Able to identify familiar objects in books
• Able to remember and repeat past events

Question 4

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 2-3 years old?

Answer 4

• Can categorise objects
• Can name familiar objects in books
• Able to sort blocks from smallest to largest

Question 5

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 3-5 years old?

Answer 5

• Able to organise objects by shape, colour and size
• increasingly curious and asks questions to gather information
• Understands the concept of past and present

Question 6

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 5-7 years old?

Answer 6

• Understanding the concept of space, time and dimensions.
• Can carry out simple addition and subtraction
• Beginning to reason and debate with others.

Question 7

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 7-11 years old?

Answer 7

• Able to read and write
• Able to play games with rules
• Can tell the time from around 8 years old
• Can take about hypothetical events
• Able to do some mental maths

Question 8

What are the typical cognitive skills developed at ages 11-16?

Answer 8

+ in some situations, able to be systematic to solve problems, e.g. searching for a lost object carefully and taking time
- developing the ability to predict and speculate
- enjoys discussing complex issues such as whether everyone should earn the same wage
- speed increases on some tasks as memory and processing skills develop, e.g. quicker to spot matching cards in games
- playing games requiring strategy + able to analyse information and draw conclusions