Unit 3 - Chapter 6/7 Flashcards
Describe Piaget’s concept of Schema and give an example
Mental framework.
Cognitive structure.
Mental model of how world works.
e.g. Baby has schema “doggie” for furry four-legged animals.
Describe Piaget’s concept of Equilibration and give an example
Development proceeds as child seeks balance between existing schemas and novel experiences.
- Current schema is in equilibrium when it fits novel experience.
e.g. Baby calls Fido “doggie.”
Mommy calls Fido “doggie.”
Baby’s “doggie” schema is in equilibrium.
Describe Piaget’s concept of Assimilation and give an example
Child incorporates new information into existing schema.
* Novel experience is assimilated into current schema.
e.g. Baby doesn’t know what Rover is.
Mommy calls Rover “doggie.”
Baby assimilates Rover into “doggie” schema.
Describe Piaget’s concept of Accommodation
Child modifies schema to fit novel experience.
* Current schema is accommodated or changed when novel experience does not match existing schema.
e.g. Baby calls Sylvester “doggie.”
Mommy calls Sylvester “kitty.”
Baby accommodates “doggie” schema to exclude Sylvester.
What are Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor (0-2), Preoperational (2-7), Concrete Operations (7-11), Formal Operations 11+
Describe Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stage of Sensorimotor
0–2 years
How children learn: Senses, movement
eg. Shake rattle, put in mouth
Main Learning achievement: Object permanence
Limitations: Mental representation, symbols
Describe Piaget’s Cognitive Development stage of Pre-Operational
Age - 2-7
How they learn: Symbols, language, pretend play
eg. Use broom as horse
Main Learning Achievement: Language
Limitations: One dimension at a time, egocentrism, no conservation
Describe Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stage of Concrete Operations
Age 7–11 years
How they Learn: Rules, logic,
eg. Math, geometry
Main learning achievements: Conservation
Limitations: Abstract concepts
Describe Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stage of Formal Operations
Age 11+
How they learn: Abstract, hypothetical thinking
eg. Algebra, car mechanic
main learning achievement: Abstract concepts
Limitations: Adolescent egocentrism
In Piaget’s theory of development, the two processes that together control how someone deals with new experiences are
assimilation and accommodation
Three-year-old Tammy thought that her neighbour’s pet was a dog until it said “meow” instead of “bow-wow.” Tammy then also noticed that there were a number of other differences between her dog and the neighbour’s pet. She learned to call the neighbour’s pet a cat. The change in Tammy’s understanding illustrates which of Piaget’s concepts?
accommodation
The major difference between children in the concrete operational stage and children in the preoperational stage of development is that in the concrete operational stage, children:
understand the concept of conservation
According to Siegler, an information processing theorist, three mechanisms work together to create changes in children’s cognitive skills. What are they?
a. Encoding
b. Automaticity
c. Strategy construction
What do the subtest and composite scores of the Wechsler scales allow the examiner to do?
Determine the areas in which the individual is strong or weak
A scheme is best thought of as a
simple organized pattern of knowledge
What is a strong statement of Vygotsky’s ideas on private speech?
Children who use private speech do so to govern their behaviour and guide themselves.
What is the formula for the intelligence quotient?
IQ = CA/MA × 100
Internalized sets of actions that allow children to do mentally what before they had done physically are called
Operations
Language is made up of basic sounds called
phonemes
Two-year-old Gannon says, “I go park” to his mother to convey, “I want to go to the park.” This language is called _____ speech.
telegraphic
What approach to thinking analyzes how children manipulate information, monitor it, and create strategies for handling it?
Select one:
Information-processing
Identify two basic issues that characterize connections between language and cognition.
One of the basic issues is whether or not cognition is needed for language. According to research and expert opinions, cognition is actually not needed for language development. Some aspects of language development follow the assumption of certain cognitive skills, but it isn’t clear that language is dependent on any particular cognitive abilities.
The second basic issue is whether or not language is needed for cognition. Studies with deaf children have helped address this. in a series of problem solving and thinking skills children who were deaf (even with no acquired sign language yet) were able to perform as well as children with no hearing problems. The conclusion is that language is not needed for cognitive development.
fuzzy trace vs. schema memory
Constructing memory is not like a tape recording. According to schema theory, people fit memory into information that is already within their minds. It is done by ‘schemas’ which are mental structures for sorting information and concepts. An example given is someone overhearing a conversation about a sport they are not familiar with. The person overhearing is more likely to interpret this conversation in terms of their schema of a sport they are familiar with. This is more likely to create a false memory of the conversation being overheard. Schemas affect how people infer and retrieve information and therefore people can distort information or fill in gaps with pieces of memory.
The Fuzzy trace theory says that memory can be considered in two types of ways, 1) verbatim - or precise detail and 2) fuzzy trace (gist). The example given is of entering a pet store with a specific amount of each animal, for example 8 cats and 4 dogs. Verbatim memory (more prevalant in preschoolers) will be able to recall the precise number of cats. Fuzzy trace memory will remember the gist of the information - that there were more cats than dogs. This is more common in elementary school children. The theory is that children start remember more in gist or fuzzy trace because it lasts longer than verbatim memory.
Jean Piaget’s idea of the adaptation process includes three terms: assimilation, accommodation, and disequilibration. Explain through the use of an example how a child can go through the adaptation process. Label each term in your answer.
Assimilation is when a child adds in new information to an already in place schema. Accommodation is when a child changes their schemes to expand to fit new information.
Change happens when a child experiences disequilibrium (which is a conflict in cognition) in trying to make sense of the world around them. Eventually they resolve this and come back to balance, or equilibrium.
A child watches from the window and sees a car drive by. The parent calls this a car. The child assimilates that information. Soon every vehicle that goes by is labelled as “car” to the child, including trucks, motorcycles and vans. The child hears the mother say that is a motorcycle when a motorcycle goes by. This causes a cognitive conflict, or disequilibrium. Soon the child adjusts his schema (or accommodates) and recognizes that cars have four wheels and doors and motorcycles have two wheels and no doors, making an accommodation or adjustment to their schema of ‘Car”.