Week 1- AMC lecture Flashcards
At what point in development does the brain double in size? And why?
Third trimester to age 2 due to increased synapses and myelination
Describe Hubel and Wiesels theory of critical periods of brain development
Periods when environmental stimulation causes very active wiring/reshaping the brain: Experience causes constellation of neural firing patterns, Experience repeats, firing pattern repeats, Neurochemicals finalise pattern by switching off ability to rewire/refire in alternate pattern, Critical period ends
No stimulation during critical period: no proper brain development
Development of social brain: empathy, ability to regulate emotions, ability to delay gratification
Childrens’ brains more plastic than adults
Describe Piaget’s theory of human cognitive development
Children all go through same universal process of cognitive development
Child is born with a small number of innate schemas (cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions tightly interconnected and governed by core meaning) including thoughts, actions and knowledge about a particular situation
Due to biological maturation and environmental stimulation, child builds more and more schemas of increasing complexity Eg Innate and simple: sucking reflex, Learned and complex: ordering food at a restaurant
According to Piaget, what are the 2 ways in which a child can build up knowledge?
Assimilation: existing schema works well for new situation, knowledge attached to new situation is assimilated into existing schema
Accommodation: No existing schema fits new situation, so a schema must be altered to accommodate the new information
What are piagets stages?
Sensorimotor 0-2 y object permanence
Pre-operational 2-7 y egocentric
Concrete operations 7-11 y conservation of number
Formal operations 11+ y abstract thinking
What is object permanence?
infant looks for an object after it is hidden
Describe the pre operational stage of Piaget
Child is egocentric: sees the world from own perspective, language development rapidly progresses, use of symbols (play, magical thinking), does not yet understand conservation of number/volume
What is the concrete operations stage of Piaget?
onset of logical thinking, children can now understand conservation of number, volume
What is the formal operations stage of Piaget?
onset of abstract, systematic thinking, ability to manipulate different aspects of a problem to come to imaginative solutions If A>B and B>C, then A>C
What are the implications of piagets work?
Children need to be ‘ready’ before they can move to the next stage (don’t try teaching trigonometry to a three year old)
Students must be active in their own learning
Teachers should help children ‘discover’ the world, providing experiences that force accommodation of schemata
What are criticisms of piagets work?
Research based on subjective data, small sample size No account taken of culture
Underestimates childrens’ abilities
Overestimates adults’ abilities (only 40-60% of college students may reach formal operations)
Describe Vygotskys social and cultural development theory
Learning does not follow a universal process in all cultures
Learning happens socially, and can be rapidly increased through help from others
Learning happens through language: self-talk, private (inner) talk
Describe the theory of mind
Children do not automatically know that others do not know the same things they know: it develops over time
Developing this skill helps children to understand and anticipate the actions of others, understand feelings of others, empathise
Which groups of people may have deficits in their theory of mind skills?
Autism Schizophrenia Attention deficit disorder
What factors may affect the way a person responds to a situation?
Temperament: inborn tendencies: (novelty-seeking, reward dependence, harm avoidance, persistence) Personality: develops with experience Life experience People tend to have set patterns of perception, emotional and physical reactions, automatic thoughts, and behavioural tendencies in response to a situation