Wk 6 - Cognitive Dev 1

Question 1

The Piagetian concept of schemes… (x3)

Answer 1

Actions or mental representations that organise knowledge
Develop as child starts to construct an understanding of the world
Argued that they’re present from birth, but nature changes with age

Question 2

Piagetian concept of Assimilation is…

Answer 2

Making sense of something using existing schemes

Question 3

Piagetian concept of Accommodation is…

Answer 3

Changing a scheme to account for new information

Question 4

Piagetian concept of Organisation is… (x2)

Answer 4

Integrating isolated behaviours into higher-order system

Eg schemes for hammer and screwdriver get organised under ‘tools’

Question 5

Piagetian concept of Equilibrium…

Answer 5

Growth achieved through effort to reach this by resolving disequilibrium - cognitive conflict due to constant counterexamples of schemes

Question 6

Substage 1 of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yo) - Simple reflexes (x2)

Answer 6

Birth-1mo

Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors; eg rooting, sucking, grasping

Question 7

Substage 2 of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yo) - First habits and primary circular reactions (x3)

Answer 7

1-4 mo
Coordination of sensation with – habits (reflexes) and primary circular reactions (reproduction of event that initially occurred by chance)
Eg suck thumb by accident, then accommodate action by sucking thumb differently to a nip

Question 8

Substage 3 of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yo) - Secondary circular reactions (x4)

Answer 8

4-8 mo
More object oriented, moving beyond self
Repeat actions that bring interest/pleasure
Eg cooing to make a person stay near, and again when they leave

Question 9

Substage 4 of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yo) - Coordination of secondary circular reactions (x3)

Answer 9

8-12mo
Coordination of vision and touch – hand/eye; coordination of schemes and intentionality;
Eg using stick to bring toy closer

Question 10

Substage 5 of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yo) - Tertiary circular reactions, novelty and curiosity (x4)

Answer 10

12-18 mo
Intrigued by object properties/ways to manipulate objects;
Experimentation with new behaviors;
Eg blocks can fall/hit/spin

Question 11

Substage 6 of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yo) - Internalisation of schemes

Answer 11

18-24 months
Develop ability to use primitive symbols and form mental representations
Eg infant sees tantrum, throws its first one the next day

Question 12

According to Piaget, neonatal imitation isn’t possible for… (x2)
Which is challenged by… (x2)

Answer 12

Infants under 8-12 months
Lack perceptual-cognitive ability, esp for facial imitation
Imitating modelled tongue/lip protrusion, mouth opening, finger movement at 12-21 days old
But meta-analysis casts doubt on this…

Question 13

Object permanence is…

And supposedly develops through Piagets Sensorimotory Substages… (x3)

Answer 13

Understanding that an out-of-sight object still exists

1. Babies learn the body can move and work
2. Babies notice objects and start following their movement
3. Babies will reach for a partially hidden object

Question 14

Baillargeon and DeVos showed that object permanence…

Answer 14

May develop as young as 4mo - 4-8 months earlier than Piaget
Habituated infants to object moving behind two obstacles, comes out the other side,
then object doesn’t reappear between the two objects - infant recovers interest

Question 15

Meltzoff is questioning the value of looking-time studies based on…

Answer 15

Whether it matters if they don’t act on what they are aware of
Previous tasks only asses infants perceptual expectations, not their knowledge – what if infants don’t act on their perceptions

Question 16

Piaget’s Sensorimotor period is… (x3)

Answer 16

From birth to 2 yo
Coordination of sensory input and motor responses
Development of object permanence

Question 17

Piaget’s Preoperational Period is… (x2)

Answer 17

From 2 to 7 yo

Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility, cent ration, egocentrism

Question 18

The Symbolic Function Substage of Piaget’s Preoperational Period is…

Answer 18

2 -4 yo
Draws representations, uses language and pretend
Drawing is usually intended as symbol of something - Piaget says the capacity to understand that something stands for something else is key in this period

Question 19

Egocentrism, as seen in Piaget’s Preoperational Period, is… (x2)

Answer 19

Believe that everyone can see what they can see
Eg Piagets 3 mountains task: telling researcher that they can see the same things on their side of the mountain as what the child can see. Perspective-taking comes later…

Question 20

Heteronymous morality is… (x2)

Answer 20

Children believe that rules have own innate authority – prime motivation in this stage is fear of punishment
Rules are not understood as social construct

Question 21

Autonomous morality is… (x2)

Answer 21

Understanding (around age 10) that rules are made up by people, for people
Motivated by cooperation, and tries to consider others’ needs/wants/feelings

Question 22

Centration is…

Answer 22

A focus of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others
Leads to notion of Conservation

Question 23

Conservation…

Answer 23

According to theory, 5 yo shouldn’t have notion of conservation (Eg Mark’s boys in water-glass test)
7yo should be beginning to get it - move from preoperational to concrete stages
Argument that issues with task is it’s the ways children interact with adults - kids believe if you ask the same question again, the first answer must be wrong
If you move it away from the experimenter making the change (ie naughty teddy), kids get it right at about 4 yo