4. Cognitive Skills & Development Flashcards

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1
Q

Vygotsky - Sociocultural Theory

A

Collaborative dialogue with more knowledgable members of society leads children to develop their culture’s beliefs, problem-solving strategies and values

Children’s most noteworthy cognitive skills can be traced back to social interactions (parents, teachers etc.)
Sociocultural context influences what form cognitive growth takes

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2
Q

Vygotsky - role of culture

A
  • Demands and values of culture impact how a child thinks and solves problems
  • Non-universal
    Varies culture to culture
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3
Q

4 Interrelated Levels of Interaction with Children’s Environments

A

Ontogenetic development
Microgenetic development
Phylogenetic development
Sociohistorical development

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4
Q

V - Ontogenetic development

A
  1. The development of an individual over their lifetime
  2. This is used as the level of analysis for nearly all developmental psychologists
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5
Q

V - Microgenetic development

A
  1. Changes that occur over small periods of time
  2. e.g. changes in ability over a period of weeks or even over 20 minute sessions
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6
Q

V - Phylogenetic development

A
  1. Changes occurring over evolutionary time
  2. Over thousands to millions of years
  3. Idea that understanding the history of a species gives insight
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7
Q

V - Sociohistorical development

A
  1. Cultural changes and how this impacts its values, norms and technologies
  2. Most emphasized perspective by modern day psychologists
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8
Q

V - Tools of intellectual adaption

A

Methods of thinking & problem solving strategies internalized by children from their interactions with more competent members of society

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9
Q

V - Zone of proximal development

A

the range of tasks which require guidance and encouragement from a more skilled parter as they are too complex to be mastered alone

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10
Q

V - Scaffolding

A

The way an expert notices and responds to the behaviour of the person they’re teaching, gradually increasing their understanding

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11
Q

V - Guided participation

A

Children’s cognitions and modes of thinking are shaped by adult-child interactions as they observe and engage in activities relevant to their culture

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12
Q

V - Context-dependent learning

A

Learning for learning’s sake, the subject area is not relevant to the present context/situation

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13
Q

V - Criticism

A
  • Guided participation relies heavily on verbal instruction
    • Vygotsky described how this is ‘less adaptive’ in certain cultures
  • Collaborative problem solving isn’t always helpful or effective
    • Instructor may not be very good/may not adapt to the needs of the learner
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14
Q

V - Elementary Mental Techniques

A
  1. Sensation
  2. Attention
  3. Perception
  4. Memory

From birth, later developed into higher mental functions

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15
Q

Vygostky Criticism

A
  • Nurture, no nature
  • Too much emphasis on language
  • Collaborative problem solving isn’t always good or helpful
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16
Q

Vygotsky Education

A

Small learning groups (grouped by ability) are more efficient
Social context & collaboration
Teachers tailor learning to child

17
Q

Piaget - Genetic Epistemology

A

Piaget’s experimental study of the development of knowledge
Genetic meaning developmental

18
Q

Piaget Intelligence

A

A basic life function enabling an organism to adapt to its environment
Goal of intellectual activity: to achieve cognitive equilibrium

19
Q

Piaget - Cognitive Equilibrium

A

A balanced/harmonious relationship between our thought processes and the environment

Accommodation over assimilation

20
Q

Piaget - Cognitive Disequilibria

A
  • Children are continuously challenged by new stimuli and events
  • This leads them to make mental adjustments, enabling them to restore equilibrium by coping with these new, confusing experiences

Assimilation over accommodation

21
Q

Piaget - Constructivists

A

A person who gains knowledge through action towards objects/events, allowing them to discover more about them
Constructing knowledge yourself
Children are constructivists (Piaget)

22
Q

Piaget - Schemes/Schemas

A

Patterns of thought or action seen as base knowledge which we use to interpret the world
- Mental systems underlying intelligence
- Representations of reality

Two Types:
Behavioural - physical activities
Mental - cognitive activities

Enable you to get used to new situations quicker (e.g. new teacher but knowing classroom etiquette remains the same)

23
Q

Piaget - Construction & Modification of Schemas

A
  1. Organisation
  2. Adaption
    2.a. Assimilation
    2.b. Accommodation
24
Q

Piaget - Organisation

A
  • Combining existing schemas to form new and more complex schemas
  • e.g. gazing, reaching & grasping reflexes are combined to form visually directed reaching (a more complex structure)
    Isolated behaviours grouped into a higher order

Goal: to promote adaptation

25
Q

Piaget - *Adaption/Adaptation?

A
  • The process of adjusting based on what the environment demands
  • Adaptation occurs through two activities (complimentary)
26
Q

Piaget - Assimilation

A
  • Children use their existing schemas to interpret new experiences
  • e.g. connecting a horse is a dog because they both have 4 legs, thinking they are the same animal
27
Q

Piaget - Accomodation

A
  • We modify existing schemas based on new experiences
  • e.g. recognizing that there are key differences between a horse and a dog and asking what the horse is

Cognitive dissonance

Used when assimilation doesn’t help us understand

28
Q

Piaget’s Stages of Development

A
  1. Sensorimotor (0-2)
  2. Pre-operational stage (2-7)
  3. Concrete operational stage (7-11)
  4. Formal operational stage (11+)
29
Q

Piaget - Sensorimotor stage breakdown

A
  1. Reflex activity/simple reflexes
  2. First habits & primary circular reactions
  3. Secondary circular reactions
  4. Coordination of secondary circular reactions
  5. Tertiary circular reactions
  6. Symbolic problem solving/internalization of schemes
30
Q
A