Cognitive Development Introduction and Piagetian Theory Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 3 categories of cognitive development theories?

A

Empiricist theories
Rationalist theories
Socio-historic theories

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2
Q

How do empiricist theories view the development of knowledge?

A

the accumulation of writing on a blank slate - we are shaped by the knowledge we gain along the way

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3
Q

How do rationalist theories view the development of knowledge?

A

the enfolding of a masterplan - we are shaped by our ability to rationalize and think logically

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4
Q

How do socio-historic theories view the development of knowledge?

A

apprenticeship in a culture

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5
Q

Through what types of learning does a child’s mind develop - according to the Empiricist theories?

A

Perceptual learning - increasing ability to distinguish between different classes of empirical stimuli (e.g., sounds, smells, textures)

Cognitive learning - increasing ability to make associations between the classes of percepts

Transfer of learning - increasing ability to apply the empirical learning to new contexts

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6
Q

What is information processing?

A

An approach that tries to model what goes on inside the mind through the computer metaphor

It focuses on input-output - a computer builds its knowledge through the accumulation of input which it then works on

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7
Q

What is the innate reasoning framework?

A

The rationalist approach that states:
the child’s mind develops through an innate order-imposing mental structure which also develops with age

Knowledge/data is organized according to the internal framework

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8
Q

What is a language acquisition device (LAD)?

Who proposed it?

What kind of approach is it?

A

an innate mental framework for processing language - proposed by Chomsky - a nativist approach

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9
Q

What does the LAD go against?

A

Goes against Skinner’s argument that language is acquired through experience

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10
Q

According to socio-historic theories, through what does the child’s mind develop?

A

Social interaction with experts of the culture

Impact of institutions on child’s framework

Learning of mental tools for processing knowledge

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11
Q

Who was the major contributor to the rationalist approach?

A

Jean Piaget

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12
Q

Who was the major contributor to the socio-historic approach?

A

Lev Vygotsky

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13
Q

Who was the major contributor to the empiricist approach?

A

Robbie Case

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14
Q

What does cognition involve?

A

mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving

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15
Q

What are children’s drawings used for?

A

a measure of intelligence or creativity

projections of inner feelings about themselves and others

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16
Q

How do drawing skills progress from 0-4 months?

A

0-4 months - learn to track objects with their eyes and movement of arms

4 months - coordinate arm movement with tracking of objects - hence reaching out and grasping objects

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17
Q

How do drawing skills progress from 4-8 months?

A

learn to manipulate objects and bring them to their mouths

feeling and noticing color, brightness, smell, taste etc.

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18
Q

How do drawing skills progress from 8-12 months?

A

able to focus on the effect of manipulation on a 2nd object

e.g., making marks on a piece of paper with a crayon

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19
Q

How do drawing skills progress from 12-20 months?

A

learn to focus on the marks they make on the paper - produce a scribble

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20
Q

What are the goals of drawing skills through the years?

A

1-2 years - Learn to scribble
2-5 years - Representation of an object
5-10 years - Draw a scene
10-15 years - Coordinate scenes

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21
Q

How does the ability to represent an object through drawing develop through 2-5 years?

A

2-3 years - learn to form different patterns e.g., circles, lines

3-5 years - learn to combine patterns to make a representation e.g., a bike, the sun

22
Q

How does the ability to draw a scene develop through 5-10 years?

A

5-6 years - draw the ground or sky in addition to people OR a differentiated representation of a person

7-10 years - draw objects in a transparent or parallel fashion

23
Q

What is a limitation children between 5-10 years face when drawing?

A

are not able to focus on 3D (depth)

24
Q

What does the integration of 2 scenes involve?

A

hierarchal integration of the ability to represent perspective

25
Q

How long does the development of drawing go on?

A

continues to develop beyond the stage of physical maturation (20 years) - continues into old age

26
Q

What are some measures of cognitive development?

A

Extensive records of what children can do at different ages

IQ tests

Bayley Scales of infant and toddler development

27
Q

How did the Bayley Scales work?

A

3 scales administered through interaction with the child: cognition, language, motor

2 scales conducted with parent questionnaires: social emotional, adaptive behavior

28
Q

Who was Jean Piaget?

A

Psychologist, researcher, theorist

Has a doctorate in zoology

Has work experience in hypnosis, free association and psychoanalysis

29
Q

What did Piaget’s research consist of?

A

close observation and interaction with his own 3 children

main interest was to see what most children could do at different ages

interested in errors as an indication of their way of thinking

30
Q

What type of theory was Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

A

Constructivist - knowledge is not ready made, we are continually creating our own knowledge and organizing what we know

31
Q

What is Piaget’s theory?

A

The Stage Theory - our mind develops through 4 stages of thinking:

  1. Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
  2. Preoperational stage (2-7 years)
  3. Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
  4. Formal operational stage (11-15 years)

the sequence of stages is invariant - cannot be changed or skipped

32
Q

What is the domain general structure?

A

a structure made up of the coordination of programs in the mind - schemes

e.g., Piaget’s stage theory

33
Q

What is a domain?

A

an area of knowledge such as mathematics, language, logical thinking etc.

34
Q

What is a schema?

A

the simplest mental representation of an action (both physical or mental)

35
Q

What is adaptation?

A

children start controlling and changing schemas to fit the changes in the environment

e.g., distinguishing a dog from other 4 legged animals

occurs in 2 ways: assimilation and accommodation

36
Q

What is assimilation?

A

absorbing new experiences into existing schemas

e.g., a child sees a 4 legged animal for the 1st time - existing schema is that his 4 legged pet is a dog - hence he calls the 4 legged animal is a dog

37
Q

What is accommodation?

A

modifying or combining existing schemas when old ones no longer handle the data

e.g., existing schema is his 4 legged pet is a dog - someone points out the new animal is a cat - therefore realizes that not all 4 legged animals are dogs

38
Q

What is equilibration?

A

periodic restructuring of schemas to create a balance between assimilation and accommodation

39
Q

What Piagetian assumptions have been challenged?

A

Action realism
Domain generality
Stages of development
Late representation

40
Q

What is action realism?

A

Piaget’s assumption that children actively construct their cognition in interaction with the environment from birth via equilibration

41
Q

What is domain generality?

A

a strong assumption that a cognitive ability demonstrated in 1 domain should generalize to all domains

42
Q

What is late representation?

A

Piaget’s claim that before language, children didn’t possess any ability for internalized thoughts or representation

43
Q

Describe the sensorimotor stage

A

0-2 years

child develops coordination schemes for manipulating objects in the world
e.g., pushing a button to make an object move

consists of 6 substages

44
Q

Describe the 6 substages of the sensorimotor stage

A

Substage 1 - 0-1 months - adaptation of reflexes e.g., grasping, sucking

Substage 2 - 1-4 months - reflexes are organized into larger, integrated behaviors - related to their own body e.g., grasping a rattle and bringing it to the mouth to suck

Substage 3 - 4-8 months - repetition of actions that bring pleasing results e.g., banging a rattle

Substage 4 - 8-12 months - coordination of actions e.g., removing a barrier to obtain an object (object permanence)

Substage 5 - 12-18 months - actively exploring the possible uses to which objects can be put e.g., banging a spoon to make a sound to get attention

Substage 6 - 18-24 months - able to form enduring mental representations

45
Q

What are reflexes that are present at birth?

A

rooting reflex (turning mouth towards touch)
sucking reflex
Moro reflex (startle)
tonic neck reflex (fencing position)
grasp reflex
stepping reflex

46
Q

Describe the pre-operational stage

A

2-7 years

child develops a symbolic representational system for their thinking
e.g., symbolic or make-believe play

47
Q

Describe the concrete operational stage

A

7-11 years

child learns to carry out concrete operations (tasks that require logical thinking) - evident in the reversibility of concepts
e.g., Piaget’s tests of conservation of liquid, solids, and numbers

the term “concrete operational” is coined because reasoning is tied to the concrete situation
e.g., can reason about the quantities they can see

48
Q

Describe the formal operational stage

A

11-15 years

involves abstract operations
e.g., algebra, abstract relations in similarities, variables in scientific thinking, thinking of situations contrary to what they can see

49
Q

Why was Piaget’s domain general assumption criticized?

A

children might acquire higher level thinking in some domains and not in others

the formal operations stage wasn’t reached by many, especially unschooled people

50
Q

Why was Piaget’s theory of adaptation criticized?

A

it was too vague to be tested