2. Cognitive Development

Question 1

When looking at development we look at:

Answer 1

quantitative changes
qualitative changes
continuous development
discontinuous development

Question 2

quantitative changes

Answer 2

result of growth
ex: height, weight, brain maturation, connections between synapses

Question 3

qualitative changes

Answer 3

(harder to measure)
changes in how we behave; perceive the world; think about the world

Question 4

continuous development

Answer 4

theories talking about constant change (vygotsky)

Question 5

discontinuous development

Answer 5

stage theory (piaget)

Question 6

nature nurture debate plus example

Answer 6

interaction of genes vs environment
ex: visual cliff experiment

Question 7

ASD (autism)

Answer 7

• have diff w TOM
• often lack ability to engage with other children and this could limit their development
• is a developmental disorder w varying sympt expression
• diagnosed based on social and communication differences, as well as repetitive behaviours and limited interests
• decreased attention to faces
• reduced activity of fusiform gyrus during recognition

Question 8

functional MRI

Answer 8

measure O2 within brain bc active neurons use more O2
- do a task and measure blood flows = higher transport of O2

Question 9

Event related potentials (ERPs)

Answer 9

EEG - electrodes to measure currents during a task

Question 10

cognition

Answer 10

thought/reasoning
use to understand and solve problems

Question 11

perception

Answer 11

sensory input is organized
cognition is thinking about perceptions

Question 12

cognitive development

Answer 12

how thinking develops an changes over the lifespan
- prefrontal cortex governs higher - level processes like planning and problem-solving - it develops throughout the lifespan into adolescence

Question 13

what is thought

Answer 13

thought allows us to make sense of and interpret our world
unified activity of diff regions of the brain
internal dialogue
influenced by typicality

Question 14

Why are categories fuzzy

Answer 14

bc boundaries can move

Question 15

category

Answer 15

set of objects, mental representations we form of these categories called concepts

Question 16

ememplar

Answer 16

an example that is cognitively labelled as being in a category

Question 17

ex. of
category
concept
emplar
fuzzy

Answer 17

category - bird
concept - 1st association you made cardinal, sparrow, etc
exemplar - robin
fuzzy - emu

Question 18

What are stage theories

Answer 18

stage or discontinuous theories, see our development as taking place as specific steps where changes may seem sudden; continuous development is a cumulative process where changes are constant and gradual

Question 19

piaget

Answer 19

stage theory - discontinuous development
jean piaget studied infant/child reasoning
- kids develop knowledge schemas by assimilating (incorporating) new ideas and experiences
- existing knowledge related to the new knowledge, the child has to accommodate the new knowledge
- classified the development of reasoning into several discrete categories, through which all children must pass

Question 20

sensorimotor

Answer 20

birth - 2 yrs
child explores its senses and its newfound mobility
schemas during this stage are primarily related to basic traits and events of the world
end of this they develop object permanence

Question 21

preoperational

Answer 21

2-7 yrs
children able to express their knowledge verbally, and begin to understand more complicated sensorimotor stimuli
they can symbolize objects and events that are not physically present
do not understand operations (reversibility of events)

Question 22

concrete-operational

Answer 22

7-12 yrs
child now can understand cause and effect relationships and reversibility
kid is capable of understanding the reason “how” things happen
during this stage that children begin to understand conservation of objects

Question 23

formal operational schemes

Answer 23

12+ yrs
child/teen is now able to think theoretically and apply specific knowledge to general rules and vice versa
(ex: now learning algebra bc can now have abstract thinking)

Question 24

criticisms of piaget’s theory

Answer 24

1. ages suggested by piaget for diff stages, underestimate the abilities of younger children and overestimate the ability of older children
2. no actual description of what causes the advancement to a new stage and/or what are the actual changes in the child
3. understanding the role of social learning, thought the stages was relatively independent of social contexts, while research has shown that culture and social influences play an important role in reaching stages 3 and 4
4. development isn’t necessarily continuous - children can be at different stages for different skill sets
5. piaget did the majority of his research on his own children

Question 25

vygotsky

Answer 25

continuous model sociocultural theories - children had an actual development level that represented their max current cognitive capacity - capacity could be exceeded with the help of an experienced teacher/helper by creating a zone of proximal development where the experience and guidance of the teacher could help the child tackle tougher mental tasks than they could alone - suggested development was continuous and not based on a particular stage that someone was in

Question 26

information processing theories

Answer 26

mind as a computer david klar describe cognitive processes that underlie changes in thinking and cognition during development - we do not respond to our enviro, but encode and process the info we receive

Question 27

the "nuture" connection to piaget

Answer 27

big criticism was piaget neglected the role of environment in shaping development - social learning theory - observational learning

Question 28

social learning theory

Answer 28

broadens this to say individuals can learn via imitation without being directly rewarded by the environment

Question 29

observational learning

Answer 29

praised as one of the more frequent and important sources of learning where no direct environmental reward is present -> we see the consequences of other people's behaviour

Question 30

phonemic awareness

Answer 30

ability to identify sounds in words is a crucial skill for learning how to read -> rhyming words

Question 31

describe the major concepts of the TOM. how does it affect how we related to other ppl?

Answer 31

- we have to infer other people's thoughts and feelings (we can't see them) TOM -> beliefs or emotions can be the cause of someone's behaviour - take another person's perspective (empathy) - cooperate/negotiate/problem-solve w other ppl

Question 32

category theory

Answer 32

prototypes is an overall of the whole thing (exemplars, fuzzy's, category, etc)

Question 33

1. sympt of ASD 2. how is ASD diagnosed 3. how does it relate to elements of the social brain

Answer 33

1. - ASD kids have diff initiating and understanding social interactions, lack ability to engage with other children - all could limit development - usually emerges in 1st 3 yrs of life with lots of variety 2. Diagnoses is combo of clinical observations and parental reports - defined by diff w social interactions and communication, repetitive behaviours and limited interests (lack of eye contact, diff maintaining convos, diff w eye tracking, diff judging facial expression 3. ASD relate to diff of social brain - reduced activity in superior temporal sulcus (biological motion) and fusiform gyrus (related to perception of faces)

Question 34

factors that influence development of TOM

Answer 34

- social interactions** - lets kid get insight into other ppl having knowledge and thoughts that differ than their own - factors within child itself - language and cognitive abilities

Question 35

a psychologist who studies mental strategies participants use when problem solving is most likely working in the field of: a) behaviour psych b) evolutionary psych c) clinical psych d) cognitive psych

Answer 35

d) cognitive psych

Question 36

best def of cognition: a) logic b) instinctual behaviours acquired thru evolution of our species c) mental activity associated with processing and understanding information d) all mental activity

Answer 36

c) mental activity associated with processing and understanding information

Question 37

in a game of peek-a-boo...this game most likely examines which stage of piaget's theory of development and what principle of development: a) sensorimotor, object permanence b) sensorimotor, conservation c) preoperational, object permanence d) preoperational, conservation

Answer 37

a) sensorimotor, object permanence