Chapter 3- Cognitive Foundations Flashcards
(105 cards)
Changes over time in how people think, how they solve problems, and how their capacities for memory and attention change
Cognitive development
Influential swiss developmental psychologist, best known for his theories of cognitive and moral development
Jean Piaget
A period in which abilities are organized in a coherent, interrelated way
Stage
The organization of cognitive abilities into a single pattern, such that thinking in all aspects of life is a reflection of that structure
Mental structure
A person who thinks within a particular stage in one aspect of life should think within that stage in all other aspects of life as well because all thinking is part of the same mental structure
Approach to understanding cognition that emphasizes the changes that take place at different stages
Cognitive-developmental approach
Process by which abilities develop through genetically based development with limited influence from the environment
Maturation
How did Piaget’s emphasis on the importance of maturation contrast with the views of other theorists?
Other theorists believed that there were no inherent limits to development or that environmental stimulation could override them. Piaget portrayed maturation as an active process in which children seek out information and stimulation in the environment that matches the maturity of their thinking, which contrasted with the views of other theorists such as behaviorists, who saw the environment as acting on the child through rewards and punishments rather than seeing the child as an active agent
According to Piaget’s theory, a mental structure for organizing and interpreting information
Schemes
The cognitive process that occurs when new information is altered to fit an existing’s scheme
Assimilation
Example: reading information in a text book that is familiar to you
The cognitive process that occurs when a scheme is changed to adapt to new information
Accommodation
Example: learning about adolescent development in other cultures in a textbook that does not fit with your current ideas about that culture
What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations
According to Piaget, the cognitive stage in the first two years of life that involves learning how to coordinate the activities of the senses with motor activities
Sensorimotor stage
According to Piaget, cognitive stage from ages 2 to 7 during which the child becomes capable of representing the world symbolically – for example, through the use of language – but is still very limited in ability to use mental operations
Preoperational stage
According to Piaget, cognitive stage from age 7 to 11 in which children learn to use mental operations but are limited to applying them to concrete, observable situations rather than hypothetical situations
Concrete operations
cognitive activity involving manipulating and reasoning about objects
Mental operations
According to Piaget, cognitive stage from 11 on up in which people learn to think systematically about possibilities and hypotheses
Formal operations
Piaget’s classic test of formal operations, in which persons are asked to figure out what determines the speed at which a pendulum swings from side to side
Pendulum problem
Piaget’s term for the process by which the formal operational thinker systematically tests possible solutions to a problem and arrives at an answer that can be defended and explained
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Thinking in terms of symbols, ideas, and concepts
Abstract thinking
Thinking that takes into account multiple connections and interpretations, such as in the use of metaphor, satire, and sarcasm
Complex thinking
The capacity for “thinking about thinking” that allows adolescents and adults to reason about their thought processes and monitor them
Metacognition
Approach to research that focusses on how individuals differ within a group, for example, in performance on IQ tests
Individual differences
What are the two limitations of Piaget’s theory of formal operations?
Individual differences in the attainment of formal operations
The cultural basis of adolescent cognitive development
Describe the limitation of Piaget’s theory: individual differences in formal operations
Piaget’s theory puts a strong emphasis on maturation, and asserted that most people proceed through the same stages at about the same ages because they experience the same maturational processes.
Research indicates that these claims were inaccurate, especially for formal operations:
- there are a great range of individual differences in the extent to which people use formal operations, some use it in a wide range of situations; other use it selectively; and others not at all or rarely. A large proportion of people use formal operations either inconsistently or not at all
- those with the capacity for formal operations tend to use it selectively for problems and situations in which they have the most experience and knowledge – for example, chess players and those with experience working on cars
- specific kinds of experiences (education in science and math) are important for the development of formal operations. Adolescents with education in math and science are more likely than other adolescents to exhibit formal operational thought
- Piaget underestimated how much effort, energy, and knowledge it takes to use formal operations. Most tasks require concrete operations, and people often will not use formal operations even if they have the capacity to do so because they are more difficult and taxing