Chapter 5 Flashcards
(79 cards)
explains how biology and experience shape cognitive development, emphasizing that children actively construct their understanding of the world rather than passively receiving information.
Piaget’s theory
Children construct their knowledge of the world through key processes identified by Piaget:
schemes, assimilation, accommodation, organization, equilibrium, and equilibration
as infants and children try to understand the world, their developing brains form schemes. ➢ a baby’s schemes are based on basic actions they can perform on objects, like: sucking, looking, and grasping.
xample: A baby’s scheme for food may initially involve sucking (for breastfeeding or bottle-feeding), but as they grow, their schemes expand to include chewing and using utensils.
schemes
USING existing schemes for new information
It allows children to make sense of the world using what they already know.
Example: A child who knows about dogs may see a small, furry animal (like a cat) and call it a “dog” because it fits their existing scheme of four-legged furry animals.
Assimilation
ADJUSTING schemes for new information ● Example: A child calling all four-legged animals “dogs.”
happens when a child modifies or creates new schemes to adapt to new information that doesn’t fit existing knowledge.
This process helps children refine their understanding of the world.
Example: After being corrected, the child learns that not all four-legged furry animals are dogs. They adjust their scheme and develop a separate category for cats.
accommodation
➢ Children cognitively organize their experiences by grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into a more complex system. ● Example: A child categorizes
animals first by basic types ( “dogs,” “cats”), then changes them into more specific groups ( “mammals,” “reptiles”).
Organization
The process by which children shift from one stage of thought to the next, driven by the balance between assimilation and accommodation. . It helps children move from one stage of thinking to another as they refine their understanding of the world.
A child believes that all flying creatures are “birds.” When they learn about bats, they experience disequilibrium because bats don’t fit their existing scheme. Through this, they accommodate by creating a new category for bats as mammals, restoring cognitive balance.
❖ Equilibration
Occurs when children face inconsistencies or counterexamples to their existing schemes, creating cognitive conflict.
A child who believes all liquids are drinkable experiences this when they see oil or soap water. They initially assume it must be something they can drink (assimilation), but after being told it’s not safe, they feel confused. This contradiction between their existing knowledge and new information creates cognitive conflict
disequilibrium
❖ Lasts from birth to 2 years of age. ❖ Infants construct an understanding of the world through sensory experiences.
the sensorimotor stage
➢ corresponds to the first month after birth ➢ sensation and action are coordinated primarily through reflexive behaviors
Simple reflexes
develops between 1 and 4 months of age
➢ infant coordinates sensation and two types of schemes: habits and primary circular reactions
First habits and primary circular reactions
A scheme based on the attempt to reproduce an event that initially occurred by chance.
Primary Circular Reactions
➢ develops between 4 and 8 months of age ➢ infant becomes more object-oriented, moving beyond preoccupation with the self
Secondary circular reactions
➢ develops between 8 and 12 months of age ➢ actions become more outwardly directed, and infants coordinate schemes and act with intentionality
Coordination of Secondary circular reactions
➢ one of infancy’s landmark cognitive accomplishments ➢ means understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot directly be seen, heard, or touched
Object Permanence
➢ develops between 12 and 18 months of age ➢ infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things that they can make happen to objects
Tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity
➢ develops between 18 and 24 months of age ➢ infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols
Internalization of schemes
➢ an internalized sensory image or word that represents an event
symbol
➢ As opposed to intentionality (4th substage)– coordination of vision and touch
➢ Error occurs when infants make the mistake of selecting the familiar hiding place (A) rather than the new hiding place (B) of an object. ○ Due to failure in memory ○ Attention ○ Repetition of previous motor behavior
The A-not-B Error
Development of an infant’s perceptual abilities begins at a very early stage (Gibson & Spelke)
➢ Expectations develop as early as 3 months old
■ expectations about objects to be solid and continuous, despite not knowing the laws of gravity.
Perceptual Development and Expectations
Baillargeon and colleagues - 3 to 4-month-old infants expect that other objects cannot be moved through an object (substantial) and the existence of objects even when it is hidden (permanent).
➢ Objects are bounded, unitary, solid, and separate from their background
➢ Gravity and support
Learned at 6 to 8 months old
Substantial and Permanent Objects
➢ Nativists - leaning toward Nature like Elizabeth Spelke ■ Core knowledge approach - Theory that infants are born with domain-specific innate knowledge systems. (e.g. Space, Number sense, Object permanence, & Language)
■ Critics against Spelke ● Spelke’s experiments are only focused on perceptual competencies or the detection of regularities in the environment
The Nature-Nurture Issue
Problematic for some only emerges through early interactions with others
sense of morality
➢ Neglect of Social Immersion
➢ Underestimation of Young Infants’ Abilities
➢ Nature and nature coexistence
- sense of morality
nativist
The Nature-Nurture Issue
