Chapter 5 Flashcards
(52 cards)
Cognitive Changes in Piaget’s Theory
Schemes, Adaptation, Assimilation, Accommodation
Schemes
Organized psychological structures for making sense of experience. They change in structure over time
Adaptation
Building schemes through direct interaction with the environment. Uses assimilation & accommodation
Assimilation
Using current schemes to interpret world
Accommodation
Creating new schemes & adjusting old ones to better fit the environment
Cognitive equilibrium
Steady, comfortable state in which children assimilate more than they accommodate
Cognitive disequilibrium
State of discomfort & rapid cognitive change in which children shift from assimilation to accommodation
The relationship between cognitive equilibrium and disequilibrium…
…changes over time.
Assimilation / Accommodation Process
New situation –> Disequilibrium –> Accommodation –> Assimilation –> Equilibration
Sensorimotor Stage
1st two weeks of life. Child “thinks” with eyes, ears, & hands. No ability to handle problems inside the head.
Child repeats random behaviors until the child is able to act intentionally
Sensorimotor Stage: Circular reaction
Stumble onto new experience –> repetition of chance behaviors form into schemes
Sensorimotor Schemes: Reflexive Schemes
Birth-1 month: Typical behavior is newborn reflexes
Object Permanence
Developing as the toddler grows, it is the understanding that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight.
“A-not-B” Search Error
When objects are moved the child looks many times at the old hiding place first & may never discover the new hiding place.
Object Permanence Research: Baillargeon
Found that infants look longer at unexpected hiding events (4 months)
Object Permanence Research: Bertenthal
Infants will also track a ball, even when it is hidden from view (4-5 months)
Object Permanence Research: Piaget
Infants don’t have object permanence until 8-12 months
Deferred Imitation
2-12 months: Ability to remember & copy past behavior of a model who is no longer present - enriches toddlers’ range of sensorimotor schemes
Inferred Imitation
12-18 months; Requires inferring others’ intentions; more likely to imitate purposeful rather than accidental behaviors
Displaced Reference
Using words to cue mental images of things not physically free; starts at 12 months; helps child to learn and develop quickly & grows with vocabulary development; 24-month-old toddlers can use pictures to discuss complex ideas
Video Deficit Effect
Poorer performance after viewing a video than a live demonstration, perceived as less relevant: lack of eye contact, direct conversation & shared focus.
Memory Diagram Process
Stimulus Input –> Sensory Register –> Attention –> Short-Term Memory Store –> Storage –> Long-term Memory Store
3 Major Parts of the Memory Model
Sensory register: Briefly stores sights & sounds
Short-term memory store: Attended-to information is retained briefly & “worked” on
Long-term memory: permanent knowledge base
Attention
Infants shift from single features to more visual search at 2-3 months
3-4 month old babies need 4 minutes to habituate to visual stimuli, by 4-5 months, they only need ~10 seconds
Sustained attention increases as baby grows
