Chapter 9 Flashcards
(53 cards)
Cognitive development between the ages of 2 and 6 Piaget
Preoperational
Development of language, imagination, and magical thinking
Between the ages of 2 and 6, Piaget believed it was difficult for children to think
Logically
Symbolic thinking
The understanding that words can refer to unseen things and that words can represent something else
How does symbolic thinking expand the world of a preoperational child?
Children can think and talk about things that are not physically present
Ex: In the sensorimotor period, the child sees and hears a dog with the senses
In the preoperational stage, a child can remember seeing a dog when they hear the word dog even though no dog is physically present
Animism
The belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive
Ex: Wishing on a star, scolding a naughty toy
At what age do children grow out of animism?
Age 10
Centration
Characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child focuses on one idea
Ex: Magician makes the child focus on one thing while they do things outside their range of thought.
Ex: A child focuses on how many pieces of cake each person has regardless of the size of the piece
Egocentrism
A kind of centration. The tendency of the child to think about the world entirely from their own perspective
Ex: Little boy buys a toy car for his moms birthday
Focus on appearance
Young child ignores all attributes that are not visible
Ex: Little girl with a short haircut worries she will turn into a boy
Static reasoning
Thinking that nothing changes. Whatever is now, has always been and always will be
Ex: Child can’t understand that their parent has been a child
Irreversibility
Idea that nothing can be undone. Inability to recognize that something can be restored to its original condition
Ex: A child cries when her mom puts lettuce on her hamburger
Conservation Error
The idea that the amount of a substance remains the same when its appearance changes
Examples of conservation error
- One grahm cracker is still one grahm cracker even when it is broken in half.
- 2 glasses of milk have the same amount. One is poured into a taller glass. The child thinks the taller one has more because the milk goes up higher. There is not actually more milk
Limitation of Piaget’s research on conservation?
Piaget was late on date. Children understand conservation earlier than 6 or 7. Some experiments showed some understanding of conservation by age 3
Piaget saw cognitive development as:
Individual discovery
Vygotsky saw cognitive development as:
Social activities guided by others
Guided participation
Process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations
Who is guided participation associated with?
Vygotsky
Apprentice in Thinking
Someone whose intellectual growth is stimulated by other members of society.
What do mentors do?
Present challenges, offer assistance, provide instructions, encourage motivation
Who is usually a child’s first mentor?
Parents
Zone of Proximal Development
Skills a person can master only with assistance. Between the “can’t learn yet” and the “can learn and do independently”
Scaffolding
Temporary support tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities. Aimed at helping the child master the next task
Ex: Baking with a child. Helping them measure ingredients, mix, stir…
Over imitation
Children will repeat irrelevant, time consuming, and inefficient actions if they are modeled by mentors
