COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Flashcards
What are the basic learning processes?
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Habituation
Imitation and Social Learning
What is Piaget’s theory of development?
children play an active role in acquiring knowledge
What’s cognition
perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning
what is classical conditioning?
pairing neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus to produce response to now “conditioned” stimulus.
what is operant conditioning?
positive and negative consequences shape responses in the future
what is habituation?
decreased response or attention to stimulus with repeated presentations
what is imitation and social learning?
soon after birth babies can imitate simple faces, and are socially interested in the actions of others. they can learn through modeling and imitation of valued others
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
sensorimotor
pre-operational
concrete operations
formal operations
Sensorimotor
birth - 2 years
- uses senses and motor skills, items known by use, object permanence
Pre-operational
2-6 years
symbolic thinking, language used; egocentric thinking; imagination and experience grow, child decenters
concrete operations
7-11
logic applied, objective/rational interpretations; does conservation, numbers, ideas, classifications
formal operations
12 years - adulthood
thinks abstractly, hypothetical ideas (ethics, politics, social/more issues) explored
Traits of Sensorimotor
- child builds on basic reflexes
- develops object permanence
- use of symbolic thought and deferred imitation
what’s object permanence?
the understanding that an object or person continues to exist even when it can’t be seen, heard, or touched
Traits of Pre-Operational
major characteristic is development of symbolic function
can solve problems but can’t say why it was done that way
traits of concrete operations
- child becomes more flexible in thinking
- has increased understanding of reversibility
- thinking tied to concrete reality
- ability to classify begins in infancy, increases during this stage
traits of formal operations
greatest changes occur in:
- flexibility of thought
- mental hypothesis testing
- ability for alternative solutions to problems
Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
He may have underestimated the:
- timing and onset of cognitive abilities
- abilities of older children
- influence of culture and social experiences
- contribution of emotions to development
- cognitive development can be accelerated
What was Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development?
It focused on the influence of a child’s social and cultural world on cognitive development.
What did Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory interplay between?
The natural line
the socio-historical line
What is animalistic thinking?
the belief that nonliving things are alive and have a spirit
What is egocentrism?
a quality of being overly interested in oneself, at the expense of other people
Where do animistic thinking and egocentrisim show up?
preoperational stage
What are the different types of mediators?
language
counting
mmenmonic devices
algebraic symbols
art
writing
