Cognitive Development

Question 1

Schemes

Answer 1

organised patterns of functioning (thinking) that adapt and change with mental development

Question 2

assimilation

Answer 2

the process by which someone understands an experience, as interpreted or “Fitting” with their schemes/cognitive development.

Question 3

accomodation

Answer 3

When changes are made in thinking as new experiences or knowledge is encountered. Schemes are modified.

Question 4

Piaget stages and substages of Cognitive Development

Answer 4

STAGES
.Sensorimotor; birth to 2 years. Achieve object permanence. Emergence of symbolic thought.
substage 1;simple reflexes eg sucking reflex. First month.
substage 2; 1-4 months.First habits and primary circular reactions eg grasp object whilst sucking it.
substage 3;Secondary circular reactions.4-8 months.eg repeatedly picks up and shakes rattle to see how sound changes.
substage 4:Coordination of secondary circular reactions. 8-12 months. eg.push 1 toy out of way to reach another.
substage 5;Tertiary circular reactions. 12-18months.eg drop a toy repeatedly, slightly varying position, to see where it falls.
substage 6;Beginnings of thought.18months-2 years.eg when ball rolls under couch can predict where will end up on other side.
. Pre-Operational; age 2-7 years. Symbolic thinking allows pretend play. thinking is egocentric.
Concrete Operational; 7-12 years. Can think logically re concrete events. Understand conservation and serial ordering.
Formal Operational; 12+. Can think more logically, flexibly and abstractly. Can form and test hypotheses.

Question 5

mental representation

Answer 5

an internal image of a past event or object

Question 6

deferred imitation

Answer 6

a person who is no longer present, is imitated later

Question 7

operations

Answer 7

organized, formal, logical, mental processes.

Question 8

symbolic function

Answer 8

the ability to use a mental symbol, word or image to represent something not physically present

Question 9

centration

Answer 9

process of concentrating on one limited aspect of an event or stimulus, and ignoring others.

Question 10

conservation

Answer 10

understanding that quantity or mass is not the same as arrangement or physical appearance.

Question 11

egocentrism

Answer 11

inability to see another’s perspective. Preschoolers are incapable of understanding that someone’s view may differ from their own.

Question 12

intuitive thought

Answer 12

preschoolers use of primative reasoning. avid acquisition of knowledge but little understanding of explanations and how they know things or why something is as it is. No logic to their knowledge.

Question 13

circular reactions (primary, secondary and tertiary).

Answer 13

Primary circular reaction-a scheme where repeat act for pure enjoyment.Action is based on infant’s own body.
Secondary circular reactions-schemes re actions repeated because bring about a desired consequence. Actions based on other objects..
Tertiary circular reactions-schemes regarding deliberate variations in repeated actions to bring about interesting/desirable consequences. according to Piaget.

Question 14

decentering

Answer 14

ability to take multiple aspects of something into account.

Question 15

reversibility

Answer 15

the understanding that a process which transforms a substance, can be reversed. achieved once into Concrete Operational thinking.

Question 16

propositional thought

Answer 16

Achieved in adolescence. Ability to reason with abstract logic, in the absence of concrete examples. eg Premise (A), premise (B), therefore conclusion….

Question 17

zone of Proximal development

Answer 17

according to Vygotsky, the ideal loevel for learning. This level is where child can almost, but not fully comprehend without assistance, but with assistance can master. The greater improvement gained with help, the larger the ZPD.

Question 18

scaffolding

Answer 18

the assistance or support provided by others, to enable learning.

Question 19

object permanence

Answer 19

The understanding that an object still exists when out of sight.

Question 20

goal directed behaviour

Answer 20

behaviour where several schemes or understandings, are employed and coordinated, to achieve a goal.

Question 21

transformation

Answer 21

process by which 1 state is changed into another.eg. understands falling pencil occupies different positions in space as falling (ie running man flipbook). Not understood until concrete operational stage.

Question 22

functionality

Answer 22

notion that actions, events and outcomes are related in fixed patterns. Understood at end of Pre-Operational stage.

Question 23

identity

Answer 23

understanding that certain things stay the same, regardless of changes in shape, size and appearance.

Question 24

cultural tools

Answer 24

physical items, as well as intellectual and conceptual frameworks within a culture, which are used to solve problems

Question 25

cooperative learning

Answer 25

children work in groups to achieve a common goal.

Question 26

reciprocal teaching

Answer 26

a technique to teach reading comprehension. Students learn to skim, question, summarise and predict, initially with much teacher help, but eventually taking on role of “teacher” themselves.