Lecture 10 Cognitive Theory

Question 1

How does Piaget conceptualize cognitive development?

Answer 1

Children develop cognitively through operating on the world

Question 2

What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?

Answer 2

1. Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
2. Preoperational (2-6 years)
3. Concrete Operational (7-12 years)
4. Formal Operational (12+ years)

Question 3

What occurs in Piaget’s sensorimotor stage?

Answer 3

0-2 years:
1-4 m: primary circular reactions eg. sucking fingers
4-8 m: secondary circular reactions (intentionally repeat actions to trigger a response) 摇铃
12-18m: tertiary circular reactions: trial and error experimentation eg. dropping bottle

Question 4

What are primary circular reactions?

Answer 4

1-4 months: Infant intentionally repeats actions involving their own body (e.g., sucking fingers).

Question 5

What are secondary circular reactions?

Answer 5

4-8 months: Infant repeats actions involving objects to trigger responses.

Question 6

What are tertiary circular reactions?

Answer 6

12-18 months: Intentional experimentation with objects (e.g., dropping bottles to see what happens).

Question 7

What characterizes Piaget’s preoperational stage?

Answer 7

2-6 years: Developing language/symbol use but limited logical reasoning; includes egocentric thinking.

Question 8

What is the Three Mountains task?

Answer 8

Piaget’s test showing preoperational children’s difficulty with perspective-taking (until about age 4).

Question 9

What abilities develop in concrete operational stage?

Answer 9

7-12 years: Inductive reasoning, classification, reversibility, perspective-taking, and conservation.

Question 10

What is conservation in Piaget’s theory?

Answer 10

Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance (e.g., liquid in different containers).

Question 11

What are key critiques of Piaget’s theory?

Answer 11

1. Underemphasizes social context
2. did not focused on everyday problems
3. Neglects language
4. Suggests development ends at 12
5. no details in how to move from one stage to next

Question 12

How does information processing theory view development?

Answer 12

Focuses on quantitative changes in cognitive processes like memory and attention; sees development as continuous.

Question 13

What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory?

Answer 13

• Emphasizes learning through social interaction,
• scaffolding
• zone of proximal development (ZPD).

Question 14

What is the zone of proximal development?

Answer 14

The difference between what a child can do alone vs. with expert guidance; where learning occurs.

Question 15

How does Vygotsky differ from Piaget?

Answer 15

Vygotsky focuses on how learning occurs socially/culturally; Piaget focuses on universal developmental stages.

Question 16

What role do adults play in Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 16

Adults organize tasks and provide social meaning, scaffolding learning within the ZPD.

Question 17

What is scaffolding in cognitive development?

Answer 17

Supportive guidance from more knowledgeable others that is gradually removed as learner becomes competent.

Question 18

How does culture affect development in Vygotsky’s view?

Answer 18

Children learn different skills based on cultural values, unlike Piaget’s universal developmental sequence.

Question 19

What are the two substages of Piaget’s preoperational stage?

Answer 19

1. Preconceptual (2-4 years): Egocentric speech
2. Intuitive (4-7 years): More social speech, less egocentric

Question 20

What is object permanence?

Answer 20

Understanding objects exist even when not visible, developing in sensorimotor stage (by about 18 months).