Lecture 3 Flashcards
(19 cards)
what is the pragmatic/constructivist theory of development
- focuses on action (and how it allows children to adapt to world of objects/concepts)
- cog. dev = process of internalising action/social interaction
- children construct their understanding of the world
what does nativists think of dev.
biologically based theory - Humans have innate ability to develop lang.
what does empiricists think of dev.
Empiricists views child as blank slate on which enviro inprints itself
What perspective did piaget offer
interactionist perspective - the interaction between person and enviro.
Explain Jean Piagets big ideas
- childs understanding world is qualitatively different from adults e.g. logic.
- cog development through series of ordered, irreversible stages.
- stages are universal and each stage characterised by way we think
- motor actions develop into abstract thoughts through transactions with enviro
what are the processes of cogntiive development
existing view (schema) –> new experience –> schema either consistent or inconsistent (equilibirum or disequilibirum) with view. If consistent = accomodation occurs, if inconsistent then updates and modifys world views.
explain the task piaget used to test idea of formal operations
PENDULUM TASK: how can make pendulum swing faster. child given materials - would vary weight, height, length string etc. Those who have reached formal operation stage will test variables systematically.
Criticism: Low SES and non westerm world children often dont pass
what was piagets conception of what develops
- domain general - concepts applied to all areas
but cog development may be domain specific as development occurs in clusters of concepts that relate to a specific domain of cognition.
what is some evidence against domain general accounts
- children perform at different levels of tasks that are supposed to measure same cog level
- piaget created horizontal decalage to explain this (that individual differences is temporary phenomenon and eventually all children achieve logical consistentcy between tasks).
- This q’s clear cut stages.
what are the 4 stages of development
1) Sensorimotor stage (0-2yr)
2) Preoperationa stage (2-7yr)
3) Concrete operational stage (7-12yr)
4) Formal Operationa stage (12>yr)
explain piagets contribution
- mapped field of cog development
- experimental approaches (systematic experiments to test hypothesis on how children think)
- contemporary research supports piagets claims
explain information processing accounts
- tasks measure growth of executive functions and logical concepts.
- kids arent doing badly on test because of lack of competence but performance is hindered by lack of WM and self control - not to do with logic/object permanence but cog ability and info processing problems.
- childrens inhibitory control to overcome impulse gets in the way (captured by whats in front of them)
what led to the development of info processing accounts?
- Diamond study: children cant do A not B task not bcos of object permanence but because they couldn’t remember where object was. argued measuring inhibition and working memory (via leisons to dorsolateral PFC in primate studies as these hindered A not B task)
what were 3 examples of piagets methods
1) A not B task
2) Conservation tasks
3) Object permanence tasks
explain the sensorimotor stage
- 0-2 years
- no capacity for mental imagery, relies on movement/sensation
- lack of symbolic function
- builds up schemas through reflexes, experiences, interpretations of perceptual info
- differentiates self from objects
- achieves object permanence: 8-9months
(8-12m: object exists when not seen, 12-18m: seeks object in location b, 18-24m: flexible searching/locating as object mentally represented)
explain preoperational stage
- 2-7 years
- use lang and represent objects by images/words
- conservation errors due to: egocentrism, centration and reversibility
explain concrete operational stage
- can think logically about objects/events.
- conservation of number, ass, weight
- understand properties of objects and relations between objects
- problem solving using logical operations
- at age 7: conservation (change in appearance vs alternation of reality), class inclusion (objects belong multiple categories at one time) and transitive inference (relations between objects)
explain formal operational stage
- adolescence
- scientific reasoning as end point of cog development
- can test hypotheses systematically
- can form hypothetico-deductive reasoning: separation from here and now
name and define 3 conservation errors
1) egocentrism: one perspective of world
2) centration: fixation on one aspect of situ
3) reversibility: inability to mentally reverse series of actions/events
