Week 9 - Cognitive Development Flashcards

(69 cards)

1
Q

Core idea of Piagets theory of cognitive development

A

children actively construct knowledge through interacting with the world, development occurs in stages

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2
Q

Schema

A

how children understand, think about and experience the world

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3
Q

Adaptation

A

links the child’s schemas and experiences of the world

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4
Q

Assimiliation

A

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas

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5
Q

Accomodation

A

modifying schemas or creating new schemas for new experiences

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6
Q

What does equilibrium refer to in the context of a child’s worldview?

A

The consistency between internal data and external data.

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7
Q

What are the two processes that work together to enrich a child’s worldview?

A

Assimilation and accommodation.

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8
Q

Name the 6 substages of Piagets sensorimotor stage

A

reflex activity, primary circular reaction, secondary circular reactions, coordination of secondary circular reactions, tertiary circular reactions, symbollic thought

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9
Q

Reflex Activity (Birth - 1 month)

A

active exercise and refinement of inborn reflexes

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10
Q

primary circular reactions (1-4 months)

A

actions relating to own bodies that initially happened by chance but then repeated for pleasure

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11
Q

Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)

A

Repetition of interesting acts on objects that extend beyond oneself to objects in the environment

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12
Q

coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months)

A

combine secondary actions to solve simple problems e.g. pushing an obstacle out of the way to grasp desired objects

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13
Q

Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)

A

Experimentation to find new ways to solve problems or produce interesting outcomes (e.g., explore bathwater by gently patting it, then hitting it vigorously and watching the results)

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14
Q

Symbollic Thought (18-24 months)

A

First evidence of insight/thought and symbolic capacity, where an object or word can be used to represent another

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15
Q

object permanence

A

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view

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16
Q

A-not-B error

A

tendency of 8 to 12 month olds to search for a hidden object where they previously found it even after they have seen it moved to a new location.

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17
Q

invisible displacement task

A

Assess object permanence by hiding a ball under a cup, moving the cups around, then observing the reaction of the child.

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18
Q

Up until 4-8 months (object understanding)

A

out of sight out of mind

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19
Q

by 8-12 months (object understanding)

A

Fail the A-not-B task

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20
Q

by 12-18 months (object understanding)

A

pass A-not-B task but have trouble with invisible displacement task

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21
Q

by 18-24 months (object understanding)

A

pass the invisible displacement task, mastery of object permanence

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22
Q

Class inclusion

A

Understanding that a class can contain subclasses e.g. dogs are animals

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23
Q

Critique of class inclusion tasks

A

Language and question framing can significantly affect children’s performance

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24
Q

Conservation

A

the concept that certain properties of an object or substance do not change when its appearance is altered in some superficial way

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25
Critique of conservation tasks
Children might think they are being asked the same question so need to change the pragmatics and question framing to warrant better performance
26
hypothetical-deductive reasoning
the ability to reason from general ideas to specific implications, often tested with the pendulum task
27
What is the Pendulum Task?
used to assess a child's ability to think systematically and use hypothetico-deductive reasoning, which are hallmarks of formal operational thought.
28
What factors can be varied in the Pendulum Task?
Length of string, amount of weight, height and strength of impetus
29
How do concrete operators typically approach the Pendulum Task?
They likely use trial and error, without advanced planning.
30
How should formal operational individuals approach the Pendulum Task?
systematically test cause and effect. They would use hypothetical-deductive reasoning, forming hypotheses about which factors matter and then designing experiments to test those hypotheses
31
what does Vygotsky mean by "tools of thought"
Cultural tools like language, symbols, and strategies passed across generations to support thinking.
32
Zone of Proximal Development
the difference between what children can do with assistance and what they can do alone
33
Key difference between Piaget and Vygotsky
Piaget emphasised stages and independant exploration, Vygotsky emphasised social interaction and culture
34
Guided participation (Vygotsky)
children learn by actively participating in culturally relevant activities with support from their parents and other knowledgeable individuals
35
What are the 6 concepts that explain how children think about biological concepts across development?
Piaget's view, movement, growth, bioloigcal attributes, inheritance, essentialism
36
What is animism in Piaget's theory?
The belief that inanimate objects have thoughts and feelings e.g. the sleepy sun
37
What is egocentrism in childrens thinking (Piaget's view)
assuming others experience the world the same way they do, including animals and objects
38
according to Piaget, why do preoperational children struggle with biological processes?
they lack logical mental operators and struggle with understanding transformations
39
Spelke, Phillips, & Woodward (1995) measured looking behaviour and found what about movement expectations in infants?
7 month olds looked longer at action-at a-distance events, showing surprise as it violates their expectations of how the object works.
40
how did Massey & Gelman (1988) use photographs to test childrens understanding of movement?
By asking 3 and 4 year olds if animals, statues, or machines could move on their own; children understand that only real animals could. 4-year-olds showed more robust understanding that animals featured in the photos could move on their own
41
At what age do children understand basics of growth and healing?
By age 3, children understand animate beings grow and heal
42
How do children use biological categories to make inferences?
They prioritise category over appearance, e.g. classifying a dinosaur and rhino as more similar despite visual differences.
43
# mauri What is essentialism in children's biology understanding?
The belief that living things have unchanging inner essences that determine their identity and behaviour.
44
At what age do children begin to use "insides" to guide categorisation and prediction?
Around 14 months, infants prioritize internal features when external ones are misleading.
45
When do children start to rely less on sex-stereotyped biological traits?
around 9-10 years old
46
What is the significance of children's understanding of inheritance?
Preschoolers differentiate between inherited traits (e.g., eye color) and socially acquired ones (e.g., accents).
47
Causal Reasoning in Development: What do Hume and Kant say about Causality?
Causes precede effects and are close in time and space; Kant emphasised internal mechanisms.
48
# Hume What is the principle of contiguity in causality?
Understanding that causes must occur close in time and space to their effects.
49
What was the key finding of the "Part-Function" study?
14- and 18-month-olds learned that part properties (like color) predict function (e.g., rolling), and were surprised when violated.
50
What did the "Part-Other-Part-Function" study show about learning mechanisms?
14-month-olds but not 18-month-olds “surprised” when new example violates the correlations. 18 months biased to learn correlations that are consistent with what they know about mechanisms
51
What does the Blicket Detector task assess?
Whether children can infer unseen causal mechanisms based on observed patterns (causal reasoning)
52
What did Sobel et al. (2004) find in the Blicket study?
4-year-olds inferred causal mechanisms, while 3-year-olds relied more on associations in one-cause conditions.
53
Why is it scientifically valuable to study children's beliefs?
It helps us understand how conceptual change occurs and what foundational cognitive structures exist early in life.
54
What is intuitive physics in early development?
Early understanding of how the physical world works, such as the gravity bias in toddlers.
55
🔄 Dynamic systems theory
behaviour emerges from interactions between multiple dynamic systems (perception, action, cognition) across time
56
How are perception, action and cognition related in dynamic systems theory?
they are interdependent; changes in one can affect others like an ecosystem
57
What example supports dynamic systems theory from developmental psychology?
Thelen's stepping reflex study showed how motor development is influenced by weight and environment (e.g., water buoyancy).
58
Reflexes: What happens to the stepping reflex after birth, and why did Thelen's study matter?
It seems to disappear but can reappear in water; it shows reflexes can be masked by physical development.
59
Why does the stepping reflex disappear on land but reappear in water?
Babies gain weight and lose leg strength, but water makes them buoyant enough to step again.
60
⚖️ Balance and Vision: What are visual flow fields and why are they important?
Visual cues from movement that help infants adjust balance and coordinate motor actions.
61
How does vision contribute to maintaining balance in infants?
Infants use peripheral vision (flow fields) to detect movement and stabilise posture.
62
🖐️ Reaching and Action: What was the Sticky Mittens Study (Libertus & Needham, 2010)?
Infants given mittens that stick to objects gained motor experience earlier, promoting reaching and grasping.
63
# goal-directed actions What was the effect of sticky mittens on infant development?
Infants developed motor skills earlier and showed better understanding of goal-directed actions.
64
👶 Understanding Intentions: What question did Sommerville, Woodward & Needham (2005) explore?
Whether bodily experience (like reaching) helps infants understand others' goal-directed behavior.
65
What did 3-month-olds in the Sticky Mittens group show in intention understanding?
They looked longer at a new goal in an action, suggesting they recognized the original goal, indicating social cognition development.
66
Why is the sticky mitten effect important for understanding cognitive development?
It shows that motor experience helps infants interpret the intentions of others, connecting physical and social development.
67
How does physical development influence social understanding?
Gaining motor skills allows infants to better understand and predict other people's actions.
68
Synthetic View of Development: What does it mean to take a synthetic view of development?
To study development by integrating physical, cognitive, and social processes rather than in isolation.
69
Why can't we study the mind in isolation from action and perception?
Because what children can do with their bodies affects how they think and interpret social interactions.