Week 9 - Cognitive Development Flashcards
(69 cards)
Core idea of Piagets theory of cognitive development
children actively construct knowledge through interacting with the world, development occurs in stages
Schema
how children understand, think about and experience the world
Adaptation
links the child’s schemas and experiences of the world
Assimiliation
interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas
Accomodation
modifying schemas or creating new schemas for new experiences
What does equilibrium refer to in the context of a child’s worldview?
The consistency between internal data and external data.
What are the two processes that work together to enrich a child’s worldview?
Assimilation and accommodation.
Name the 6 substages of Piagets sensorimotor stage
reflex activity, primary circular reaction, secondary circular reactions, coordination of secondary circular reactions, tertiary circular reactions, symbollic thought
Reflex Activity (Birth - 1 month)
active exercise and refinement of inborn reflexes
primary circular reactions (1-4 months)
actions relating to own bodies that initially happened by chance but then repeated for pleasure
Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)
Repetition of interesting acts on objects that extend beyond oneself to objects in the environment
coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months)
combine secondary actions to solve simple problems e.g. pushing an obstacle out of the way to grasp desired objects
Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)
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)
Symbollic Thought (18-24 months)
First evidence of insight/thought and symbolic capacity, where an object or word can be used to represent another
object permanence
the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view
A-not-B error
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.
invisible displacement task
Assess object permanence by hiding a ball under a cup, moving the cups around, then observing the reaction of the child.
Up until 4-8 months (object understanding)
out of sight out of mind
by 8-12 months (object understanding)
Fail the A-not-B task
by 12-18 months (object understanding)
pass A-not-B task but have trouble with invisible displacement task
by 18-24 months (object understanding)
pass the invisible displacement task, mastery of object permanence
Class inclusion
Understanding that a class can contain subclasses e.g. dogs are animals
Critique of class inclusion tasks
Language and question framing can significantly affect children’s performance
Conservation
the concept that certain properties of an object or substance do not change when its appearance is altered in some superficial way