Ch. 6 Theories of Cognitive Development
pendulum task
key to hold everything constant constant EXCEPT one variable to see if valuable effects it
children develop a naïve understanding of the relations between mind and behavior between ages 2 and 5.
theory of mind
deductive reasoning
(part of "formal operational stage" in in Piaget's cognitive development) the ability to draw appropriate conclusions from facts Ex: a.) if you hit a glass w/ a hammer, the glass will break b.) Don't hit a glass w/ a hammer conclusion: "the glass broke"
Stages Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Stages: (broken down Mentally) 1. sensoriomotor stage (birth to 2 yrs) 2. preoperational stage (2 to 7 yrs) 3. concrete operational stage (7 to 11 yrs) 4. formal operational stage (11 yrs through adulthood)
concrete operational stage limitations
cognitive limitations---fixated on reality -do not function well w/ abstract throught
__________________ theories expand the focus to recognize distinct domains of evolutionary significant knowledge.
core knowledge
beginning at about __a___ months, infants become active experimenters now babies ______b_______ actions w/ different objects solely for the purpose of seeing what will happen
a) 12 b) repeat
4th phase represents a fundamental shift in children's Theory of mind: Children understand that behavior is based on a person's ____a_____ about events and situations, EVEN WHEN...
a) beliefs b) those experiences are wrong
5th and final phase of theory of mind in which children understand that people may feel one ______a_______ but show ________b__________.
a) emotion b) another
preschoolers in China and Iran typically understand differences in ______a_______ before differences in _____b______.
a) knowledge b) beliefs
The five-phase sequence of Theory of Mind is more common in Western nations compared to China and Iran b/c parents in China and Iran emphasize ______a________ and are less _________b__________ of diff. beliefs.
a) knowledge b) tolerant (his leads to preschoolers in China and Iran typically understand differences in knowledge BEFORE differences in beliefs)
a defining feature of children in the ___________________ stage of development is that they are often egocentric--they are unable to take the perspective of other people.
preoperational
Infants and toddler use ____a_______ to identify animate objects. By 12 to 15 months children have determined that _________b__________ are self-propelled, can move in irregular paths, and act to achieve goals
a) motion b) animate objects
Between ____ and ____ months, infants show great interest in world, paying far more attention to objects
4 and 8
2nd phase of theory of mind in which children know that people can have different ________________.
beliefs
Younger children may "sound out" a word's spelling, but older children simply retrieve it from memory. this is an example of what type developmental change in information processing?
better strategies
young children's theories of living things are also rooted in ____________________: children believe that all living things have an essence that can't be seen but gives a living thing its identity.
Essentialism
asked by a teacher to format assignment in a new way (ex: write their name in a different location on the page), older children are more successful in adapting to the new format) this is an example of what type developmental change in information processing?
More effective executive functioning
________________________ created, in part, to account for the fact that most children acquire some kinds of knowledge relatively easy and early in life.
core-knowledge theories
According to core-knowledge theories, ______________ allows children to predict where and how objects will move in the environment.
naïve physics
According to core-knowledge theories, ______________ makes for more successful interactions w/ others;
naïve psychology
________________ allows us to predict how people act.
naïve psychology
according to ___________________, although adolescents and adults acquire more knowledge as they grow older, their fundamental way of thinking remains UNCHANGED.
piaget's cognitive theory
____________ is an important technique for transferring skills from others to child in formal and informal settings.
scaffolding
early in learning a new task, when a child knows little, teachers provide a lot of instruction. As the child begins to catch on to the task, the teacher provides less instruction and only occasional reminders. this is an example of ________________.
scaffolding (1 of 3 of Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective most important contributions)
in creating core-knowledge theories, children DON'T start from ______________; instead, a few innate principles provide the starting point ex: principle of cohesion, the idea that objects move as connected wholes
scratch
________________ approach expands the focus of cognitive development research from a solitary child to one who is surrounded by people and the culture they represent
sociocultural
research on infants' naïve theories of physics shows that they _______________________.
understand that solids keep their shape when moved but liquids do not.
____________ includes both ongoing cognitive processes and the info that they require; also briefly stores the results of these analysis while they are used by other cognitive processes
working memory
an unmastered skill often occupies _____________________. In contrast, when a skill has been mastered, individual steps are no longer stored in _________________, leaving capacity for other activities.
working memory
Vygotsky = ____________ perspective
sociocultural
preoperational stage
(2-7yrs preschool-1st grade) -continued use of symbols -still using gestures -show incredible advances in fine motor skills (ex: writing, drawing) -pretend play and imaginary play -their logic NOT very adult-like; their perspective is very experience and appearance based cognitive advances -use of symbols cognitive limitations -EGOCENTRISM: in preschoolers, self-centered thinking b/c they don't have cognitive ability to think from others' perspectives -CONSERVATION
concrete operational stage
(7-11 yrs; elementary school-5th grade) egocentrism declines -thought becomes more logical and not so appearance--based but ONLY thinking in a very "concrete" (fixed) way children can only think logically about whatthey are familiar w/ and/or something right in front of them cognitive advances -reduced egocentrism -logical thought -conversation --identity: actual transformation/observing transformation and comprehending --decentered thinking centration: fixating on only 1 aspect of something at a time Decentration: able to think about more than 1 characeristic at a time --dynamic transformation --reversability: thinking task the other way around
growth: children understand that from their first appearance, ____a_____ get bigger and physically more complex but that __________b_____________ do not.
(Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include this element) a) animals b) inanimate objects
healing: children understand that when injured, animate things heal by _______a________ where as inanimate objects must be _______________b___________.
(Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include this element) a) growth b) fixed by humans
illness: children understand that _____a____ illnesses can be inherited from parents temporary illness can be _____b_______ through contact with others and someone can become ill by eating _____________c_______________.
(Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include this element) a) permanent b) transmitted c) contaminated food
internal parts: insides of animals contain _________________ than insides of inanimate objects.
(Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include this element) different materials
inheritance: Children realize that only living things that have offspring that...
(Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include this element) resemble their parents
Movement: children understand that animals can move _________a___________ but inanimate objects can only be moved by __________b___________________.
(Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include this element) a) themselves b) other objects or by people
better strategies
(Type of developmental change in information processing) Older children use faster, more accurate, and easier strategies to solve problems ex: Younger children may "sound out" a word's spelling, but older children simply retrieve it from memory---the older child's approach is more efficient
More effective executive functioning
(Type of developmental change in information processing) older children are more skilled at inhibiting inappropriate thoughts or actions, shifting from one task to another, and updating -these improvements fuel many cognitive-developmental changes, including improved reasoning and mastery of academic skills ex: asked by a teacher to format assignment in a new way (ex: write their name in a different location on the page), older children are more successful in adapting to the new format)
Increased speed of processing
(Type of developmental change in information processing) older children can execute mental processes more rapidly than younger children. ex: shown a pic of a dog, older children can retrieve the name "dog" from memory more rapidly
increased automatic processing
(Type of developmental change in information processing) older children execute more processes automatically (w/o using working memory) Ex: asked to get ready for bed, an older child goes through all t he tasks (ex: brush teeth, put on pjs) while thinking about other things, but a younger child focuses on each task as well as what to do next. -AUTOMATIC PROCESSES: cognitive activities that require virtually NO effort
classical conditioning
(Type of learning theory) creating association between stimulus and response; this learning is triggered by the ENVIRONMENT -Pavlov's Dog: Pavlov presented a stimulus (e.g. the sound of a metronome) and then gave the dog food; after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the stimulus. -Little Albert (watson): demonstrated that classical conditioning—the association of a particular stimulus or behavior with an unrelated stimulus or behavior—works in human beings. In the experiment, psychologist John Watson was able to condition a previously unafraid baby to become afraid of a rat. Practical application of classical conditioning: frustrated nurses after a long day of work, infants would get scared so light would turn on so babies knew if nurses would perform a painful procedure on them so they would not be scared every time a nurse came in ----------creating neg. association w/ light rather than neg. association w/ nurses, therefore they are not scared all the time when nurses enter.
formal operational stage
(age 11-up; middle school---older) cognitive advances -abstract thought -hypothetical thought cognitive limitations adolescent egocentrism: different meaning than in pre-operational stage, hightened awareness of self , ex: being conscious of needing to look certain way and giving more weight than actually needed) --imaginary audience --personal fable: teens tend to have hightened sense of thought processes and emotions (ex: impressed by own thinking that no one has ever thought) --illusion of invincibility (awareness that bad things happen but not to me -vocab more advanced defining more abstract concepts
sensoriomotor stage
(birth to 2 yrs) cognitive advances -OBJECT PERMANENCE: (developing during this period, ~8-12months, not there at birth) -use of symbols: anything symbolic to represent something else (ex: waving goodbye, teaching baby sign language, mainly gestures and body language); not done in newborns but later developed mental problem solving: ex: children typically 1 yr (1-1.5 yrs trial and error, at 1.5 yrs will start to match piece in right box about 18 months age)
Bobo experiement (Bandura)
(observational learning) had children watch adults play w/ inflatabl clown and he demonstrated that when adults played aggressively w/ the doll, so he did the children also 3 groups: 1) watched aggressive behavior, adult got rewarded 2) watched aggressive behavior, adult got punished---less likely to behave aggressively children observe both behaviors and consequences
Characteristics of information processing
(one of the more modern theories of cognitive development) based on the computer metaphor, views cognitive change in terms of better strategies, increased capacity of working memory, more effective inhibitory and exec. processing, more automatic processing, and faster processing feed.
Characteristics of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
(one of the more modern theories of cognitive development) views cognitive development as a sociocultural enterprise; experts use scaffolding to help a novice acquire knowledge; children use private speech to regulate their own thinking.
Characteristics of core-knowledge
(one of the more modern theories of cognitive development) views cognitive development as an innate capability to easily acquire knowledge in such specialized domains of evolutionary importance as language, knowledge of objects, and understanding behaviors
observational learning
(type of learning theories) learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others. It is a form of social learning which takes various forms, based on various processes. -Bobo experiement (Bandura): had children watch adults play w/ inflatabl clown and he demonstrated that when adults played aggressively w/ the doll, so he did the children
centration
(part of concrete operational stage) fixating on only 1 aspect of something at a time
Automatic process
(part of increased automatic processing, a Type of developmental change in information processing) cognitive activities that require virtually NO effort
conservation
(part of preoperational stage) understanding a quantity of something is the same no matter what it looks (children this stage don't understand this); a quantity is the same regardless of appearance, container, etc. -conversation of liquids: children in pre-operation stage thinking based on appearance, not thinking -conversation of number: think top row has more even though same #. -conversation of length
egocentrism test
(preoperational stage) test: 3 mountain test; 3 dimensional set-up, ask child to view from each side of table and they will ask which picture doll is looking at (thinking doll sees what they see) ---these habits will disappear in concrete operational stage -children developing Theory of Mind
Operant conditioning
(type of classical conditioning) by child's behavior and environment will react (ex: parent, others around) -REINFORCEMENT: an environment response that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated ---------positive reinforcement: child given something pleasant ex: big bang theory ---------negative reinforcement: still positive; taking away something aversive ex: heachache taken away it tylenol ex: putting seatbelt on reinforced not to hear seatbelt noise -PUNISHMENT: an environmental response that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated; child behaves and environment response in a negative way -ex: punishment taking child out of situation the world puts more emphasis on reinforcement than punishment but some children respond to discipline differently
Little Albert (Watson)
(type of classical conditioning) demonstrated that classical conditioning—the association of a particular stimulus or behavior with an unrelated stimulus or behavior—works in human beings. In the experiment, psychologist John Watson was able to condition a previously unafraid baby to become afraid of a rat. -Albert was playing w/ little white rat and was not afraid of it but then every time he would play with it, Watson would make loud banging noises so eventually albert started to fear the rat b/c he associated it with loud banging noises. Fear was conditioned into baby Albert
Pavlov's Dog
(type of classical conditioning) Dog's would salivate in anticipation of food when hearing owner ring a bell after doing this many times -Pavlov presented a stimulus (e.g. the sound of a metronome) and then gave the dog food; after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the stimulus.
reinforcement
(type of operant conditioning) an environment response that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated ---------positive reinforcement: child given something pleasant ex: big bang theory ---------negative reinforcement: still positive; taking away something aversive ex: heachache taken away it tylenol ex: putting seatbelt on reinforced not to hear seatbelt noise
punishment
(type of operant conditioning) an environmental response that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated; child behaves and environment response in a negative way -ex: punishment taking child out of situation
negative reinforcement
(type of operant conditioning) still positive; taking away something aversive ex: heachache taken away it tylenol ex: putting seatbelt on reinforced not to hear seatbelt noise
scaffolding
(vygotsky's sociocultural view) teaching children by providing instruction and support that is tailored to the individual child's needs; mentoring and supporting children in attempts to learn something
zone of proximal development
(vygotsky's sociocultural view) the distance between a child's actual developmental level and a higher level of potential development w/ adult guidance; optimal level of learning (depending on difficulty) -you learn when tasks are challenging (not too easy and not too hard)
limits to children's naïve theories of biology:
-theories aren't complete (ex: although preschooler know plants grow and heal, they don't consider them to be living things until 7 or 8 yrs of age)
Types of developmental change in information processing (How information processing changes w/ development):
1) better strategies 2) More effective executive functioning 3) increased automatic processing -AUTOMOATIC PROCESSES 4) Increased speed of processing
Types of learning theories
1) classical conditioning -Pavlov's Dog 2) operant conditioning 3) observational learning (a.k.a. social learning) -all 3 work together; diff. ways how children learn
Henry Wellman believes that children's THEORY OF MIND moved through several phases during the preschool years which are:
1) in earliest phase, preschoolers understand that people can have diff. DESIRES 2) next phase, children know that people can have diff. BELIEFS 3) Phase 3, children understand that different experiences can lead to different STATES OF KNOWLEDGE 4) 4th phase represents a fundamental shift: Children understand that behavior is based on a person's beliefs about events and situations, EVEN WHEN THOSE BELIEFS ARE WRONG 5) final phase in which children understand that people may feel one emotion but show another.
executive function includes 3 related components:
1) inhibiting inappropriate thoughts and actions 2) shifting from one action, thought, or task to another 3) updating the contents of working memory
Many 4 yr olds' theories of biology include the following elements:
1) movement 2) growth 3) internal parts 4) inheritance 5) illness 6) healing
shown a pic of a dog, older children can retrieve the name "dog" from memory more rapidly this is an example of what type developmental change in information processing?
Increased speed of processing
_____________ is rarely forgotten, though it is sometimes hard to access.
Long-term memory
autism
a disorder in which individuals are uninterested in other people and have limited social skills, lag behind typically developing children in understanding false belief. -prompted one explanation for the development of a theory of mind that suggests that it is based on INNATE, specialized module coming online in the preschool yrs that automatically recognizes behaviors associated w/ diff. mental states such as wanting, pretending, and believing -the theory-of-mind module that some suspect is missing in autistic children is thought to emerge during preschool years in typical development; some point to a role for executive function, others emphasize contribution of language, grammatical forms, interactions with other people, etc.
teleological explanations
a fundamental part of young children's theory of living things in which children believe that living things and parts of living things exist for a purpose.
infants' first categories denote groups of objects with many similar ____________a____________ and __________b__________. At the same time, children learn that there first categories can also be ___________c______________.
a) perceptual features (ex of perceptual features categorization: "dog" category includes 4-legged animals w/ a distinctive snout) b) functions (ex: 2 objects that look diff. but sound the same when shaken) c) subdivided (ex: flowers include subcategories of roses, tulips, and daisies)
By knowing that an object belongs to a category, we learn some of its ________a_________, including __________b____________ and _________c____________.
a) properties b) what it can do c) where we are likely to find it
preschool children attain a _________a________. after these yrs, their __________________b_____________ moves beyond _______a________ and embraces and embraces an ever-expanding range of psychological phenomena.
a) theory of mind b) folk psychology
Decentration
able to think about more than 1 characeristic at a time
formal operational stage
able to think about more than 1 characeristic at a time -pendulum task -combo of chemicals task
In Piaget's theory, __________________ is illustrated by a breast-fed baby who changes the way that she sucks to get milk from a bottle.
accommodation
An explanation for the development of a theory of mind that suggests that it is based on INNATE, specialized module coming online in the preschool yrs that automatically recognizes behaviors associated w/ diff. mental states such as wanting, pretending, and believing this view was prompted in part, by the finding that children with _____________, a disorder in which individuals are uninterested in other people and have limited social skills, lag behind typically developing children in understanding false belief.
autism
positive reinforcement
child given something pleasant (type of operant conditioning) ex: big bang theory
Essentialism
children believe that all living things have an essence that can't be seen but gives a living thing its identity. (Ex: all birds share an underlying "bird-ness" that distinguished them from dogs who share an underlying "dog-ness")
theory of mind
children develop a naïve understanding of the relations between mind and behavior between ages 2 and 5. Henry Wellman believes that children's THEORY OF MIND moved through several phases during the preschool years which are: 1) in earliest phase, preschoolers understand that people can have diff. DESIRES 2) next phase, children know that people can have diff. BELIEFS 3) Phase 3, children understand that different experiences can lead to different STATES OF KNOWLEDGE 4) 4th phase represents a fundamental shift: Children understand that behavior is based on a person's beliefs about events and situations, EVEN WHEN THOSE BELIEFS ARE WRONG 5) final phase in which children understand that people may feel one emotion but show another.
_________________ is triggered by the environment. It is the the association of a particular stimulus or behavior with an unrelated stimulus or behavior
classical conditioning
culture often defines which ____________ activities are valued
cognitive (cultural contexts organize cognitive development according to Vygotsky)
core knowledge, information processing, and sociocultural theories providing ____________________ accounts of cognitive development.
complementary (not competing)
"_________________ youth take an earth-bound, concrete, practical-minded sort of problem solving approach, one that persistently fixates on the perceptible and the inferable reality right there in front of him"
concrete operational
central executive (also called executive function)
coordinates all the the activities of the Mental hardware components (sensory memory, working memory, long-term memory) which refers to the executive network of attention; resembles a computer's operating system executive function includes 3 related components: 1) inhibiting inappropriate thoughts and actions 2) shifting from one action, thought, or task to another 3) updating the contents of working memory
core-knowledge theorists believe that children's theories are focused on _______________, rather than being all- encompassing as Piaget proposed
core domains
earliest phase of theory of mind in which preschoolers understand that people can have different ____________________.
desires
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
did not think children think same way as adults Stages: (broken down Mentally) 1. sensoriomotor stage (birth to 2 yrs) 2. preoperational stage (2 to 7 yrs) 3. concrete operational stage (7 to 11 yrs) 4. formal operational stage (11 yrs through adulthood)
most children in Western cultures believe that __________________ are inside an animal b/c they think that removing an animal's inside parts changes the animal's identity.
essences
True/False: giving a child a time out is an example of negative reinforcement
false (this is an example of punishment)
True/False: egocentrism in preschool aged children is an example of a social/emotional delay
false (this is normal for children between the ages of 2-7 during the preoperational stage)
not everybody gets to _____________________ stage--related to how children are asked to think, can be development on schooling or culture
formal operational (only ~50% of college freshman are tested for formal operational stage)
Practical application of classical conditioning:
frustrated nurses after a long day of work, infants would get scared so light would turn on so babies knew if nurses would perform a painful procedure on them so they would not be scared every time a nurse came in ----------creating neg. association w/ light rather than neg. association w/ nurses, therefore they are not scared all the time when nurses enter.
info-processing theorists believe that developmental change occurs _____________________.
in several diff. forms, rather than by a single mechanism.
the ___________ to talk is a sign of atypical development
inability
asked to get ready for bed, an older child goes through all t he tasks (ex: brush teeth, put on pjs) while thinking about other things, but a younger child focuses on each task as well as what to do next. this is an example of what type developmental change in information processing?
increased automatic processing
Renée Baillargeon's object permanence experiment using a red box and procedure in which infants saw a silver screen that appeared to be rotating back and forth demonstrated that...
infants have some understanding of object permanency early in the first yr of life (as the infants found the disappearing fox a novel b/c they knew it was not realistic as evident by staring at it longer at 4 1/2 months old)
vygotsky's sociocultural view of cognitive development
influence of social interaction and culture; children learn from interacting with other people more knowledgeable -looked at importance of culture in children developed -zone of proximal development: the distance between a child's actual developmental level and a higher level of potential development w/ adult guidance; optimal level of learning (depending on difficulty) -scaffolding-teaching children by providing instruction and support that is tailored to the individual child's needs; mentoring and supporting children in attempts to learn something -inner speech
____________________ expands the focus of developmental mechanisms from accommodation and assimilation to executive functioning, processing speed, and other mechanisms derived from mental hardware and mental software.
information processing
An explanation for the development of a theory of mind that suggests that it is based on ____________, specialized module coming online in the preschool yrs that automatically recognizes behaviors associated w/ diff. mental states such as wanting, pretending, and believing
innate
Many experiments have revealed that 1 yr olds understand _________________.
intentionality
Fundamental to adults' naïve theories is the distinction between.....
living and nonliving things
modules
mental structures related to the core-knowledge theories
absence of theory of mind = "________________"
mindblindness
According to core-knowledge theories, ______________ is important in avoiding predators and maintaining health
naïve biology
folk psychology
our normal beliefs about other people and their behavior -idea that people's behavior is often intention------designed to achieve a goal --Children's folk psychology flourishes in the pre-k yrs, allowing them to see what other people's behavior is not predictable, but follow regular patterns
Children's folk psychology flourishes in the ____________ yrs, allowing them to see what other people's behavior is not predictable, but follow regular patterns
preschool
core-knowledge theories
propose distinctive domains of knowledge, some which are acquired very early in life -created, in part, to account for the fact that most children acquire some kinds of knowledge relatively easy and early in life. -according to these theorists, some forms of knowledge are so important for human survival that specialized systems have evolved to simplify learning of those forms of knowledge (Ex: spoken language, knowledge of objects, and understanding behaviors) -core-knowledge theorists believe that children's theories are focused on CORE DOMAINS, rather than being all- encompassing as Piaget proposed -also in creating these theories, children DON'T start from scratch; instead, a few innate principles provide the starting point
vygotsky's sociocultural view of cognitive development: source of behavior regulation and instruction
starts off external and moves to being more internal (goes through 3 phases:) 1. speech from others (external) 2. private speech (intermediate step); children talking to themselves outline 3. inner speech (nternal)
3rd phase of theory of mind in which children understand that different experiences can lead to different _____________________________________.
states of knowledge
_______________ is related to how children attribute their own intentions and goals to other living objects.
teleological explanations
different views on how a child's theory of mind emerges:
the theory-of-mind module that some suspect is missing in autistic children is thought to emerge during preschool years in typical development; some point to a role for executive function, others emphasize contribution of language, grammatical forms, interactions with other people
True/False: object permanence develops during the sensorimotor thought stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development
true
True/False: only half of freshman college students show formal operational thinking
true
True/False: the zone of proximal development represents the level of task difficulty associated w/ optimal learning.
true
understanding objects
(1 of 3 fronts of sensorimotor stage in Piaget's cognitive development) -animate and inanimate objects all share a fundamental property: they exist INDEPENDENTLY of our actions and thoughts concerning them. OBJECT PERMANENCE: Understanding that objects exist independently; infant lack this understanding for much of the first year -according to piaget, infants dont have full understanding of object permanence until about 18 months of age
adapting to and exploring the environment
(1 of 3 fronts of sensorimotor stage in Piaget's cognitive development) -between 1 and 4 months, reflexes first modified by experience (ex: sucking the nipple will later be initiated by infant themselves rather than by reflex) -Between 4 and 8 months, infants show great interest in world, paying far more attention to objects - ~8 months, infants start to have onset, deliberate, intentional behavior; "means" and "end" of activities are distinct -beginning at about 12 months, infants become active experimenters; now babies repeat actions w/ different objects solely for the purpose of seeing what will happen
using symbols
(1 of 3 fronts of sensorimotor stage in Piaget's cognitive development) -words and gestures are symbols that stand for something else -by 18 months, most infants have begun to talk and gesture, evidence of the emerging capacity to use symbols. this is when they also begin to engage in pretend play
private speech
(1 of 3 of Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective most important contributions) a behavior where a child says comments not directed to others but intended to help children regulate their own behavior. -first children's behavior regulated by speech from other people directed toward them. Then when the child first tries to control their own behavior and thoughts w/o parents, they instruct themselves by speaking aloud. finally, as a child gain even-greater skill, private speech becomes INNER SPEECH (Vygotsky's term for thought)
scaffolding
(1 of 3 of Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective most important contributions) refers to a teaching style that matches the amount of assistance to the learner's needs -early in learning a new task, when a child knows little, teachers provide a lot of instruction. As the child begins to catch on to the task, the teacher provides less instruction and only occasional reminders. -promotes early learning and more effective learning
Zone of proximal development
(1 of 3 of Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective most important contributions) defined by what a child can do w/ assistance and what they can do alone; the diff. between the level of performance a child can achieve when working independently and the higher level of performance that is possible when working under the guidance of more skilled adults or peers. -collaborators help children perform effectively by providing structure, hints, and reminders -follows Vygotsky's basic premise that cognition developed first in a social setting and only gradually comes under the child's independent control.
sensory memory
(Part of mental hardware of information-processing theory) where info is held briefly in raw, unanalyzed form (no longer than a few seconds)
working memory
(Part of mental hardware of information-processing theory) the site of ongoing cognitive activity. -includes both ongoing cognitive processes and the info that they require -also briefly stores the results of these analysis while they are used by other cognitive processes
Long-term memory
(Part of mental hardware of information-processing theory) a limitless, permanent storehouse of knowledge of the world. -includes facts, personal events, and skills and is rarely forgotten, though it is sometimes hard to access.
sociocultural perspective
(Vygotsky's Theory) children are products of their CULTURE; children's cognitive development is not only brought about by social interaction, it is inseparable from the cultural contexts in which children live -child development is never a solitary journey INTERSUBJECTIVITY: refers to mutual, shared understanding among participants in an activity; captures the social nature of cognitive development. -----this interaction typify GUIDED PARTICIPATION: cognitive growth results from children's involvement in structures activities w/ others who are more skilled than they.
accommodation
(according to Piaget's Theory) occurs when a child's theories is modified based on experience (if an unexpected experience occurs) Ex: Baby with theory of dogs is surprised the first time she encounters a cat--it resembles a dog but meows instead of barks and rubs up against her instead of licking ex2: discovering some objects can't be grasped unless baby uses 2 hands; revised "theory of grasping" now distinguishes objects that can be grasped w/ one hand from those that require 2 hands
assimilation
(according to Piaget's Theory) occurs when new experiences are readily incorporated into a child's existing theories Ex: Baby has a dog that licks your face and barks, and you have same experience w/ dog at a relative's house, this makes sense b/c it fits simple theory of dogs Ex2: extending grasping to new objects
equilibration
(according to Piaget's Theory) when disequilibrium occurs, children recognize their theories to return to state of equilibrium
intersubjectivity
(applies to sociocultural theory) refers to mutual, shared understanding among participants in an activity; captures the social nature of cognitive development.
constructivism
(emphasized by Piaget's cognitive research and theory) the view that children are active participants in their own development who systematically construct ever-more sophisticated understandings of their worlds.
mental operations
(part of "concrete operational stage" in in Piaget's cognitive development) strategies and rules that makes thinking more systematic and more powerful -some of these operations apply to numbers, some apply to categories of objects, and others apply to spatial relations among objects -another important property of these operations is that they can be reversed ---------ex: concrete operational children are able to reverse their thinking in a way that preoperational youngsters cannot such as being able to pass the conservation task that they could not during the preoperational stage w/ the glasses of equal juice.
centration
(part of "preoperational stage" in Piaget's cognitive development) Narrowly focused thought that characterizes preoperational youngsters; characterized as preoperational tunnel vision: children often concentrate on one aspect of a problem but ignore other, equally equivalent aspects. -Piaget demonstrated this in his experiments involving CONSERVATION, which tested when children realize that important proper properties of objects (or sets of objects) stay the same despite changes in their physical appearance Ex: children shown identical glasses filled with same amount of juice that is then poured into a taller thinner class and a smaller glass, however even though the juice appears at different levels in the glasses, each glass has exactly the same amount of juice. Nevertheless, a preoperational child that the tall, thin glass has more juice than the other smaller glass. --------this reflects the centers thought that is common in children at this stage and how these children ignore the fact that the change in level of juice is always accompanied by a change in the diameter of the glass.
animism
(part of "preoperational stage" in Piaget's cognitive development) a phenomenon where preoperational children sometimes credit inanimate objects with life and lifelike properties
egocentrism
(part of "preoperational stage" in Piaget's cognitive development) refers to young children's difficulty in seeing the world from another's viewpoint -preoperational children stubbornly cling to their way not to be contrary but b/c they do not comprehend that other people have diff. feelings and ideas -reason why THINKING is still limited even though children being able to use symbols represents is a huge advancement over sensorimotor thinking -this often leads preoperational youngsters to attribute their own thoughts and feels to others
object permanence
(part of "understanding objects" which is 1 of 3 fronts of sensorimotor stage in Piaget's cognitive development) Understanding that objects exist independently -infant lack this understanding for much of the first year; infant understanding of objects summarized as "out of sight, out of mind"; objects for infants are fleeting, existing when in sight and no longer existing when out of site -from 4 to 8 months infant will lose interest or forget about an object if object hidden as though it never existed -at 8 months, infants search for object that experimenter covered -"A not B error":when infants see an object hidden under one container several times, then see it hidden under a second container, they usually look for toy under first container. -according to piaget, infants dont have full understanding of object permanence until about 18 months of age
"A not B error"
(relates to object permanence) when infants see an object hidden under one container several times, then see it hidden under a second container, they usually look for toy under first container. -shows infants' limited understanding of objects: infants DONT distinguish the object from the actions they use to locate it, such as reaching for a particular container
sensorimotor stage
(stage 1 of 4 in Piaget's cognitive development) spans birth to 2 yrs, a period during which the infant progressed from simple reflex actions to symbolic processing (rapidly changing perceptual and motor skills in first 2 yrs lead to this distinct phase) In the 24 months of this stage: infants' thinking progresses remarkably along 3 fronts: 1) ADAPTING TO AND EXPLORING THE ENVIRONMENT 2) UNDERSTANDING OBJECTS -object permanence 3)USING SYMBOLS
preoperational stage
(stage 2 of 4 in Piaget's cognitive development) Marked by the child's use of symbols to represent objects and events; ages 2 to 7, encompassing preschool and early elementary school -throughought this period, preschool children gradually become proficient at using common symbols, such as words, gestures, graphs, maps, and models -although using symbols represents a huge advancement over sensorimotor thinking, their thinking is still limited due to EGOCENTRISM: refers to young children's difficulty in seeing the world from another's viewpoint -preoperational children stubbornly cling to their way not to be contrary but b/c they do not comprehend that other people have diff. feelings and ideas ANIMISM: a phenomenon where preoperational children sometimes credit inanimate objects with life and lifelike properties CENTRATION: Narrowly focused thought that characterizes preoperational youngsters -centrism and egocentrism are major limits to this stage but are overcome in the next stage, the concrete operational stage
concrete operational stage
(stage 3 of 4 in Piaget's cognitive development) children first use mental operations to solve problems and to reason -this stage spans ages 7 to 11, encompassing elementary school and middle school; this stage is more adult-like and much less childlike MENTAL OPERATIONS: strategies and rules that makes thinking more systematic and more powerful -this thinking is much more powerful than preoperational thinking -REALITY is the foundation of concrete operational thinking. Limitations of concrete operational thinking: Limited to tangible and real, to the here and now; thinking abstractly and hypothetically is beyond the ability of concrete operational thinkers
formal operational stage
(stage 4 of 4 in Piaget's cognitive development) Children and adolescents apply mental operations to abstract entities; they think hypothetically and reason deductively (they realize that reality is NOT the only possibility) -Extends roughly from ages 11 and up, encompassing adolescence and adulthood DEDUCTIVE REASONING: the ability to draw appropriate conclusions from facts
Basic Principles of Piaget's Theory
-believes children are naturally curious and want to make sense out of their experience and, in the process, construct their understanding of the world -children are like scientists in that they create theories about how the world works -ASSIMILATION: occurs when new experiences are readily incorporated into a child's existing theories -ACCOMADATION: occurs when a child's theories is modified based on experience (if an unexpected experience occurs) ---both assimilation and accommodation are usually in equilibrium -EQUILIBRATION: when disequilibrium occurs, children recognize their theories to return to state of equilibrium
between ____ and ____ months, reflexes first modified by experience (ex: sucking the nipple will later be initiated by infant themselves rather than by reflex)
1 and 4
weaknesses of Piaget's Theory
1) Piaget's theory underestimates cognitive competence in infants and young children and overestimates cognitive competence in adolescents -----infants much more capable and competent than expected based on Piaget's theory 2) The theory is vague concerning mechanisms of change 3) Piaget's stage model does not account for variability in children's performance -----children's thinking may be sophisticated in some domains but naïve in others 4) Piaget's theory undervalues the influence of the sociocultural environment on cognitive development -----child's growing understanding of the world is profoundly influenced by interactions w/ family members, peers, and teachers and takes place against the backdrop of cultural values.
Mental hardware has 3 components: (corresponds with information-processing theory)
1) SENSORY MEMORY: where info is held briefly in raw, unanalyzed form (no longer than a few seconds) 2) WORKING MEMORY: the site of ongoing cognitive activity. 3) LONG-TERM MEMORY: a limitless, permanent storehouse of knowledge of the world.
three of Vygotsky's most important contributions are the concepts of...
1) ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT: defined by what a child can do w/ assistance and what they can do alone 2) SCAFFOLDING: refers to a teaching style that matches the amount of assistance to the learner's needs 3) PRIVATE SPEECH: a behavior where a child says comments not directed to others but intended to help children regulate their own behavior.
cultural contexts organize cognitive development in several ways according to Vygotsky:
1) culture often defines which cognitive activities are valued 2) culture provides tools that shape the way children think 3) higher-level cultural practices help children to organize their knowledge and communicate it to others
Piaget's theory teaches practices that promote cognitive growth:
1) facilitate rather than direct children's learning 2) recognizing individual differences when teaching -instruction is most effective when it is tailored to individual students 3) be sensitive to children's readiness to learn -best teaching experiences are slightly ahead of children's current level of thinking. 4) emphasize exploration and interaction -teachers should therefore encourage children to look at the consistency of their thinking but then let children take the lead in sorting out the inconsistencies.
Three contributions of Piaget's cognitive research and theory in the 20th century:
1) they study of cognitive development itself (before Piaget, scientists paid little attention to cog. development) 2) A new view of children; emphasized CONSTRUCTIVISM: the view that children are active participants in their own development who systematically construct ever-more sophisticated understandings of their worlds. 3) Fascinating, often counterintuitive discoveries Ex: "A not B" error: when infants see an object hidden under one container several times, then see it hidden under a second container, they usually look for toy under first container.
teachers should encourage children to look at the ________1_________ of their thinking but then let children take the lead in sorting out the _________2_________.
1. consistency 2. inconsistencies
Zone of proximal development follows Vygotsky's basic premise that cognition developed first in a ___________1_____________ and only gradually comes under the child's ____________2__________.
1. social setting 2. independent control
by 18 months, most infants have begun to _1___ and ___2____, evidence of the emerging capacity to use symbols. this is when they also begin to engage in _____3_____.
1. talk 2. gesture 3. pretend play
according to piaget, infants dont have full understanding of object permanence until about ____________ of age
18 months
infants lack understanding of object permanence for much of the ________________.
1st year (infant understanding of objects summarized as "out of sight, out of mind"; objects for infants are fleeting, existing when in sight and no longer existing when out of site)
~_____ months, infants start to have onset, deliberate, intentional behavior; "means" and "end" of activities are distinct
8
child learns how to use symbols such as words and numbers to represent aspects of the world, but relates to the world only through his or her own perspective. thinking is centered.
Preoperational stage (2-6yrs)
____________ is the foundation of concrete operational thinking.
Reality
inner speech
Vygotsky's term for thought after a child grains a great skill using private speech
____________________________________ is the diff. between the level of performance a child can achieve when working independently and the higher level of performance that is possible when working under the guidance of more skilled adults or peers.
Zone of proximal development
according to Piaget, children reach a point when their current theories seem to be wrong much of the time, so they abandon these theories I favor of more ________________ ways of thinking about their physical and social worlds
advanced
In Piaget's theory, children make the journey through child development ____________ as they interact w/ physical world
alone
which of the following statements concerning the development of folk psychology is INCORRECT? a) one yr old understand that people's behavior is often intentional, designed to achieve a goal b) in one of the earliest phases of the development of a theory of mind, preschool children understand that people can have diff. desires c) a fundamental shift occurs when children understand that behavior is based on a person's beliefs about events and situations, as long as those beliefs are correct.
c) a fundamental shift occurs when children understand that behavior is based on a person's beliefs about events and situations, as long as those beliefs are correct.
which is NOT one of the defining features of sensorimotor stage? a) dating to ad exploring the environment b) understanding objects c) animism and centration
c) animism and centration (this is part of the preoperational stage)
______________ is preoperational tunnel vision: children often concentrate on one aspect of a problem but ignore other, equally equivalent aspects.
centration
What concept of Piaget's cognitive development theory does this experiment show? Ex: children shown identical glasses filled with same amount of juice that is then poured into a taller thinner class and a smaller glass, however even though the juice appears at different levels in the glasses, each glass has exactly the same amount of juice. Nevertheless, a preoperational child that the tall, thin class has more juice than the other smaller glass.
centration (shown in experiments involving conservation) [this reflects the centers thought that is common in children at this stage and how these children ignore the fact that the change in level of juice is always accompanied by a change in the diameter of the glass.]
thinking abstractly and hypothetically is beyond the ability of __________________________ thinkers
concrete operational
Although centrism and egocentrism are major limits to the preoperational stage, they are overcome in the next stage, the __________________________ stage
concrete operational stage
during the _________________ stage, thinking is rule-oriented and logical but limited to the tangible and real.
concrete operational stage
child understands and applies logical operations to experiences, provided they are focused on the here and now.
concrete operational stage (7-11yrs)
Vygotsky emphasizes learning as a...
cooperative activity in which students work together. (Ex: peer tutoring, group presentations or to achieve common goals) -help students to take responsibility for a project and to become good "team players" -students also learn how to consider diff. viewpoints and how to resolve conflicts
____________________ propose(s) distinctive domains of knowledge, some of which are acquainted in early life.
core-knowledge theories
Ex: a.) if you hit a glass w/ a hammer, the glass will break b.) Don't hit a glass w/ a hammer conclusion: "the glass broke" this is an example of __________________.
deductive reasoning
___________________ often leads preoperational youngsters to attribute their own thoughts and feels to others.
egocentrism
during the ______________ stage, children and adolescents can envision alternative realities and examine the consequences of those propositions
formal operational
at what stage of Piaget's Cognitive development do children and adolescents think hypothetically and reason deductively to probe the implications of fundamental change in biological or physical laws and they realize that reality is NOT the only possibility?
formal operational stage (they can envision alternative realities and examine the consequences of those propositions)
adolescent or adult thinks abstractly, speculates on hypothetical situations, and reasons deductively about what may be possible.
formal operational stage (adolescence and beyond)
Defining characteristic of scaffolding =
giving help but NOT more than is needed (which promotes early learning and more effective learning)
intersubjectivity interactions typify __________________, in which cognitive growth results from children's involvement in structures activities w/ others who are more skilled than they.
guided participation
info-processing theorists refer to sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory as mental _________________.
hardware
How did Piaget demonstrate centration in his experiments involving CONSERVATION?
he tested when children realize that important proper properties of objects (or sets of objects) stay the same despite changes in their physical appearance Ex: children shown identical glasses filled with same amount of juice that is then poured into a taller thinner class and a smaller glass, however even though the juice appears at different levels in the glasses, each glass has exactly the same amount of juice. Nevertheless, a preoperational child that the tall, thin class has more juice than the other smaller glass. --------this reflects the centers thought that is common in children at this stage
private speech ________________________.
helps children regulate their own behavior.
cooperative learning...
improves students' self-concepts (student feel more competent) and they learn social skills, such as how to negotiate, build consensus and resolving conflicts
first children's behavior regulated by speech from other people directed toward them. Then when the child first tries to control their own behavior and thoughts w/o parents, they instruct themselves by speaking aloud. finally, as a child gain even-greater skill, private speech becomes ___________________ .
inner speech
in the sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky's Theory) children's cognitive development is NOT only brought about by social interaction, it is _______________ from the cultural contexts in which children live
inseparable
_____________ refers to mutual, shared understanding among participants in an activity
intersubjectivity
In Piaget's theory, children are thought to be ____________________.
little scientists
according to Piaget's Theory, theories are valuable to child b/c...
make world seem more predictable
An important property of _________________________ is that they can be reversed
mental operations (ex: concrete operational children are able to reverse their thinking in a way that preoperational youngsters cannot such as being able to pass the conservation task that they could not during the preoperational stage w/ the glasses of equal juice.)
some researchers believe that the defining characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is the absence of a theory of mind, called ______________________.
mindblindness
many 4 yr olds believe that _______________.
only living things have offspring
throughought this period, preschool children gradually become proficient at using common symbols, such as words, gestures, graphs, maps, and models -although using symbols represents a huge advancement over sensorimotor thinking, their THINKING is still limited
preoperational stage
_______________ is an intermediate step toward self-regulation of cognitive skills.
private speech
information-processing theory
proposes that human cognition consists of mental hardware and mental software. Mental hardware has 3 components: 1) SENSORY MEMORY 2) WORKING MEMORY 3) LONG-TERM MEMORY
infant's knowledge of the world is based on senses and motor skills. by the end of this period, infant uses mental representations and understands object permanence.
sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 yrs)
culture provides tools that ___________ the way children think
shape (cultural contexts organize cognitive development according to Vygotsky)
best teaching experiences are __________________ of children's current level of thinking
slightly ahead
In ________________ children are products of their culture.
sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky's Theory)
According to Vygotsky, child development is never a ________________________.
solitary journey
Piaget divides cognitive development into 4 stages based on the revolutionary changes in thought that occur at 2, 7, and 11 yrs. age:
stated that ALL children go through these 4 stages in exactly this sequence: 1) SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (birth to age 2, encompassing infancy) 2) PREOPERATIONAL STAGE (ages 2 to 6, encompassing preschool and early elementary school) 3) CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE (ages 7 to 11, encompassing middle and late elementary school) 4) FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE (ages 11 and up, encompassing adolescence and adulthood)
instruction is most effective when it is....
tailored to individual students
a teaching practice suggested by Piaget's theory is __________________.
teaching at a level slightly ahead of children's current level of thinking.
the zone of proximal development refers to ____________________.
the difference between what a child can do w/ and w/o help.
animate and inanimate objects all share a fundamental property:
they exist INDEPENDENTLY of our actions and thoughts concerning them.