170 midterm
8. Evaluate Piaget's theory based on accuracy and consistency. Your evaluation should incorporate criticism that researchers have made about his theory
(pg.54-57) Evaluating Piaget's Theory Accuracy 1. Observations were replicated with bigger and diverse samples. In general, the attempts to replicate were successful. Larger sample of American, British, Canadian, etc. were tested in the 1960s and 70s all showing the same type of reasoning as piaget's theory sample from swiss children Critics: (pg. 55) Critics argue that young children's inarticulateness (inability to speak/express oneself clearly) often creates a falsely pessimistic impression of their cognitive capabilities (Brainerd, 1978)
8. Explain, using stages of language, how culture and language shape a person's think
-Social speech ~ Using language primarily for the purpose of communication -Private speech ~ Child talks alone to themselves to regulate their behavior, e.g. talking through the steps to tie a shoe -Inner speech ~ Use language internally to regulate behavior, solve problems, think -The content of these stages vary between cultures; we organize the world in a way that is agreed upon with our language
7. Give an example of guided participation
-Teachers favour guided participation whereby which they structure their lessons to gives hints and instructions then slowly withdrawing their support -Example: A student first observes an adult forming an origami crane. The child absorbs the process of forming it and the cultural method in which the instructor approached it. Then, the child becomes a participant and slowly begins to form their own crane with guidance from the adult. The adult does not take over, but rather sits alongside them and offers them support if they show signs of needing it.
6. Identify the type (i.e., egocentrism, object permanence, hypothetical thinking, systematic thinking, etc.) of thinking that is demonstrated in each of Piaget's tasks.
3 Mountain task - Egocentrism (The findings showed that at age 4, children would choose the photograph that best reflected with their own view. At age 6, an awareness of perspective different from their own could be seen. Then, by ages 7-8, children can clearly acknowledge more than one point of view and consistently select the correct photograph.) Object permanence task - representational thought Conservation task - centering Classification task - static representation Seriation task - irreversibility Sandwich task- hypothetical: fake sandwich combinations - systematic thinking: mathematical equations -abstract: non-tangible understanding
5. Describe the development of experiential time.
3 monty- can sense patters and look in appropriated directions 4 y-o can tell you that and event one week ago was more recent than an event 7 weeks ago, can tell if bday or xmass was more recent but can not determine more recent between events if both are beyond 60 days, can not determine which future even will occur sooner Vday-1 week xmass 10 months 9 y-o- can tell you the more recent event both over 60 days past, ad begin to use their year representation to determine the proximity of future event
6. Describe the socio-cultural recommendations for how group work should be structured in a classroom
Age - should mix ages; younger children have difficulty attending, coordinating, and using language Quality of interaction - shared responsibility Relative expertise - expert peer, initial knowledge level if low can make on resistant to change, feedback provided to peer group improves group's ability Task difficulty - not too easy, not too hard Cultural norms - provides framework of how children will work together
Compare the three perspectives on the Nature/Nurture debate to cognitive development and provide examples of each
Associationist (locke, hume, j Watson) Come into world only with ability to make associations Constructivist ( piaget, Kant) Come to the world with some initial capabilities allows us to explore the world Competent infant Infants are capable of classifying experience much like adults do
5. Know the parts of a neuron.
Cell nucleus-the core of the nerve cell Dendrites- fibers that bring info from other neurons to the cell nucleus Axon- larger fibers that transmit info from the cell nucleus to other neurons
7. Describe the development of class and relations through each of Piaget's stages.
Classes and Relations during Sensorimotor Children tend to classify objects by their function "something that swings when I move" Children tend to classify relations according to their movements Classes and Relations during Preoperational Classifying objects on a consistent basis (shape, color, size) Class inclusion difficulty: Are there more cats or more animals? Relations: Seriation problem-ordering sticks from largest to smallest (relation with one another)- children have difficulty arranging sticks up until end of preoperational thinking Classes and Relations during Concrete Operational Multiple classification problems- picking the shape that fits multiple classification criteria Classes and Relations during Formal Operations Can think about relations of relations and classes of classes; e.g., high school student cliques and the different cliques that hang out together
3. Explain the main findings of the Conner & Cross (2003) and Steele (2001) articles. Know keys to scaffolding
Conner & Cross (2003) children whose parents consistently used contingent instructional behaviours would exhibit stable and relatively high rates of success across ages Parents were not consistent at either low or high levels of scaffolding during the interactions at different ages. Therefore, it was not surprising that children also showed no consistency in their interaction success, because children were most successful when their parents were using appropriately contingent instructional behaviours. Steele (2001) Students construct a more powerful way of thinking about mathematics through social interactions with a more knowledgeable person The teacher's sociocultural approach built the context to give students the scientific language for what they were doing; she was able to extend the ordinary language used by students to build mathematical language The act of representing encouraged them to focus on the essential characteristics of a situation, made the mathematical ideas more concrete, and provided the foundation for the teacher to help students build meaningful mathematical language.
2. Provide a description of the process of cognitive development according to Vygotsky (cultural knowledge/practices, ZPD, internalization, interpersonal, intrapersonal) and give an example to illustrate your point.
Cultural knowledge/practices - Human development comes from interactions of the developing persons and surrounding culture Child develops by internalizing cultural knowledge, symbols and tools. Cultural norms set what formal schooling is and what it focuses on Cultural comparison of schooling and how much time is spent on various activities and content Types of cultural activities establish knowledge that is important to function in society, e.g., girl scouts, museums, tv, sports Zone of Proximal Development-Distance between what a child can do individually and what a child can do in interaction with adult or more capable peer. The map of how development occurs Important to consider what child's actual level is and what their potential is Internalizing- Every cognitive task occur 2x Once with the assistance of social partners until the task is internalized so that the individual can do it on her own. Intermental level- between people involved in social interaction EX child doesn't point but reaches for toy and parent gives them toy child realizes Child learns to tie shoe with parent there Intramental level- within individual E.g., child realizes that reaching/ pointing doesnt obtain it but is a form of communication to get it child able to do it alone
1. Define culture and give an example of a psychological tool and technical tool you have learned to use.
Culture- not where you from but the beliefs and values Culture tools Physiological tools- cultural tools for acting on the environment works number system, social norms, logic, theoretical concepts, maps drawings- organized and control thought and behavior Technical tool- cultural tools for acting on the environment pen ruler, hammer etc- gain mastery over environment Cultural norm Schooling Cutler activity Bronfenbrenner culture= macrosystem
Describe each of the methods researchers have suggested are ways people form concepts .
Defining features representations- Like a dictionary definition: e.g., Concept for uncle-father's or mother's brother Absolute (Necessary and Sufficient)-something either fits into the concept or does not Younger children's concepts differ fundamentally than adults' concepts Probabilistic representations Like a internet or youtube search-you have a number of features that are partially related to concept: e.g., Uncle- Father's/Mother's brother, nice, drives a cheap pickup truck, older than me, parent's age Probabilistic because all the features may not always apply- some things do not have defining features E.g., term "sports" "patriotism" "happiness Instances of most concepts are united by family resemblances: like family members- instances of a concept share a resemblance but there is no set of features that all of them all have Theory based representations Like a logic problem: e.g., Uncle is father's brother therefore is about the same age as my parents, is family, therefore loves me Concepts are partial theories that include explanations of relations among parts and relations to other concepts Make use of associative knowledge (things go together), causal relations (cause and effect), and Hierarchical relations (more general and more specific classifications of things) Three core concepts that children are predisposed to: physics (inanimate objects), biology (living things), psychology (human mind); These concepts organize knowledge and help acquire new knowledge Critique-what makes a theory is vague
4. Differentiate concepts of experiential and logical time.
Experiential- our subject sense of the order and duration of events logical- properties of time that can be deducted through reasoning
5. Provide examples of the new kinds of things adolescents can do when they reach formal operations and explain why.
Formal Operations Period (12y-on) Children understand that there is a world of possibilities beyond what they immediately experience. Hypothetical thinking (If, then) Systematic thinkers-Chemical Combinations Problem, what chemicals can be mixed together to get same results. Formal operational thinkers plan out how they can test all possibilities/concrete operations test haphazardly. Formal operation thinkers also develop more appropriate conclusions based on their approach rather than concrete operational thinkers Logical and scientific thinking-Requires systematic approach and abstract thinking to solve challenging problems and question
1. Define the term concept and give an example.
Ideas or information grouped together basis of some similarity Organize our experiences/information so that we can draw upon them to interact with environment Save mental effort by allowing us to apply previous knowledge to new situations E.g., Concept of a dog, birthday party, university, etc
7. Describe infants' early understanding of quantity your description should include the idea of subitizing.
Infants ability to discriminate among small quantities extends to sequences of events as well as static arrays of objects. For example 6-months infants can discriminate between 1-2-3 objects (subitizing: instantly able to see how many) Another example, when a 6 m/o see's a puppet repeatedly jump 2 times until they grow bored, then suddenly see it jump three times, they will grow interest again because of the quantity change
2. Identify theories that take an inward look at development as well as theories that take an outward look on cognitive dev.
Inward look - how brain changes relate to changes in thinking Outward look-how environment influences children's thinking Piaget's Theories Sensory Motor Theory - outward look at development Children realizes that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them Preoperational Stage Theory - inward look at development Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of others. While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about things in very concrete terms. Concrete Operational Stage - inward look at development During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events. Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle. Formal Operational Stage - Inward look at development Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information. Vygotsky's Theory Social Development Theory - Outward look at development community plays a central role in the process of "making meaning."
5. Explain Vygotsky's stages of how language integrates with thought
Language- most important psch tool to influence cognitive development Social speech- language primarily for communication purpose Egocentric speech- private speech which that child uses to regulate behavior ex- talking through steps to tie shoe Inner speech- use language internally to regulate behavior, think, solve problem
8. Define and give an example of each of the counting principles.
One-to-one principle - assign one and only one number word to each object For example, the child should never state "one, two, two" they understand that each number has its own word Stable order principle - always assign the numbers in the same order For example, the child might count three objects stating "one, three, four" and four objects by stating "one, three, four, five." Cardinal principle - the last count indicates the number of objects in the set. For example, if there are five apples on a table: 'One' - 'Two' - 'Three' - 'Four' - 'Five'. 'Five' was the last number encountered, therefore there are five apples. Order irrelevance principle - the order in which objects are counted is irrelevant Children understand that it does not really matter whether the counting procedure is carried out from left to right, from right to left or from somewhere else, as long as every item in the collection is counted once and only once. Abstraction principle - the other principles apply to any set of objects Children understand that they can count non-physical things such as sounds, imaginary objects or even the counting words
4. Describe and explain how Piaget's and Vygotsky's views on development are similar; are different.
Piaget and vygotsky Both agree that a child is active in constructing their knowledge Vygotsky believes it is more of a social process, piaget an individual process - piaget, universal development; vygotsky context specific devEX china vs US - role of culture emphasized in vygotsky, culture is going to differ on values and beliefs - relationship of learning( develop and master skill) and development (new ways of thinking) - vygotsky learning first → development - piaget development first ( be ready) ---> learning - role of egocentrism - vygotsky- important development of self regulation - piaget- no role
4. Describe the difference between preoperational children's thinking and concrete operational children's thinking and explain why concrete operational children can pass the conservation task.
Pre operation- centering (most obvious. Focusing on one aspect of the problem), irreversibility( can only work in one direction.) statistical representation ( child's thinking focus on before and after and not in between. Only what they see in front of them) ego centrism ( can only old one perspective at a time, the way they see things) Concrete operation Decenter- (focus on multiple aspects) Irreversibly ( ability to change things back to the way they were) Transformation representation ( can see how things change) Less ego centric (hold other perspectives in mind)
3. Differentiate among the 6 substages of the Sensorimotor period
Substage 1: Reflex modification Children are born with reflexes and in the first month children adapt those reflexes, e.g.,sucking. Substage 2: Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months) Children repeat actions that produce interesting/new effects Coordinate reflexes together: grasping and sucking Limited to actions of their own bodies, sucking finger Substage 3: Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months) Interested in outcomes that occur beyond their own bodies Repeat actions that affect objects in outside world Goal directed behavior based on things only in immediate surroundings Substage 4: Coordinating Secondary Circular Reactions (8-12 months) Can put together multiple actions to obtain goal Children begin to form mental representations-can hold onto ideas of things that they do not see Evidence is children's efforts to obtain toys that are out of sight. Substage 5: Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months) Begin to search with new ways to explore objects Repeat behaviors in slightly different ways with different objects Substage 6: Representational Thought (18-24 months) Transition between Sensorimotor and preoperational thought-from acting upon things to being able to mentally represent objects and events Attempts to solve problems in their head
4. Locate the 4 major lobes of the brain.
The frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe
1. Identify and Explain the significance of Piaget and his ideas to the field of Child development
descriptions appeal to our intuition of what children are like theory covers all areas of cognition in a single coherent framework theory covers birth to adolescences- is a grand theory observations are real ad intriguing-makes us ask questions
2. Explain what it means for a theory to be a "drive theory" and explain the developmental process according to Piaget - provide an original example of this process.
drive theory-motivational drive that pushes our development. Equilibration/ disequilibrium-Children organize their knowledge of the world in order to interact/survive. When children's knowledge and external world match, there is equilibrium. When the features of the outside world do not match children's understanding, then there is disequilibrium and the child is driven to make the two match. Therefore Piaget saw children as little scientists and stressed the importance of assessing children's ideas using novel problems/situations. Assimilation-fit the events and info of outside world to their existing ideas/concepts; e.g., calling a horse a dog Accommodation- Breaking down existing concepts and reforming new, better concepts to match what is being observed with the outside world. E.g., developing a new concept of what dogs are and a new concept for what horses are. EX- child sees horse and calls in a dog. Mother said no it's a horse. Uses assimilation because the horse has four legs and fur. Children then uses accommodation to understand that it is a horse. He creates a new schema for horse
6. Explain the three methods of representing space and identify the age at which children can work with each type of representation.
egocentric representations 1-y-o locate things in relation to themselves and fail to account for situations when theyhave moved but salient landmarks can help(6-month can do with landmarks) Experience with locomotion plays a big part in children locating objects Children who move must constantly update their representation of where they are inrelation to other things Self-produced movement activates people's representation of space Landmarks Allow us to divide environment into manageable segments Before 1-y-o only landmarks immediately adjacent to hidden object help 2-y-o distant landmarks help 5-y-o can rep an objects position with multiple landmarks Allocentric Barriers or distance can prevent us from seeing a location 1-y-o can form abstract reps to search (used the geometric shape of room to look for object-long wall and short wall on left)Young children do not use landmarks in small rooms but do for large rooms
9. Provide explanations for how young children determine what can be categorized as a living thing.
one year old knows the difference from bird and plane face motion goal directed movement- living thins move on their own and move with purpose plants - grow - reproduce - take in nutriens - breath and give off things
3. Describe what "Stage-like" means according to J. Flavell and connect these features to Piaget's theory.
qualitative differences-Changes that occur in thought are radically different than previous ways of thinking (jokes, number of dimensions in thought) concurrence assumption-changes take place across multiple concepts at the same time abruptness assumption Stage change occurs abruptly rather than slowly Coherent organization-concepts, whole interrelated ideas, rather than individual bits of info
