Cognitive Development

Piaget

• theory of cognitive stages

• learn by being active, experiencing things

• active learning; give kids the seeds and soil and see what they do with it

• kids need to make mistakes, but not get their mistakes told (e.g. how to fix them), they need to figure it out on their own

• they are little scientists because they are consistently setting things up and asking questions

• developed the theory of schemes/schemas which is how children understand the world around them

• kids make constant mental adaptations to new observations and experiences

• underestimated children, overestimated older children

schemes/schema

• mental categories

• take in new information and put in ____ by connecting things to what they already know

• they take in new information and sort it or make new ___

assimilation

• fitting new information into present system of knowledge (schema)

• take new information and put in a schema they already have

• their schema for a dog might include furry and 4 legs so when they see a cat, they think its a dog because they are placing it into an already-developed schema

• children may thing snow is a bubble because they didn’t know what snow was so they placed it into a familiar category.

accommodation

• as a result of new information, change existing schema

• children have a schema for dog which is furry, 4 legs, tail and adapt it to include barking because they figured out that 1st schema does encompass whole thing

  • included cat in this but now they will not because a cat does not bark

Sensorimotor stage (Piaget)

• birth to 2 years

• looking, sucking, touching

• develop object permanence

• they are developing things, and figuring things out,

• experiment with things

  • smush, throw, smack food to see what it does

• this is what they are supposed to do

  • you do not want them to sit quietly, you want children to be loud

object permanence

• understanding that something continues to exist even when it cannot be seen

• when kids are about less than 4 months old, they will be interested in a toy, but if a blanket is put over it, they will forget about it and not search for it

• when a child develops this, they will know the toy is there, so they will pick up the blanket.

preopertational stage

• age 2 to 7

• operations are things we can just think about, kids cant do this

• egocentric

• animistic thinking

• cant grasp conservation

egocentric

• only use own frame of reference

• I ask what they see on paper and then ask what do I see, and they will say what they are seeing because they think I can see it too

• limited to their own viewpoint

• ask kids what grandma wants for her birthday and they will say what they want

  • e.g., they will say Lego set because they really want it and dont consider grandmas preferences. they think that grandma will like it

animistic thinking

• attribute life to objects

• worried stuffed animal will be hurt when dropped on the ground

• feeling bad for a plastic container in the ocean because you feel bad its alone and probably scared

conservation

• understanding that physical properties do not change when appearance changes

• when kids cant do this:

  • if you two cups with the same volume of liquid, and then pour one into a taller glass, the child will think that the taller glass has more liquid in it

  • cuts mozzarella sticks for daughter and son, but gives 4 pieces to her son and three pieces to daughter. The daughter is upset that the son got more food even though they are the same. The mozzarella stick is then cut so both have the same amount and the daughter is like we are even now.

concrete operations stage

• age 7 to 11

• start to understand operations but not abstract, this is a more concrete thing

• they can understand conservation

• they can understand reversibility

• can understand transitivity

reversibility

• idea that a stimulus that has been changed can return to its original state

• tell a kid 8+4=12, and then ask what 12-4 is and they will say 8 without much thinking

• putting glass of milk into a cup and don’t want it anymore, they know that they can pour it back into the milk

• idea that you can make a change in one direction and backtrack and redo it

transitivity

• understand how components in a series are related (if A>B and B>C, then A>C)

• can figure out the relationship

• infer how others are related then make an inference to them

• Piaget said that without teaching, they learn this through life experiences

• the idea that once you understand how certain components are related, you can infer the rest

  • a poodle is a dog, and a dog is a mammal, then a poodle is a mammal → can figure this out even if you are not told a poodle is a mammal

formal operations stage

• age 11 to adulthood

• know abstract and hypothetical thinking

• abstract and systematic reasoning

  • kids are given flasks of clear liquid and have to figure out which two make purple so they systemitcally figure it out by using to and then putting them aside etc.

• thinking about future possibilities

  • frontal lobe more developed

    • start and get into more arguments because they can do better reasonings and see the holes in the arguments and can reason better (say that doesnt make sense)

Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural influences

• cognitive development results from guidance

• zone of proximal development

  • difference between what the child can do alone and with assistance

• scaffolding

zone of proximal development

• level at which a child can almost perform a task independently

  • at what level should instruction come in

  • ex: 5th graders can do fractions independently, but cant do differential calculus even if guided, but they can do percentages with guidance, but not by themselves, they need support, and then they get it

• has to do with level

scaffolding

• teacher adjusts amount of support to child’s level of development

• teaching a student to float, hold them with two arms, then one arm, then one finger, and then they can do it on their own

• with learning to read, a child may need more help figuring out words, but once they do it more, they need less assistance

• adjusting amount of help

theory of mind

• understanding of how other people think

• our ability to understand that people have different thoughts, personalities, and belief

• develops around 4-5

• kids that have not developed this are egocentric

• band-aid box study

  • kids shown band-aid box, asked what was inside said band-aids and they are surprised to find pencils in the box. they are then asked what the other person thinks is inside the box and kids les than 3 would say pencils because they are egocentric and believe that the person will know because they know. a person older than 4 would say the next person would think bandaids are inside the box because they have ____, so they understand how others think

social development

• changes in interpersonal thought, feeling, and behavior

• erik erison’s theory of psychosocial development: 8 stages

  • some challenges children experience

  • one central issue that kids have and are truing to work through

• thought to be throughout the lifespan

• people relate to others, how they think in relationships

trust vs mistrust

• birth - 1 year

• ___ → allows formation of intimate relationships

  • develops when caregiving is sensitive, responsive and consistent

• this develops by being consistenly responsive towards babies needs → mom comes when they cry → know they can __ other people

• when people don’t ___ , could be from childhood

  • baby cries → parent didn’t come → learns to mistrust because needs were unmet.

autonomy vs shame and doubt

• ages 1-3

• independence, self-control

  • toddlerhood - biggest thing here is gaining this

    • kids want to do more things on their own, but not completely on their own

    • should let kid put own shoes on even if they do it wrong and take a long time

    • kids say no all the time because they are asserting themselves

      • threatened to hit brother, went to the room crying, mom came and said are you ready to apologize, they say no, cries, comes back asks, asks, says no, cycle again, and then finally she says ok. had to be on her own terms.

• dont develop this, they develop that then they think they cant do things on their own and start to doubt their own ability

initiative vs guilt

• ages 3 to 5

• making choices for themselves

• am i good or bad?

• kids are learning self-evolution

• do the right things, get approval from others

• teacher always says a kid is bad, and then they start to think they are bad

• being allowed to make mistakes

  • then explained why cant do this → but can make right choice

industry vs. inferiority

• ages 6 to 11

• working hard vs giving up

  • sense of competence or inadequacy

    • issue is can I put forth effort and achieve things?

      • want kids to do this

  • get negative feedback and they think they cant do anything

attachment

• enduring, emotional bond between infant and another person

• insecure and secure

secure attachment

• happier kids needs adult to survive

• good for infant to be attached to adult and vice versu

• are able to learn how to trust

• would cry when left and then be easily comforted when mom came back (stopped crying quickly) this is because the adult is seen as a ____ base from which to explore

  • kids wants to explore → stays with mom for a bit → leave mom →do something → check back with her (hug, wave)

• go to school or daycare, cry when mom or dad left, was comforted by teacher

• more likely to have a committed relationship

• this can be developed (e.g. with a teacher) and then they learn they can trust people

insecure attachment

• children who may be anxious or avoidant in relationships, often resulting from inconsistent caregiving.

• They struggle with trust and may have difficulty forming healthy emotional bonds

• go to school or daycare, cry when mom or dad left, wasn’t comforted by teacher

insecure-anxious/ambivalent (resistant)

• mom left → mom came back → baby went to mom → hug her → kick her

• wasn’t sure she was going to come back

• happy to see you, then no I am not (continuous cycle)

• go to school or daycare, cry when mom or dad left, wasn’t comforted by teacher

• one and off relationships

insecure-avoidant

• didn’t cry when mom left and ignored her when she cam back

• not cry when parents dropped them off at day care

• multiple unsatisfactory relationships

Harlows study

• learned that soft contact is important

• rhesus monkeys - cloth had no food vs. wired which had had

• he separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and then set up cloth and wire feeding mother

  • measured how much tume was spent with each mother

    • spent more time with the cloth mother (approximately 22 hours)

    • see who monkey would run to when they were scared → ran to the cloth mother

  • only went to the other mother when it was hungry

• figured out that people prefer to have snuggles and comfort rather than food

Strange situation (Mary Ainsworth)

• used to identify which attachment styles infants had

• only used mothers, not fathers, which is a bias present

• had moms bring babies to lab with toys → then a stranger came in → mom left → Mom came back (few times) → measured how the child responded

• figured out that there were secure attached and insecure attached

causes on insecure attachment

• temperament

  • just how they are, nothing the parent did wrong

• stressful home life

  • inconsistencies, upheaval

• parenting

  • secure = parents must be respondent to kids (erikson-trust), so kids learn to trust

    • in connection to the authoritative parenting

  • caregiver must not sit around and say its time for something, babies must give the signal and then caregiver gives them what they want because if they don’t, the baby expects their needs to be met always

long-term effects of attachment

• attachment security affects emotional, social, and cognitive competence (attachment style in infancy develops in adulthood)

  • size of vocabulary

    • bigger vocab because parent interacts with child

    • in learning, parents are the secure base, so the kids are more comfortable exploring and making mistakes

  • interpersonal interaction

    • makes them feel good about themselves and others

  • emotions

    • develop

Romanian orphanges (deprived of attachment)

• had little contact

• in the 1980’s - vastly increase in number of orphange children → orphanages were under back condition → 1989 found out how bad the condition were

• kids were kept in cribs almost all the time

• difficulty developing social bonds

  • they weren’t held, played with, talked to, no movement

  • if they got adopted by less than 6 months they were able to form attachment but for many they didn’t have attachment when adopted older than 6 months

Ethological theory (Bowlby)

• babies have biologically programmed behaviors that prompt others to care for them

• explains that mothers are attached to babies because they are cute

  • they have a big head, eyes, forehead

Langlois study

• infants were rated for attractiveness

  • mothers observed interacting with infants and behavior rated after they were told the score the college student rated their child

    • if the baby was more attractive, the mother was more affectionate and attentive → positive emotions (baby did not interfere with life)

    • if the bay was ugly, more negative emotions (less affectionate, said that their baby inferred with their life)

• evidence shows that the babies who were cutier had mothers that were more attached to baby

parenting styles (Baumrind)

2 dimensions - warmth (responsiveness, communication, core) and control (demandingness, discipline, rules) → 4 styles

authoritarian

• low warmth, high control

• controlling, demanding, high emphasis on obedience

• very restrictive, lots of rules

• not providing a lot of warmth towards kids.

• doesn’t see the need to explain things to kids

• because I said so

• wants kids to get straight A’s, star athlete, wants kid to be the star

• outcomes:

  • kids have lower grades and self-esteem

  • if kids trying to get good grades for parent, extrinclically motivated because parents will be mad at them if they have a bad grade

  • les independent; cant make choices on their own because they dont have the practice as a result of parents always telling them what todo

permissive

• high warmth, low control

• very few rules or restrictions

• more affection, not a lot of rules, put kid on pedastol

• kid punched another kid and their parent did not care

• kid asked for a phone parents says you can have a phone I dont care

• outcomes:

  • easily frustrated, low self-control

    • no control because they dont have any practice of having control

    • dont practice keeping cool or frustration in check because they also got what they wanted as children

authoritative

• high warmth, high control

• provides warmth, love but have rules but explains the rules

• not overly demanding or hostile

• child centered

  • cares for childs needs

• Outcomes:

  • most optimal

  • creates kids that are independent

  • kids have higher grades, cooperative

  • get along with others

  • grow up with self-control because they understand rule

  • consequences are explained (explains why)

  • kid asks for a phone and parent says no and explains why they cant or yes but then sets rules

uninvolved (neglectful)

• low warmth, low control

• least effective, most detrimental

• doesn’t provide affection or rules

• may be there physically but emotionally absent

  • causes could be drugs, addiction, mental health issues

• kid asks for a phone either get no response, talk to me later, I don’t care

• outcomes:

  • low self-esteem, emotionally detached