3.6 cognitive development theories

jean piagnet

studied developing cognition => thinking, remembering, communicating

schemas

cognitive frameworks that help individuals organize and interpret info based on prior knowledge

assimilation

new info added into pre-existing schemas

accommodation

altering existing schemas/making new schemas

sensorimotor stage

1st stage of piaget’s SoD => infants learn through sensory info, motor actions

object permanence

understanding that objects continue to exist when they can’t be perceived => develops during sensorimotor stage

preoperational stage

2nd stage of cognitive development (2-7 years) => language development, symbolic thinking, struggling to understand others

pretend play

children act out scenarios/roles using imagination

parallel play

children play alongside each other (not together) without interacting in early childhood

animism

when children give lifelike qualities (feelings/thoughts) to inanimate objects (early childhood)

egocentrism

children struggle to see others’ POVs, thinking they have the same feelings

theory of mind

the ability to understand that others have their own thoughts (4-5 years old)

concrete operational stage

3rd stage of development where children develop logical thinking: understanding concrete objects, conversation-making

conservation

understanding that properties of objects (volume/mass) are the same, even when it changes in appearance

reversibility

ability to mentally reverse an action => understanding that things can go back to their OG state

formal operational stage

last stage of development => thinking abstractly, deductive reasoning

lev vygotsky

psychologist known for his theory that social interaction is crucial in cognitive development

scaffolding

teaching method where a person provides help to a learner, and gradually reduces the help later on

zone of proximal development

range of what a learner can do without help and what a learner can do with helpcr

crystallized intelligence

knowledge and skills gained over time through education, experience

fluid intelligence

the capacity to reason, solve problems (puzzles, escape rooms… thinking abstractly)

dementia

a decline in cognitive functioning (memory loss, impaired judgement) mostly in elders