#2.) 3.3 Gender & Sexual Orientation and Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan

gender

in psychology, is the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex.

• social constructs associated with a biological sex given by culture

sex

 in psychology, is biologically influenced by characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex. 

• biologically defined characteristics between males, females, and intersex

intersex

possessing male and female biological sexual characteristics at birth

schema

 a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information; concepts that enable us to organize our experiences

• the mental folder or map that helps you organize and understand information about something

assimilation

taking new information and fitting it into an existing schema

• add new info in a schema

accommodation

changing or creating a new schema because the new information doesn’t fit

state the stages of Cognitive Development in order

1. Sensorimotor (from birth to 2 years old)

2. Preoperational (from 2 years old to 6 or 7 years old)

3. Concrete Operational (7-11 years old)

4. Formal Operational (12 through adulthood)

what are the characteristics of the sensorimotor stage in cognitive development

• the first stage in cognitive development

• occurs from birth to two years old

• Object permanence is gained at around 6-8 months

  • Object permanence - the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

• Starts to have stranger anxiety at around 8 months old

  • Stranger anxiety - fear that infants common display around those unfamiliar to them)

what are the characteristics of the preoperational stage in cognitive development

• the second stage of cognitive development

• occurs from 2 years old to 6 or 7 years old

• Children learn to use language but do not comprehend the mental operations (such as imagining an action and mentally reversing it) of concrete logic.

• uses intuitive reasoning

• pretend play (a form of play where children uses their imagination or symbolic thinking to create scenarios and roles, often imitating real life situations or characters; uses creativity and imagination or symbolic thinking to play)

• Lacks conservation

  • Conservation - the principle that mass, volume, and numbers can remain the same despite changes in the form of the objects

    • example: an infant in the preoperational stage would think the glass that is taller has more water than the glass that is shorter, even though both glasses contain the same amount of water

• lacks reversibility - the ability to recognize that numbers or objects can be changed and returned to their original condition.

  • Example: a kid in the preoperational stage who shapes a ball of clay into a long snake would think that the clay can’t go back to being a ball shape again

• Egocentrism - a child’s difficulty in seeing another’s point of view

• Animism - a belief that inanimate objects are alive or have lifelike feelings and motivations

• Theory of Mind - people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states–about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict. 

what are the characteristics of the Concrete Operational stage in cognitive development

• the third stage of cognitive development

• occurs from 7 to 11 years old

• Thinks logically about real, concreate events

• Understanding simple analogies

• Can do basic math and spatial reasoning

• Obtains conservation (knowing that mass, volume, and numbers can stay the same even when the object changes shape)

what are the characteristics of the Formal Operational stage in cognitive development

• The fourth and last stage of cognitive development

• occurs from 12 years old to adulthood

• begins to think logically about abstract concepts

Summarize the findings of Lev Vygotsky regarding social-learning theory, including scaffolding and the zone of proximal development. 

• Vygotsky believed children learn and develop through social and cultural interaction.

• Parents and teachers support learning by guiding and mentoring children (this is called scaffolding and is temporary as children gain skills)

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with help.

• Example: Children who can’t ride a bike can learn to do so with training wheels.

fluid intelligence (Gf)

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly, and tends to decline with age

Crystalized intelligence (Gc)

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills, and tends to increase with age.