Week 13 - Cognitive Development

Category

Set of entities that are equal in some way - usually the items are similar to each other and share properties

Concepts

The mental representation of a category. Concepts may not correctly correspond to categories

How to define a category

Provides the necessary features for category membership - what must objects have to be in it?

Features must be jointly sufficient for membership - if an object has said features then it is in the category

Borderline items

Many items are just barely considered members of a category, it is not always obvious if they are members or nonmembers

Typicality

Some items are “better” embers of a category - they represent the prototype, the standard to which comparison of borderline members is made

Prototype

The most typical category member

Family resemblance theory

Items are likely to be typical if they have features frequent in the category and do not have features present in other categories

Hierarchies

When more concrete/specific categories are nestled within each other (ie. animal, mammal, bear, brown bear)

Basic level of categorization

The neutral, preferred category for a given object, at an intermediate level of specificity. Category is not too small (ie. northern brown bear) and not too big (animal), but is just right (bear)

Subordinates

More specific name than the base level

People in less industrialized societies tend to prefer, as do experts in a certain field

Superordinate

More general name than the basic

Prototype theory

People have a summary representation of the category, a mental description meant to apply to teh category as a whole. Description can be represented as a set of weighted features - weighted by their frequency in teh category

Exemplar theory

When classifying something you recall examples of similar objects in a category you have seen over your life and subconsciously compare them

Knowledge approach

Emphasizes concepts are meant to tell us about real things in the world, so our knowledge of the world is used in learning and thinking about concepts

Psychological essentialism

The belief that members of a category have an unseen property that causes them to be in the category and to have the properties associated with it.

Piaget’s stage theory

Theory that development occurs through a sequence of discontinuous stages: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.

Sociocultural theories

Theory founded in large part by Lev Vygotsky that emphasizes how other people and the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the surrounding culture influence children’s development.

Information processing theories

Theories that focus on describing the cognitive processes that underlie thinking at any one age and cognitive growth over time.

Quantitative change

Gradual, incremental change, as in the growth of a pine tree’s girth.

Qualitative change

Large, fundamental change, as when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly; stage theories such as Piaget’s posit that each stage reflects qualitative change relative to previous stages.

Continuous

Ways in which development occurs in a gradual incremental manner, rather than through sudden jumps.

Discontinuous

Development that does not occur in a gradual incremental manner

Sensorimotor

Period within Piagetian theory from birth to age 2 years, during which children come to represent the enduring reality of objects. Object permanence

Preoperational reasoning stage

Period within Piagetian theory from age 2 to 7 years, in which children can represent objects through drawing and language but cannot solve logical reasoning problems, such as the conservation problems. symbolic functioning, language development, conservation problem

Concrete operational reasoning stage

Piagetian stage between ages 7 and 12 when children can think logically about concrete situations but not engage in systematic scientific reasoning. (Will perform biased experiments that a true conclusion cannot be drawn from)

Formal operational reasoning stage

Piagetian stage starting at age 12 years and continuing for the rest of life, in which adolescents may gain the reasoning powers of educated adults. Tends not to occur without exposure to formal education

Object permanence

Infants younger than 9 months cannot understand an object out of view still exists

Conservation problems

Problems pioneered by Piaget in which physical transformation of an object or set of objects changes a perceptually salient dimension but not the quantity that is being asked about. Children below age 7 struggle understanding quantity has not changed when its 2d perception has

Phonemic awareness

Awareness of the component sounds within words.

Autism (ASD or ASC)

Developmental condition that usually emerges in the first three years and persists throughout the individual’s life. In the category of neurodevelopmental disorders. Each person with autism exhibits symptoms in different ways and to varying degrees

Phenotypic heterogeneity

High degree of variability in genes that can cause a disorder like autism

Autism spectrum disorder symptoms

Profound difficulties in social interactions and communication combined with the presence of repetitive or restricted interests, cognitions and behaviors.

Social perception

“the initial stages in the processing of information that culminates in the accurate analysis of the dispositions and intentions of other individuals”

Social brain

The set of neuroanatomical structures that allows us to understand the actions and intentions of other people. Hypothesized to consist of: the amygdala, the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), fusiform gyrus (FG), and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) region

fMRI

Uses powerful magnets to measure levels of oxygen within the brain that vary with changes in neural activity - neurons work harder when doing a specific task so require more oxygen and will detect increase in blood flow to these regions. Has high spatial resolution

ERP (event related potentials)

Measures the firing of groups of neurons in the cortex - neuronal activity creates small electrical currents that can be recorded from non-invasive sensors placed on the scalp - provides excellent temporal resolution

Superior temporal sulcus (STS)

Underlies perception and interpretation of biological motion. People with autism have reduced activity in this region during biological motion perception - and people with an increased genetic risk for autism show increased activity in this area to compensate

Fusiform gyrus (FG)

Supports face perception

Endophenotypes

A characteristic that reflects a genetic liability for disease and a more basic component of a complex clinical presentation. Endophenotypes are less developmentally malleable than overt behavior.

Plasticity

Brain functioning can be affected by experience over time. In contrast to theories that suggest difficulty processing complex information or communicating across large expanses of cortex, this malleability of the social brain is a positive prognosticator for the development of supports