OCR Psychology - Cognitive development in children

What were Paiget’s 4 stages of development?

Sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational + formal operational

What do egocentric children do?

See the world from their point of view

What was the sample in Piaget’s study?

Primary school children from Geneva, aged 3-11 + 3 of Piaget’s children

What experimental design did Piaget use?

Cross sectional design

How was Piaget’s procedure standardised?

(Individually) children were shown two rows of counters, then the researcher would stretch one row out + then they were asked which row had more counters

Could children in the pre-operational stage (aged 7>) conserve number?

No, they thought the stretched row had more counters

What is a conclusion of Piaget’s study?

Children in the concrete operational stage can conserve number

What research method did Piaget use?

Laboratory experiment

What lowers the validity of Piaget’s study?

How he questioned the children - other research shows when they are asked once instead of twice more answer correctly

What is discovery learning?

Child-led learning where they discover knowledge for themselves

What is the teacher’s role in discovery learning?

To create + organise situations, so students can learn on their own

What is the Zone of Proximal Development?

The difference between what a child can do on their own + what they can do with help from a More Knowledgeable Other

What was the sample in Freund’s study?

60 middle class children, aged 3-5 from America

How was the procedure in Freund’s study standardised?

They all completed a baseline test to ensure they could do the task, then a puppet asked them to organise furniture + then completed a more complex sorting task

What were the results from Freund’s study?

Children who were assisted by their mothers (guided learning) performed better on the complex sorting task

What is a conclusion of Freund’s study?

Guided learning is more effective than discovery learning

Why does Freund’s study have high ecological validity?

It captured mundane realism

What is the role of the teacher in guided learning?

To actively intervene to help the child understand knowledge

What is a spiral curriculum?

A curriculum where ideas are taught simply, then revisited at a more difficult level later on

What is scaffolding?

Providing support / a framework which the child can advance

What was the aim of Wood et al.’s study?

To see if tutoring can help children solve a problem + how this varies across age groups

What research method did Wood et al. use?

Controlled observation with event sampling

How long did the observations in Wood et al.’s study last for?

Sessions from 20 - 60 mins

What was the sample in Wood et al.’s study?

30 middle class children, aged 3, 4 + 5 (10 per age group + equal mix of males + females)

What sampling method was used in Wood et al.’s study?

Self-selected - parents responded to an advertisement

How was the procedure in Wood et al.‘s study standardised?

Tutors have standardised instructions, then showed the children an example of putting 2 blocks together + responded systematically to the children

What was scored in Wood et al.’s observation?

Whether the children assembled the blocks with assistance or unassisted + whether the tutor gave verbal prompts

How were the observations recorded in Wood et al.’s study?

Video recordings which 2 researchers scored

What inter-rater reliability was established in Wood et al.’s study?

94%

What % of 3 year olds could pair the blocks unassisted?

10%

What % of 4 year olds could pair the blocks unassisted?

50%

What % of 5 year olds could pair the blocks unassisted?

75%

What is the average number of times the 3 years olds ignored the tutor?

11

What is a conclusion from Wood et al.’s study?

Younger children need more scaffolding

Why is Vygotsky’s theory ethnocentric?

The end goal of children working with a MKO to reach their ZPD is to work independently but other cultures’ goal may be to collaborate

What lowers the ethnocentrism in Vygostky’s theory?

He said children learn the “tools” of their cultures through social interactions

What is an application of Wood et al.’s study?

Scaffolding can be used in classrooms for children to learn quicker

What lowers the ecological validity in Wood et al.’s study?

Controlled laboratory setting, changes children’s natural behaviour + they may have felt more free to ask questions / explore in normal settings

Why might the children have felt obliged to continue the study?

Presence of an adult may have added pressure for them to continue

Why is Piaget’s study socially sensitive?

Affects legislation to do with the national curriculum + e.g. Montessori nurseries use discovery learning

What are two strategies to improve revision?

The memory palace method + Mind Mapping

What is the Memory Palace method?

This is a where a student will visualise a place they know well (home) + associate different information with different places / objects and then retrieve this in exams

What is the Mind-Mapping method?

Students create colourful branches with singular words stemming from the middle to visually present their revision

Why would the memory palace method work?

Grant et al. found students performed better in matched contexts, visualising where they have revised could increase their recall ability

Why would the mind-mapping method work?

Farrand et al. found that students who had created mind-maps had increased recall abilities after one week compared to a control group