Development

Piaget's Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational stages,

Sensorimotor Stage

Understanding through sensory experiences and symbolic thought.

Preoperational Stage

This stage is about going beyond the connection of sensory information and physical information.

Concrete Operational

Children at this stage can reason logically based on concrete events.

Formal Operational Stage

Children at this stage is more inclined with abstract, idealistic and logical ways.

Organization

The process of sorting and connecting ideas to create categories or systems of knowledge.

Schemes

organized patterns of thought and behavior used in particular situations.

Adaptation

Adjustment to new demands through assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation

incorporation of new information into an existing cognitive structure.

Accommodation

adjusting one’s cognitive structures to fit the new information.

Equilibration

Seeking a stable balance among cognitive elements through a balance between assimilation and accommodation.

Disequilibrium

a state of cognitive imbalance or discomfort that occurs when new information or experiences contradict existing schemas.

Germinal Stage

The initial stage of prenatal development characterized by rapid cell division, blastocyst formation, and implantation in the uterine wall.

Ectoderm

the upper layer, will become the outer layer of skin, the nails, hair, teeth, sensory organs, and the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord.

Endoderm

the inner layer, will become the digestive system, liver, pancreas, salivary glands, and respiratory system.

Mesoderm

the middle layer, will develop and differentiate into the inner layer of skin, muscles, skeleton, and excretory and circulatory systems.

Spontaneous abortion

It is the natural expulsion from the uterus of an embryo that cannot survive outside the womb; also called miscarriage.

Embryonic Stage

Stage of gestation involving rapid growth and development of major body systems and organs, including organogenesis.

Fetal Stage

Final stage of gestation marked by increased differentiation of body parts and greatly enlarged body size.

Circular Reactions

Processes by which infants learn to reproduce desired occurrences, including primary, secondary, and tertiary circular reactions.

Representational Ability

The capacity to mentally represent objects and actions through symbols, enabling toddlers to pretend and affecting the sophistication of their play.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible, developing gradually during the Sensorimotor Stage.

Representational Thinking

Develops during the sixth substage (18–24 months) and is crucial for understanding concepts like causality and number.

Causality

Develops slowly between 4–6 months and 1 year, based on understanding the effects of actions and outside forces.

Number

Depends on symbol use, starting in the sixth substage (18–24 months), and is essential for numerical understanding.

Imitation

Important for learning, visible imitation using body parts develops first, followed by invisible and deferred imitation.

Object Permanence

Understanding that objects exist even when out of sight, gradually develops during the sensorimotor stage.

Habituation

Learning where exposure to a stimulus reduces attention, like a shaft of light.

Dishabituation

It causes the increase in responsiveness after the presentation of a new stimulus

Visual Recognition Memory

Ability to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar visual stimuli.

Visual preference

is the reason behind the tendency of infants to spend more time looking at one sight than another.

Novelty preference

the tendency to prefer new sights to familiar ones

Joint Attention

Occurs when individuals focus on the same object and interact reciprocally.

Symbolic function

It is the capacity to use mental representations—such as words, numbers, or images that a child has assigned meaning to.

Deferred imitation

where children replicate an action sometime after observing it, becomes more robust after 18 months.

Pretend play

which involves imaginary people and situations, is also known as fantasy play, dramatic play, or imaginative play.

Egocentrism

Inability to consider others' perspectives, a characteristic of young children's thought.

Conservation

Awareness that objects remain equal despite perceptual changes, a key concept in cognitive development.

Formal Operations

Piaget's final stage characterized by abstract thinking and hypothetical-deductive reasoning.

Seriation

The ability to arrange items along a dimension, such as time (earliest to latest), length (shortest to longest), or color (lightest to darkest).

Transitive inferences

Understanding the relationship between two objects by knowing their relationships to a third object (e.g., if a < b and b < c, then a < c).

Class Inclusion

The ability to see the relationship between a whole and its parts, and to understand the categories within a whole.

Inductive reasoning

A type of logical reasoning that starts with specific observations about members of a group and leads to a general conclusion about that group.

Deductive reasoning

A type of logical reasoning that begins with a general statement about a group and deduces a conclusion about an individual member or members of that group.

Declarative knowledge

Factual knowledge gained and stored in long-term memory.

Procedural knowledge

Skills learned and stored in long-term memory.

Conceptual knowledge

Interpretive understandings obtained and stored in long-term memory.

Functional Change

Processes involved in acquiring, managing, and storing information are functional components of cognition.

Fixed Mindset

The belief that abilities and intelligence are fixed and unchangeable leads individuals to concentrate on demonstrating their skills, seeking validation, and comparing themselves to others to boost their self-esteem.

Growth Mindset

Belief that abilities can be developed through effort and learning, fostering resilience and growth.

Willingham's Learning Theory

Emphasizes the importance of prior knowledge, rehearsal, and meaning in cognitive development and learning.

Neuropsychology

The study of how brain function influences behavior and cognition, guiding learning processes.

Factual knowledge

Precedes skill development, emphasizing the importance of having prior knowledge to make sense of new information.

Working memory

Limited capacity for information processing, freeing up space aids problem-solving and understanding.

Practice and effort

Vital for mastering skills and acquiring knowledge, highlighting the significance of consistent practice.

Short-term memory

Rehearses information before transferring it to long-term memory for storage and later use.

Long-term memory

Where information is stored until needed, emphasizing the role of memory in learning.

Cognitive development strategies

Techniques to support mental growth, including awareness of developmental milestones and clear task instructions.

Physical development strategies

Focus on movement order and repetition for optimal physical skill development.

Social development strategies

Encourage perspective-taking, role modeling, and self-regulation for social growth in children.

Willingham's theory strengths

Practical applications for positive child development, early understanding of others' viewpoints, and controlled environment research.

Willingham's theory weaknesses

Lack of ecological validity, failure to address learning differences, and reliance on various theories.