Chapter 9: Cognitive Development in Childhood

Chutes and Ladders

A numerical board game that is useful for building early numerical knowledge.

Concrete operations stage

Piaget’s developmental stage (approximately ages 7–12) in which children can think logically about concrete situations but struggle with abstract or hypothetical reasoning.

Conservation problems

Piagetian tasks showing that changes in an object’s appearance do not change its quantity (e.g., volume, number, mass).

Continuous development

Development that occurs gradually and incrementally over time rather than in abrupt stages.

Depth perception

The ability to perceive the distance of objects in the environment.

Discontinuous development

Development that occurs in distinct stages with qualitative changes between stages.

Formal operations stage

Piaget’s stage beginning around age 12, characterized by the ability to think abstractly, logically, and scientifically.

Information processing theories

Approaches that focus on the cognitive processes underlying thinking at different ages and how these processes change over time.

Nature

Genetic influences that children bring with them that affect development.

Nurture

Environmental influences, beginning in the womb, that shape development.

Numerical magnitudes

The sizes or quantities that numbers represent.

Object permanence task

A Piagetian task demonstrating that infants under about 9 months fail to search for hidden objects, indicating a lack of object permanence.

Phonemic awareness

Awareness of the individual sounds (phonemes) that make up words.

Piaget’s theory

A theory proposing that cognitive development occurs through four discontinuous stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Preoperational reasoning stage

Piaget’s stage from about ages 2–7 in which children can use symbols and language but cannot yet perform logical operations.

Qualitative changes

Large, fundamental developmental changes, such as stage transitions.

Quantitative changes

Gradual, incremental developmental changes over time.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget’s stage from birth to age 2 in which infants learn about the world through sensory experiences and motor actions and develop object permanence.

Sociocultural theories

Theories emphasizing how social interaction and cultural context influence cognitive development, associated with Lev Vygotsky.