Cognitive Development

cognitive development

the development of thinking and reasoning including attention, perception, problem solving, memory

theories of cognitive development

• Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory

• Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

• information processing theories

Piaget’s theory

4 stages of cognitive development

1. birth - 2 years = sensorimotor stage

2. 2-7 = preoperational stage

3. 7-12 = concrete operational stafe

4. 12+ = formal operational stage

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

indiv cog development largely shaped by social and cultural context. infants have basic cog skills include attention, sensation perception and memory. become more sophisticated as interact with others. Idea that thought is internalised speech developed through 3 phases

1. kid’s behaviour controlled by other people’s statements

2. controlled by private speech

3. controlled by internalised private speech (thought)

information processing theories

focus on structure of cog system and mental activities used to deploy attention and memory to solve problems = human mind is complicated like a computer

• processor = working memory

• input devices = sensory memory

• hard disk drive = long-term memory

intelligence

capacity to learn from experiences and adapt to once’s environment

• developmental concept

• means different things at different ages

• definition varies in different contexts

general intelligence 

a person possesses a certain amount of general intelligence (g) that influences their ability on all intellectual tasks

how can intelligence be measured

• 1 dimension e.g. g, IQ

• 2 dimensions e.g. crystalised and fluid

• a few dimensions e.g. Thurstone 7 and Gardner 7

• many dimensions e.g. Carroll’s 3 stratum model

intelligence quotient (IQ)

(mental age/chronological age) x 100

• e.g. (8÷7)x100 = 114 

problem of using IQ as dimension

non-changing number that represents a developmental concept

John Carroll’s three-stratum theory of intelligence

hierarchical integration of

• g

• 8 generalised abilities

• many specific processes

mental age

average age at which children achieve a given score on Binet and Simon’s test

Stanford-Binet scales

5 cognitive abilities

1. fluid reasoning

2. knowledge

3. quantitative reasoning

4. visual-spatial processing

5. working memory

uses MA to calculate IQ. pop in US for ages 2-23

British Ability scale

3 domains

1. verbal ability

2. non-verbal reasoning

3. spatial ability

pop in UK for ages 3-17. uses g

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

widely used for children 6+ years old. 2 main sections

• verbal = general knowledge, language skills

• performance = spatial and perceptual abilities

uses MA to calculate IQ

WISC Verbal section

• information

• vocab

• similarities

• arithmetic

• comprehension

• digit span

WISC Performance section

• block design - match pic

• coding - identify pattern from series of simple shapes/numbers paired with simple symbols

• mazes 

• object assembly

• pic completion

• pic arrangement 

what components of g do SBS measure

• fluid intelligence 

• crystallised intelligence

• gen memory and learning

• broad visual perception

what components of g do BAS measures

• fluid intelligence

• crystallised intelligence

• broad visual perception

what components of g do WISC measure

• fluid and crystallised

• broad visual perception

• broad auditory perception

• broad retrieval ability

• processing speed

fluid vs crystallised intelligence

• F = ability to solve new problems and think abstractly

• C = ability to use knowledge and skills acquired through experience.

problem with WISC

culturally insensitive questions = scores differ among ethnic groups - doesn’t indicate cultural difference in intelligence

Koori IQ Test

demonstrates how value of knowledge is culturally constructed and what it is like to be assessed and graded on basis of unfamiliar criteria

Piaget and continuity

1. assimilation -  translate new info into form that fits concepts they already understand

2. accommodation - adapt current knowledge structures in response to new experiences

3. equilibrium - balancing assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding 

Piaget and discontinuity

transition between stages reps a discontinuous intellectual leap from 1 coherent understanding to next higher one

sensorimotor stage

birth-2. sensory and motor abilities = learn about objects and people and construct basic forms of fundamentals including time, space and causality

preoperational stage

2-7. able to represent experiences in language, mental imagery and symbolic thought but can’t perform certain mental operations e.g. considering multiple dimensions simultaneously - pouring water e.g.

concrete operational stage

7-12. able to reason logically about concrete objects and events = understand pouring water e.g.. can’t think in purely abstract terms

formal operational stage

12+ able to think about abstractions and hypothetical situations

task analysis

research technique of specifying goals, obstacles to their realisation and potential solution strategies involved in problem solving

how does info-processing differ from Piaget

• info = cog development occurs continuously in small increments happening at diff ages with diff tasks

• P = children progress thru qualitatively distinct broadly applicable stages at sim ages

sociocultural theories

others and surrounding culture contribute greatly to development. includes

• guided participation - more knowledgeable indivs organise activities so less knowledgeable learn

• social scaffolding - type of guided more competent provide temp framework to support thinking at a higher level than kid could manage on own

• cultural tools - innumerable products of human ingenuity that enhance thinking

private speech

develop self-regulation and problem-solving skills by telling themselves aloud what to do

intersubjectivity

mutual understanding that people share during communication

joint attention

social partners intentionally focus on a common referent in external environment