Lesson 4: Cognitive Development

concrete operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development in which children can perform the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events; roughly ages 7 to 11

accomodation

adapting current schemas to incorporate new information

egocentrism

preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

formal operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development in which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts; roughly beginning at age 12

preoperational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development in which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic; roughly ages 2 to 6 or 7

theory of mind (ToM)

people’s ideas about their own and others’ feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

conservation

principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

cognition

mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

scaffold

in Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

operation

according to Piaget, mental plan or procedure used to think through and solve problems

assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development in which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impression and motor activities; roughly from birth to age 2

object permanence

awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

schema

concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Piaget’s cognitive development theory

sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage

object permanence begins to develop at…

8 months

conservation begins to develop at…

age 6

animism

belief that inanimate objects are alive or have lifelike feelings and motivations

the sensorimotor stage includes…

object permanence and stranger anxiety

the preoperational stage includes…

pretend play, parallel play, egocentrism, and animism

the concrete operational stage includes…

conservation and mathematical transformations

the formal operational stage includes…

abstract logic and mature moral reasoning

zone of proximal development

in Vygotsky’s theory, the zone between what a child can and cannot do; what a child can do with help

terminal decline

acceleration of cognitive decline in the last few years of life, and especially as death approaches

researchers currently believe that…

object permanence develops earlier than Piaget believed