Adolescent Cognitive Development - PSY 222

What are the stages of cognitive development according to Piaget?

Concrete operational: 7-11 years old, logical reasoning

Formal Operation: 11-up, abstract thoughts and hypothetical reasoning

Describe the cognitive abilities children and adolescents develop in the Formal Operations stage

Inductive reasoning: Gathering individual items of information and putting them together to form conclusions (critical thinking)

Deductive reasoning: Making inferences based on factual information available

Hypothetical deductive reasoning: Ability to solve problems using the scientific reasoning

Describe the cognitive abilities children and adolescents develop in the Concrete Operation stage

Hierarchical classification: ability to divide objects into nested series of categories.

Class-inclusion: Understanding that objects may fit into different levels of hierarchies.

Conservation: Understanding that changing an object’s appearance does not alter its fundamental properties.

Describe the criticism of Piaget’s view on cognitive development

Age:

• question the age at which formal operation begins (before or after age 11)

• did not discuss importance of social environment

Universality

• attainment of first 3 stages seem to be universal

• however, full formal thinking not guaranteed

Beyond Formal Operations

• it may not truly be the final stage of cognitive development

What is adolescent egocentrism?

Personal Fable: belief that they are invulnerable, and their feelings are special and unique

Imaginary audience: belief that others are constantly paying attention to them almost as if they are “on stage.”

Describe the steps in processing information

Attention (Stimuli) → Interpretation (Make judgment about what being exposed to) → Memory (Retain useful information) → Inference (Generate new thoughts from old information) → Thinking (Conscious, deliberate coordination of information) → Reasoning (Logical constrained useful thinking)

What are the three types of memory?

1. Sensory Register: Holds the sensory information and lasts for about seconds.

2. Short-term memory: Limited storage and contains information that is being rehearsed or the conscious mind.

3. Long-term memory: Unlimited storage of information that is held below the conscious level.

Five Skills in Decision– Making Process

Identify alternatives → Identify appropriate criteria to select alternatives → assess alternatives → Summarize information on alternatives → Evaluate outcomes

Describe the psychometric approach to intelligence

Achievement Tests: Tests designed to assess mastery of specific subject matter or skills.

IQ Tests: Calculated by dividing the mental age (MA) by the chronological age (CA) and multiplying by 100.

Explain the factors that may affect test results

• Mental State (Test and school anxiety, stereotype threat)

• Cultural bias

• Genes and environment (Is the home stimulating? What are the actions of the parent? Have proper nutrition for brain development?)

Describe Gardner’s perspective on intelligence

Gardner introduced eight different types of intelligences consisting of: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist.