Cognitive Development

assimilation

interpret new experiences in terms of our current understandings

“stays the same”

accommodation

adopt our current understanding to incorporate new info

“creates change”

Piaget’s Stages of Cog. Develop: Sensorimotor

birth to 2 yrs old

babies/toddlers learn abt. the world through their senses and actions

object permanence

Piaget’s Stages of Cog. Develop: Pre-operational Stage

2 yrs old to 6/7 years old

learns to use language, but doesn’t yet comprehend the mental operations of concreate logic

animistic thinking (stuffed animals have feelings)

lack conservation

egocentric

Piaget’s Stages of Cog. Develop: Concrete Operational Stage

7 yrs old to 11 yrs old

children have gained the mental operations that enable them to think logically abt. concrete or tangible ideas

mastered conservation

Piaget’s Stages of Cog. Develop: Formal Operational Stage

12 yrs old to Adulthood

can think logically abt. abstract concepts (hypothetical, imagined situations)

discontinuity stage

happens in discontinuous steps

continuity stage

escalator

can demonstrate cog. abilities more than at 1 stage

lev vygotsky (1896-1934)

viewed cog. development as a social process

sociocultural theory

greater emphasis on role of social and cultural factors

• influence of parents, teachers, older peers

  • how fast they will develop

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

grip between what a learner can and cannot do

• median of challenging and too easy

adolescence egocentrism

tendency of teens to view the world only from their perspective

imaginary audience

the belief of an adolescent that other people are constantly focusing their attention on them; makes them insecure

scrutinizing

personal fable

stories of teens’ views that are idealized and special; make them feel invincible

may cause other optimistic sense and error in responsive planning

crystalized intelligence

acquired knowledge of vocab, verbal skills, cultural knowledge, and factual information

remains the same or increases throughout adulthood

fluid intellgence

the rapid processing of information and memory span needed to solve new problems

decreases in late adulthood

cognitive development

the process of intellectual growth that humans go through to develop information-processing abilities, perceptual skills, language learning, understanding concepts, and problem-solving abilities

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

swiss psychologist who believed that children moved from stage to stage as they matured and were exposed to relevant types of experiences

what are the four stages cognitive development consisted of

1. sensorimotor

2. preoperational

3. concrete operational

4. formal operational

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets info

adulthood

cog. abilities remain high through middle adulthood

in late adulthood:

• decline in speed of processing and capacity of memory

• overall decline of cog. ability is moderate