Piaget’s Theory & Cognitive Development

These flashcards cover key vocabulary, definitions, and concepts related to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and other associated topics in child psychology and language development.

Assimilation

Adapting external stimuli to fit existing internal cognitive structures.

Accommodation

Adapting internal cognitive structures to fit the structure of new stimuli.

Schemes

A class of sensory-motor acts that infants repeatedly carry out; these are the first 'cognitive structures'.

Sensorimotor Stage

The stage (0-2 years) characterized by sensory and motor actions without 'symbolic thought'.

Circular Reactions

Repetitive actions that result from infant's interest.

Primary Circular Reactions

Repetition of interesting behavior involving the baby’s own body.

Secondary Circular Reactions

Repetition of behavior involving external objects.

Tertiary Circular Reactions

First experimentation where children introduce variations into familiar events.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not in sensory contact.

Preoperational Stage

The stage (2 to 6/7 years) where children can use symbols but their thought is not yet logical.

Concrete Operational Stage

The stage (6/7 to 11/12 years) where children can solve problems using logical manipulation.

Conservation

The understanding that certain properties of an object remain the same despite changes in appearance.

Formal Operational Stage

The stage (12+ years) where thought becomes logical and flexible, allowing reasoning about abstract ideas.

Egocentrism

A lack of differentiation between one's own perspective and the perspective of others.

Three Mountain Task

Piaget's test used to measure visual perspective-taking.

Level 1 Visual Perspective-Taking

Ages 2-3: Knowing what another person sees versus what they don't see.

Level 2 Visual Perspective-Taking

Ages 4-5: Realizing that the same object can look different to two people.

Conceptual Perspective-Taking

Understanding what other people know or think.

Priority Principle

The principle that causes must come before effects, passed by age 3.

Cardinal Principle

The counting principle that the last number name used indicates the total number of items.

Expertise

Domain-specific knowledge that enhances problem-solving and organization of information.

Cooing

Vowel-like sounds produced by infants starting around 2 months.

Babbling

Speech-like sounds (consonant-vowel combinations) beginning between 6-12 months.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Chomsky’s concept of an innate mechanism for learning language.

Motherese (Infant-Directed Speech)

The specialized way adults speak to infants to facilitate language learning.

Categorical Perception

The ability to perceive speech sounds as distinct categories.

Wug Study

An experiment showing children apply grammatical rules to novel words.

Mutual Exclusivity Bias

The tendency for children to assume each object has only one label.

Authoritative Parenting

High Warmth, High Control; linked to best outcomes in social responsibility.

Authoritarian Parenting

Low Warmth, High Control; characterized by power assertion.

Permissive Parenting

High Warmth, Low Control.

Indifferent-Uninvolved Parenting

Low Warmth, Low Control.

Exam Breakdown

~54 Multiple Choice + 2 Short Essay questions; specified questions on various topics.

Assimilation vs. Accommodation

Assimilation fits new info into old structures; accommodation changes old structures to fit new info.

Sensorimotor Stage Characteristics

Lacks 'symbolic thought' and defined by sensory-motor actions.

A not B Error

Infants look for an object where they last found it instead of where they saw it hidden.

Preoperational Conservation Failure

They focus on appearance over reality, struggle with reversibility and centration.

Concrete vs. Formal Operational

Formal operational thinkers reason about abstract and hypothetical concepts.

False Belief Task Passing Age

Children typically pass this at age 4 or 5.

Language Production vs. Comprehension

Comprehension always precedes production.

Wug Study Implication

Children are rule learners in language acquisition.

Categorical Perception in Infants

Early ability to distinguish sound distinctions later narrows to native language.

Object Permanence Tasks

Piaget's tasks examining infants' understanding of object permanence.

Violation-of-Expectation Paradigm

Baillargeon’s research suggesting limitations in Piaget's original tasks.

Conservation Tasks

Experiments distinguishing between Preoperational and Concrete Operational stages.

Formal Operation Tasks

Include complex logical tasks like the Balance Scale and Pendulum Tasks.

Perspective Taking

The ability to understand others' viewpoints.

Block Task

Used to demonstrate Level 1 visual perspective-taking.

Turtle Task

Demonstrates Level 2 visual perspective-taking.

False Belief Task Importance

Measures conceptual perspective-taking and 'Theory of Mind' development.

Appearance-Reality Task

Tests understanding of differences between appearance and reality.

Priority Principle Studies Significance

Evidence shows that young children understand cause precedes effect.

Gelman’s 'Mouse' Study

Demonstrates children's advanced numerical reasoning principles.

Habituation Studies

Research displaying infants' ability in detecting differences in quantity.

Haith Study

Research on infants' roles in communication between 0-6 months.

Baldwin Study

Examines intentional communication and labeling efforts in infants.

Newport Studies

Research on the Sensitive Period for language acquisition.

Eimas Study

Foundational experiment on Categorical Perception in infants.

Werker Study Outcomes

Illustrates the narrowing of infants' sound distinction abilities.

Masur Study Findings

Shows young children may use imitation for vocabulary development.

Baumrind’s Classic Studies

Identifies four primary Parenting Styles through longitudinal research.

Lamborn et al. Study Findings

Analyzes long-term consequences of different parenting styles.

Hoffman Study Insights

Cross-cultural study on valued child characteristics and importance variations.

Cognitive Development

The process of maturation of a child's cognitive capabilities.

Research Critiques

Challenging traditional methods and outcomes in Piaget's research.

Developmental Stages

Phased progress in cognitive growth as outlined by Piaget's theory.

What is Categorical Perception?

The phenomenon where we perceive speech sounds (like 'pa' and 'ba') as distinct categories rather than a continuous spectrum. (Relates to the Eimas study).

What is the Mutual Exclusivity Bias?

The tendency for children to assume that each object has only one label/name.

What did the Newport studies on ASL and 2nd languages conclude?

They provided evidence for a Sensitive Period in language acquisition—showing that proficiency is higher when learning begins in childhood.

Does Comprehension or Production come first?

Comprehension always precedes production.

What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 Visual Perspective-Taking?

Level 1 (Age 2-3): Knowing what someone else sees.

Level 2 (Age 4-5): Knowing how an object looks from someone else's different position (e.g., the Turtle Task).

What is the Appearance-Reality Task?

A test (like a candle that looks like a crayon) where children must distinguish what an object looks like vs. what it actually is. Passed around age 4-5.

What is the Cardinal Principle of counting?

The understanding that the last number name used in a sequence indicates the total number of items in the set.

How does Expertise affect a child's cognitive performance?

Domain-specific knowledge (like dinosaurs or chess) allows children to organize information better, aiding memory and problem-solving, making them look more 'cognitively mature' than Piaget would expect.