chapter 8 : physical & cognitive development in early childhood

physical development

• changes in the body and brain as a child grows 

• Includes height and weight increase, brain development, stronger muscles and bones

• Body growth

motor development

• How children learn to control their movements 

• Movement skills

scale errors

• Young children’s inappropriate use of an object due to their failure to consider information about the object’s size 

• Right idea, wrong size

preoperational stage (2-6 years)

• Children can think and use symbols (like words and images) 

• Symbols but not logical 

• Ability to represent world symbolically 

preoperational stage (2-6 years) : strengths

language , pretend play

preoperational stage (2-6 years) : weakness

centration, egocentrism, confusing appearance with reality 

preoperational stage (2-6 years) : components

• symbolic thinking

• egocentrism

• centration

• lack of conversation

• animisn

• irreversibility

preoperational stage (2-6 years) components : symbolic thinking

use words, images, and pretend play 

preoperational stage (2-6 years) components : egocentrism

child can’t see things from others’ point of view

preoperational stage (2-6 years) components : centration

focus on one part of a situation only

preoperational stage (2-6 years) components : lack of conversation

don't understand that amount stays the same even if shape changes 

preoperational stage (2-6 years) components : animism

believe objects are alive 

preoperational stage (2-6 years) components : irreversibility

can’t mentally reverse actions  

encoding types

• elaborative encoding

• visual imagery encoding

• organizational encoding

encoding types : elaborative encoding

• adding meaning or details to help remember 

• Connecting new info to what you already know 

• Ex: linking a new word to a personal experience 

encoding types : visual imagery encoding

• Creating mental pictures in your mind

• Ex: imagining a giant apple to remember the word apple 

encoding types : organizational encoding

• Grouping or organizing information to make it easier to remember 

• Ex: putting a grocery list into categories (fruits, drinks, snacks)

retrieval : recognition

• notice stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced

• Identifying something familiar ; no help 

• Picking the correct answer when you see it 

• Ex: multiple choice questions 

retrieval : recall

• generate mental rep. of absent stim

• Generating memory without clues ; see it, know it

• Remembering without help 

• Ex: answering a question on a test with no choices 

retrieval : relearning

• Learning something again faster than the first time 

• Faster than second time 

retrieval : development of retrieval types

• Young children are better at recognition than recall 

• As they grow recall improves 

• Memory becomes stronger and more organized

retrieval : role of environment context

• Can aid retrieval among children

• Memory is better when you are in the same environment where you learned it from 

• Ex: studying in a classroom → easier to remember that same classroom

semantic memory

• Develops earlier than episodic memory 

• Your memory for facts and general knowledge (school-type info)

• Includes words and meanings, facts about the world, concepts and ideas 

• Ex: knowing Paris is the capital of France, what a dog is, 2+2 = 4 

episodic memory

memory of events in your life

types of episodic memory

• scripts

• autobiographical memory

episodic memory : scripts

• Memory for typical, repeated events ; expectations for events 

• What usually happens in a situation 

• Not one specific time, just the usual pattern

• Ex: going to a restaurant = sit down → order → pay 

episodic memory : autobiographical memory

• Personal life memories 

• Memory for your personal life events 

• Specific experiences you lived through

• Ex: your last birthday party

infertile amnesia

the inability to remember events from early childhood, usually before age 3-4

infertile amnesia : components

• brain development

• language development

• sense to self

• memory encoding & retrieval

infertile amnesia components : brain development

hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (memory centers) are not fully developed in infants 

infertile amnesia components : language development

memories are hard to store without language to describe them 

infertile amnesia components : sense to self

early memories need a sense of “me” which develops around age 2 

infertile amnesia components : memory encoding & retrieval

infants encode memories differently, often nonverbal or sensory-based, so they are hard to recall later 

infertile amnesia : evidence

• Most adults cannot recall events from before age 3-4 

• Early memories that survive are usually emotional or repeated events