Case 3: Cognitive development

Adaptation

• it includes two theories:

  • assimilation and accomodation

Assimilation

• new experiences are reinterpreted so that they fit into old ideas

Accomodation

• refining old ideas so that they accomodate the new experiences

Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years)

• the world is explored through sensory functions and motor contact

• object permanence develops, the child recognises that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer present

Sensorimotor intelligence stages 1 and 2

• Primary circular reactions

  • involves the infant’s own body

  • reflexes, senses motion and noise

Sensorimotor intelligence stages 3 and 4

• Secondary Circular Reactions

  • involves the infant with an object or another person

Sensorimotor intelligence stages 5 and 6

• Tertiary Circular Reactions

  • actively discover properties of people or objects

Pre operational (2-6 years)

• symbolic thought develops, the child can think, speak, and act in relation to objects that are not physically present

• thinking is still illogical and egocentric (egocentrism) - the child believes that the world revolves around them and cannot yet see others’ perspectives

Preoperational thought: Conservation

• children do not understand conservation

• Conservation = characteristics remain unchanged regardless of other changes

  • conservation of liquid or volume

  • conservation of substance or matter

  • conservation of number

  • conservation of length

Pre-operational thought: Centration

• the child focuses on one aspect of a situation to the exclusion of all others

• EXAMPLES:

  • daddy is a father but cannot be a brother

  • cats are cats but lions and tigers cannot be cats

Pre-operational thought: Focus on Apperance

• The child ignores all attributes except appearance

  • Daddy shaves his beard and baby does not understand

  • Girl cutting her hair short thinks that she has turned into a boy

Pre-operational Thought: Static Reasoning

• The child assumes that the world is unchanging: Always in the state in which the child currently encounters it.

  • A child is shocked to see his preschool teacher buying groceries

  • A boy watching TV leaves the room and believes that he will commence watching his program exactly where he left off when he returns

Pre-operational Thought: Irreversibility

• The child fails to recognise that reversing a process can sometimesrestore whatever existed before the transformation occurred.

• Children cannot see that if you pour the liquid from the tall container back into the original one, it will remain the same quantity.

Concrete operational (6-11 years)

• logical thinking about concrete objects develops

• conservation develops; the ability to add and subtract

• egocentrism diminishes

Logical principles of Concrete Operational Thought:

• Classification: Process of organizing things into groups, categories or classes according to some property they have in common

Concrete operational thought: Identity

• Certain characteristics of an object remain the same even if other characteristics change

Concrete operational thought: Reversibility

• Sometimes a thing that has been changed can be returned to its original state by reversing the process by which it has been changed

Formal Operational (11 years - adolescence)

• abstract reasoning and hypothesising develops

Hypothetical though

• formulate hypotheses and test them logically

Inductive Reasoning

• Specific Principles/Particulars then to gain a general conclusion

  • she is nurturing, caring and has children = she is a mother

Deductive Reasoning

• general statement, premise or principle and then deduce a specific conclusion/conclusions

  • if she is a mother = she is nurturing, caring and has children