Early Childhood --Cognitive Development - Unit 2

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2 years old)

When babies learn to differentiate objects from themselves and realize they can be the agents of actions like pulling a string to start a motor, and this is also the stage they begin to achieve object permanence in realizing that objects can still exist even if they don’t see it in their view.

Pre-Operational Stage (2 - 6 or 7 years old)

When babies learn to use language to represent objects with images and words

Cognitive Constructivist

Strong emphasis on developmental stages but low emphasis on sociocultural context

Social Constructivist

Strong understanding of sociocultural context, but lacks understanding of general stages

Executive Function

When a child achieves high-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the prefrontal cortex

The Main 6 Abilities of Executive Function

1. Memory

2. Focus/Inhibition

3. Flexibility

4. Goal Setting

5. Self-Regulation

6. Delay of Gratification

Conservation Problem (4 main issues)

1. Operator = Children being able to do mentally what they previously did physically

2. Compensation = the understanding that changing something in one area could compensate for changes in another area

3. Reversability = Understanding that changes can be made

4. Identity = Things can remain the same even with areas that may have been changed or altered

Why do Children fail the Conservation test?

Because children fixate on the changes of the objects instead of realizing that the object remains the same in terms of the amount (for example, if you cut a pizza into pieces and give it to a child to eat, the amount remains the same, it’s just altered)

Egocentrism

When children aged 5-7 years old have difficulty understanding that others have perspectives and feelings outside of their own, they lack a theory of mind at this stage.

Animism

When children personify non-living objects, for example, “The sun is angry today.”

Magical thinking

When children think that wishes or thoughts cause real-world events

Early Competence

Knowing how to differentiate biological things from others and that experience cause maturity.

Vygotsky’s Theory (3 Points)

• Social Constructivist Approach = learning about the world through social interaction

• Zone of Proximal Development = Range of tasks for children to do alone that can be learned with guidance

• Scaffolding = Changing the level of support and instruction provided

The Marshmallow Test

They tested children with a Marshmallow test, and if they were to wait, they were promised another, or they could eat the one given to them and have that be their first and last marshmallow to test how strong their ability to delay gratification was, and they found that the wealthier children had a greater ability to delay their gratification, while the poor children had it immediately.

• This is a very controversial topic as with the wealthier children are said to not have that sense of scarcity due to their upbringing so they know that it would be something that they could get at any point while a child that was brought up poor would have been encourages to take advantage of every opportunity given to them so their no set in stone determination on who will or will be more or less sucessfull in the future