Theories of Cognitive Development

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from various theories of cognitive development, highlighting essential terms and definitions based on the lecture notes.

Piaget's Theory

A cognitive developmental theory that posits cognitive development involves a sequence of four stages:

4 stages 

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational

constructed through the processes of assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration.

Assimilation

The process by which people incorporate incoming information into concepts they already understand.

Accommodation

The process by which people improve their current understanding in response to new experiences.

Equilibration

The process by which people balance assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding.

Sensorimotor Stage

The period (birth to 2 years) within Piaget’s theory in which intelligence is expressed through sensory and motor abilities.

Preoperational Stage

The period (2 to 7 years) within Piaget’s theory where children represent experiences in language and mental imagery, but struggle with egocentrism and centration.

Concrete Operational Stage

The period (7 to 12 years) within Piaget’s theory in which children reason logically about concrete objects and events.

Formal Operational Stage

The period (12 years and beyond) within Piaget’s theory in which individuals can think abstractly and reason about hypothetical situations.

A-not-B Error

The tendency for infants to search for an object where it was last found rather than where it was last hidden.

Core-Knowledge Theories

Approaches that view children as having innate knowledge in domains of special evolutionary importance and specialized learning mechanisms for acquiring more knowledge in these domains.

Social Scaffolding

A process in which more competent individuals provide a framework that supports children’s thinking at a higher level than they could manage on their own.

Guided Participation

A process emphasized in sociocultural theory where more knowledgeable individuals organize activities that allow less knowledgeable individuals to perform at a higher level.

Dynamic-Systems Theories

A class of theories that focus on how change occurs over time in complex systems, emphasizing the development of actions.

Information-Processing Theories

A class of theories that focus on the cognitive system's structure and the mental activities used to solve problems.

Intersubjectivity

The mutual understanding that participants share during communication.

Overlapping Waves Theory

An information-processing approach that emphasizes the variability of children’s thinking and gradual advancement towards more effective strategies.

Private Speech

The second phase of Vygotsky’s internalization-of-thought process, where children articulate their thoughts aloud to guide their actions.

Joint Attention

A process in which social partners intentionally focus on a common referent in the external environment.

Egocentrism

The inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and that of others.

Centration

The tendency to focus on a single, perceptually striking feature of an object or event to the exclusion of others.

Working Memory

The memory system that involves actively attending to, maintaining, and processing information.

Long-Term Memory

Information retained on an enduring basis, comprising the totality of one's knowledge.

Executive Functioning

Control processes that regulate thought and behavior, including the ability to inhibit responses and enhance working memory.

Rehearsal

The process of repeating information multiple times in order to aid memory.

Selective Attention

The process of intentionally focusing on the most relevant information for the current goal.

Symbolic Representation

The use of one object or thought to stand for another.

Cognitive Competence

The ability of infants and young children to understand concepts which is often underestimated.

Nature and Nurture

The interaction between genetic predispositions and environmental factors in cognitive development.