Cognitive Development: Piagetian, Core Knowledge, and Vygotskian Perspectives

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the study of cognitive development, including theories and milestones.

Cognition

Inner processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing.

Constructivist approach

An approach where all aspects of cognition change in an integrated manner.

Assimilation

Using current schemes to interpret the external world.

Accommodation

Adjusting old schemes or creating new ones to better fit the environment.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight.

Make-believe play

Play that gradually becomes more detached, less self-centered, and more complex with age.

Egocentrism

Failure to distinguish others' viewpoints from one's own.

Conservation

Understanding that certain properties of objects remain the same despite changes in form or arrangement.

Zone of Proximal Development

Tasks a child cannot do alone but can learn to do with help.

Scaffolding

Support provided to a child that is tailored to their zone of proximal development.

Deferred imitation

The ability to imitate a behavior after a delay.

Private Speech

Children's self-talk, which helps guide their behavior.

Core Knowledge Perspective

The view that infants are born with innate, special-purpose knowledge systems.

Fluid Intelligence

Basic information-processing skills, such as analytical speed and working memory.

Crystallized Intelligence

Skills that depend on knowledge and experience.

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to understand and manage emotions in self and others.

Nativist Perspective

The view that language is biologically prepared in infants through a language acquisition device.

Interactionist Perspective

The view that inner capacities and environmental factors work together to promote language development.

Phonological awareness

Recognition of the sound structure of spoken words.

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

Sociocultural Theory

The theory that emphasizes the role of social interactions and cultural context in cognitive development.

Cognitive maps

Mental representations of physical locations.

Theory of Mind

The understanding that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions that differ from one's own.

What are Piaget's four stages of cognitive development?

Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational stages.

Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage

The first stage (birth to 2 years) where infants "think" by acting on the world with their eyes, ears, hands, and mouth.

Primary Circular Reactions

Simple motor habits centered on the infant's own body (e.g., thumb sucking), 1-4 months.

Secondary Circular Reactions

Actions aimed at repeating interesting effects in the environment (e.g., shaking a rattle), 4-8 months.

Tertiary Circular Reactions

Exploration of the properties of objects by acting on them in novel ways; repeating actions with variation (e.g., dropping a toy in different ways), 12-18 months.

How does object permanence develop in Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage?

Initially, infants lack it, but by 8-12 months, they mentally represent objects but make A-not-B errors. By 18-24 months, they have a mature understanding.

Piaget's Preoperational Stage

The second stage (2 to 7 years) characterized by symbolic thought, language development, but also egocentrism and a lack of logical operations.

Centration

In the preoperational stage, the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect other important features, leading to conservation errors.

Animistic thinking

The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, such as thoughts or feelings, common in the preoperational stage.

Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage

The third stage (7 to 11 years) where thought becomes more logical, flexible, and organized when applied to concrete information, mastering conservation.

Decentration

The ability to focus on several aspects of a problem at once and relating them, characteristic of concrete operational thought.

Seriation

The ability to order items along a quantitative dimension (e.g., length or weight), developing in the concrete operational stage.

Transitive inference

The ability to seriate mentally, often by comparing two relations to infer a third (e.g., if A>B and B>C, then A>C).

Piaget's Formal Operational Stage

The final stage (11 years and older) where individuals develop the capacity for abstract, systematic, scientific thinking.

Hypothetico-deductive reasoning

A formal operational problem-solving strategy where individuals start with a hypothesis, deduce testable inferences, and systematically isolate and combine variables to see which inferences are confirmed.

Propositional thought

A formal operational ability to evaluate the logic of verbal statements without referring to real-world circumstances.

How does scaffolding help a child in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?

Scaffolding involves offering appropriate guidance and support, adjusted to the child's performance; it helps children master tasks within their ZPD, gradually withdrawing support as the child becomes more competent.

What is the Information Processing Model?

A model that views the human mind as a system through which information flows, similar to a computer, consisting of sensory register, working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Register

The first stage of the Info. Processing Model where sights and sounds are directly recorded and held briefly (0.5-3 seconds) before being processed further or lost.

Working Memory (Short-Term Memory)

The conscious part of the Info. Processing Model where information is actively worked on, combining incoming information with information from long-term memory. Holds a limited amount of information for a short time (10-30 seconds).

Long-Term Memory

The limitless storehouse of information in the Info. Processing Model that can be retrieved at any time. It contains all our knowledge and experiences.

How does information move from the Sensory Register to Working Memory?

Through attention, particularly selective attention, which focuses on relevant sensory information.

How does information move from Working Memory to Long-Term Memory?

Through encoding, which involves organizing and transforming information so it can be stored in long-term memory.

How is information accessed from Long-Term Memory?

Through retrieval, the process of locating and bringing back information from long-term memory into working memory.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on particular internal or external stimuli while ignoring irrelevant distractors.

Sustained Attention (Attention Span)

The ability to maintain focused attention on a task or stimulus over an extended period.

How does attention change during childhood?

Attention becomes more:

• Selective: Better at focusing on relevant information.
• Adaptable: More flexible in shifting attention as needed.
• Sustained: Longer attention spans.

Recognition Memory

A type of memory that involves identifying whether a stimulus has been encountered before (e.g., recognizing a face).

Recall Memory

A type of memory that involves generating a mental representation of an absent stimulus (e.g., remembering a name without seeing the person).

Reconstruction (Memory)

Recollecting information that has been reinterpreted or revised based on new knowledge, reasoning, and experiences, often leading to inaccuracies.

Rehearsal (Memory Strategy)

A memory strategy involving repeating information to oneself to keep it in working memory or transfer it to long-term memory.

Organization (Memory Strategy)

A memory strategy involving grouping related items together (e.g., categorizing a shopping list) to improve recall.

How do memory strategies change during childhood?

Young children use few memory strategies; with age, children learn to use a wider range of strategies (rehearsal, organization, elaboration) more consistently and effectively, and they also develop an awareness of which strategies work best in different situations.

What is Intelligence?

The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills, or more broadly, the capacity to think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, reason, solve problems, and learn from experience.

General Intelligence (g factor)

A broad mental capacity that influences performance on all cognitive tasks, proposed by Charles Spearman.

Specific Intelligence (s factor)

A factor unique to a particular task, proposed alongside 'g' by Charles Spearman.

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

A theory proposing three types of intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical.

Analytical Intelligence (Sternberg)

The ability to apply strategies, acquire task-relevant knowledge, and engage in self-regulation, associated with academic problem-solving.

Creative Intelligence (Sternberg)

The ability to solve novel problems and efficiently make tasks automatic.

Practical Intelligence (Sternberg)

The ability to adapt to, shape, or select environments to meet personal goals and demands of the world.

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

A theory proposing at least eight independent intelligences: linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A score derived from standardized tests designed to assess an individual's cognitive abilities relative to their age group.

How is IQ traditionally calculated?

As $\frac{\text{Mental Age}}{\text{Chronological Age}} \times 100$ (though modern tests use deviation IQ).

Normal Distribution of IQ scores

A bell-shaped curve representing the distribution of IQ scores in a population, with the average (mean) IQ score typically set at 100.

Role of Heredity in Intelligence

Genetic factors contribute significantly to individual differences in IQ, evidenced by twin and adoption studies showing higher correlations among identical twins than fraternal twins, even when reared apart.

Role of Environment in Intelligence

Environmental factors such as high-quality education, stimulating home environments, and good nutrition positively influence intelligence development, as shown by the Flynn effect.

Flynn Effect

The observed worldwide increase in intelligence test scores over generations, primarily attributed to environmental factors like improved nutrition, schooling, and technology.

Cultural Bias in Intelligence Tests

The tendency for intelligence tests to reflect the cultural experiences and knowledge of the dominant group, potentially disadvantaging individuals from minority cultures.

Culture-Fair Intelligence Tests

Tests designed to reduce cultural bias by minimizing reliance on language and culturally specific knowledge, often using non-verbal items or tasks common to many cultures.

Why are infant intelligence tests poor predictors of later intelligence?

Infant tests primarily measure basic motor and perceptual skills, rather than complex cognitive processing or verbal abilities, which become more central to intelligence in older children.

What do infant intelligence tests typically measure?

Early infant intelligence tests usually measure sensorimotor responses, attention to novel stimuli, habituation/recovery speed, and early language development, rather than the abstract reasoning abilities seen in older children.