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Focus on changes in thinking, problem solving, memory and attention, and cognitive development.
Introduction of various theories of cognition emphasizing the significant role of culture.

Distinct Stages of Cognitive Development:
- Children vary in their thinking based on age.
- Development is characterized by distinct stages, known as a 'discontinuous' process.
- Cognitive abilities are organized into a coherent mental structure.
- This approach is labeled as the cognitive-developmental approach.
Maturation:
- Maturation is depicted as an active process where children actively seek information and environmental stimulation that aligns with their cognitive maturity.
- This stands in contrast to behaviorism, which views development as a mechanism influenced by rewards and punishments from the environment.

Schemes: Basic units of knowledge that help individuals organize and interpret information.
- Assimilation: The process of modifying new information to fit existing schemes.
- Accommodation: The process of altering schemes to better fit new information.

Stage	Age Range	Description
Sensorimotor	0–2	Coordination of sensory and motor activities. Alerts to the importance of sensory experiences in learning.
Preoperational	2–7	Ability to symbolize the world (e.g., through language). Characterized by egocentric thought.
Concrete Operations	7–11	Mastery of mental operations leading to a greater understanding of the world.
Formal Operations	11–15+	Capacity to reason about complex tasks and problems involving multiple variables.

Individual Differences:
- Wide variability in the usage of formal operations across individuals, with some continuing to use concrete operations for most tasks.
- Adolescents with math and science backgrounds are more likely to display formal operational thought.
Cultural Bases:
- The acknowledgment that formal operational thought may manifest differently across cultures based on societal roles and cognitive requirements.

Definition: The mental frameworks through which individuals process their understanding of others, social dynamics, and institutional contexts.

Perspective Taking:
- The development of understanding others' thoughts and feelings, evolving through stages of maturity as theorized by Selman.
- In early adolescence, individuals recognize mutual perspectives for the first time.
- In late adolescence, there is advancement into social and conventional perspective taking reflecting societal roles and social interactions.
Adolescent Egocentrism:
- Defined by concepts like the Imaginary Audience (belief in constant observation by peers) and the Personal Fable (belief in personal uniqueness and invulnerability).

Aerked related to the personal fable, characterized by the belief that negative experiences or outcomes are less likely to happen to oneself compared to others.
More pronounced in adolescents compared to adults regarding health risks.

Fluid Intelligence:
- Represents the speed and efficiency of processing information and is reflected in performance-based IQ tests that peak in emerging adulthood.
Crystallized Intelligence:
- Represents the accumulation of knowledge and experience that tends to improve through the twenties and thirties.

Relative Performance: Generally stable; higher average scores in childhood correlate to higher scores into adulthood.
Absolute Performance: Subject to change over time; for example, verbal scores can improve from age 16 to 38 significantly.

Synaptic Pruning: Process occurring between ages 12-20 where the brain loses 7-10% of gray matter due to excess synapses being eliminated; crucial for refined neurocognitive function.
Myelination: The formation of a protective myelin sheath around neurons, essential for enhancing the speed of neural signaling.
Cerebellum Development: Previously thought to be solely responsible for movement, but also plays roles in higher cognitive functions like social skills and humor into emerging adulthood.

Emphasizes that cognitive development is inherently social and shaped by cultural context:
- Scaffolding: Providing support within the zone of proximal development, decreasing as learners become competent.
- Zone of Proximal Development: The difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a more knowledgeable person.

Cognitive changes from pre-adolescence to adolescence, including abstract thinking and metacognition.
Not all individuals achieve formal operational thought, and practical application varies across cultures.
Emerging adulthood is also characterized by post-formal thinking categories like pragmatism and reflective judgment.
The information-processing approach helps in distinguishing cognitive functioning yet criticized for overlooking holistic thinking processes.
Critical thinking and decision-making are crucial in practical cognition, with effective teaching in American schools remaining challenged.
An examination of social cognition during adolescence reveals shifts in perspective-taking and ego-centric beliefs.
Improvement in verbal intelligence scores occurs through the twenties and thirties, contrasting with performance intelligence peaking earlier.
Vygotsky's focus on sociocultural parameters in cognitive growth, signifying the importance of understanding individual cognition within cultural frameworks.