PSY 2261 Chapter 9: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Flashcards

PSY 2261 WEB Child Development Study Guide for Chapter 9: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Introduction

  • This study guide serves to help organize notes and focus on what to study for the exam.

  • Recommended resources include:

    • SmartBook

    • Video lectures

    • PowerPoint slides

    • Additional videos and resources provided in Blackboard course.

  • Encourage completing the study guide thoroughly to facilitate self-quizzing.

  • Emphasize the importance of learning definitions and applying concepts to examples due to the exam's focus on applied questions.

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage

  • Age Range: Children typically fall between ages 2 to 7 during the preoperational stage of cognitive development.

  • Advancements in Preoperational Thought:

    • Symbolic Function/Thought: The ability to use symbols, such as words or images, to represent objects or events.

    • Intuitive Thought: The child begins to use reasoning but primarily through gut feelings rather than logic.

    • Object Space: Recognizing the properties of objects in space, indicating some understanding of spatial relationships.

    • Identities: Understanding that objects can retain their identity despite changes in appearance or arrangement.

    • Categorization: Ability to group objects based on shared characteristics or purpose.

    • Number: Developing basic numerical concepts, leading to counting and early understanding of quantities.

  • Transduction: The reasoning of young children where they relate two events that are not logically connected (e.g., believing that if a child is sad, it must be raining).

  • Limitations of Preoperational Thought:

    • Egocentrism: The inability to see a situation from another person's perspective.

    • Animism: The belief that inanimate objects have feelings and intentions.

    • Lack of Conservation: The failure to understand that quantities remain the same despite changes in shape or size (e.g., knowing that a ball of clay maintains its amount when flattened).

    • Centration: Focusing on one aspect of a situation and neglecting others (e.g., height over width in measuring liquid).

    • Irreversibility: The inability to mentally reverse a process (e.g., not understanding that a stretched piece of clay can be reshaped into a ball again).

  • Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory:

    • Underestimation of children's cognitive abilities at various ages.

    • Limited consideration of social and cultural influences on cognitive development.

Theory of Mind

  • Definition: Theory of mind refers to the understanding that others have thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions that are different from one's own.

  • Importance: It is essential for social interactions and understanding that others can have false beliefs.

False Beliefs

  • Definition: False beliefs are incorrect beliefs about the world that are held by an individual.

  • Development: Children typically develop the ability to understand false beliefs around age 4 or 5.

Types of Memory

  • Generic Memory: Memory for general facts or information, such as the knowledge of the alphabet.

  • Episodic Memory: Memory of specific events or experiences, including time and place.

  • Autobiographical Memory: A more developed form of episodic memory, pertaining to personal experiences and significant life events.

Executive Functioning

  • Definition: A set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

Memory Processes

  • Encoding: The initial process of converting information into a form that can be stored.

  • Storage: The maintenance of encoded information over time.

  • Retrieval: The process of accessing and bringing to mind stored information when needed.

Types of Memory Storage

  • Sensory Memory: The initial, brief storage of sensory information (milliseconds to seconds).

    • Involves retention of impressions of sensory information for a short duration.

  • Working Memory: The limited capacity system that temporarily holds and processes information (about 7 items for approximately 20-30 seconds).

    • Involves more active manipulation of information.

  • Long-term Memory: Storage of information over an extended period, potentially indefinitely.

Recognition vs. Recall

  • Recognition: Identifying previously encountered information when presented with it, e.g., multiple-choice questions.

  • Recall: Involves retrieving information without cues, e.g., essay or short-answer questions.

Metacognition

  • Definition: Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes; thinking about one’s thinking.

Metamemory

  • Definition: A component of metacognition, referring specifically to understanding one’s own memory capabilities and strategies.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development

  • Key Features: Emphasis on culture and social interactions in cognitive development.

  • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD):

    • Definition: The range of tasks that a child can perform with assistance but not yet independently.

    • Determining ZPD: Assessing what a child can do alone versus what they can do with guidance.

  • Scaffolding: A teaching method involving the provision of temporary support tailored to a learner’s needs.

    • Example: A teacher helping a child solve a math problem through guided questions.

  • Private Speech: Speech spoken to oneself for self-guidance, commonly observed in young children and believed to facilitate cognitive development.

Fast Mapping

  • Definition: The process by which children quickly and efficiently learn new words and their meanings after only a few exposures.

Pragmatics

  • Definition: The rules and conventions for using language effectively in context, including nonverbal cues and social norms.

Language Delays

  • Primary Language Delays: Delays originating from intrinsic factors such as developmental disorders.

  • Secondary Language Delays: Delays arising from environmental factors, such as lack of exposure to language.

Emergent Literacy

  • Definition: The early stages of reading and writing development that occur before formal literacy instruction.

  • Literacy Improvement Factors: Exposure to books, interactive reading, and print in the environment.

Early Childhood Educational Models

  • Montessori Method: An educational approach emphasizing child-led learning and hands-on activities in a mixed-age classroom.

  • Compensatory Preschool Programs: Programs designed to enhance educational opportunities for underserved children, often focusing on preparing children for formal schooling.

  • Universal Preschool: Accessible preschool programs offered to all children, aiming to give equal educational opportunities regardless of socio-economic background.