mod 44

Module 44 Infancy and Childhood, Cognitive Development 

Note: all responses should be in bold or colored font.

• Cognitive development: Piaget’s theory:

• Cognitive theory of development

  • Discontinuous stage model of development which said children will undergo a revolutionary change in thought at each stage 

• Piaget’s theory was based on 3 key ideas:

  • Schemas

  • Assimilation and accommodation

  • Stages of cognitive development 

• Schemas: mental structures that guide thinking

  • According to Piaget, they are also the building blocks of development

  • Schema form and change as we develop and organize our knowledge to deal w new experiences and predict new events

• Assimilation: modifies new info to fit with existing schemas or what is already known

• Accommodation: process of restricting or modifying schemas to incorporate new information

  • Assimilation makes new info fit our existing view of the world, accommodation changes our views

• Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2: children mostly give reflexive responses with very little thinking involved

  • Stranger anxiety, fear of strangers, is very common during this period (8m)

    • Major step in thinking happens by yr 2 the ability to make mental images of objects, called mental representation 

• OBject permanence:

  • Piaget's stages: sensorimotor stage

    • Object permanence, knowledge that objects exist independently of one's own actions or awareness 

• Piaget’s stage: preoperational vStage

  • Preoperational stage (2 to 6/7 years of age): A stage marked by well-developed mental representation and the use of language

• Preoperational stagE:

• Egocentrism: self centered focus, children can only see world in their terms

• Animisitc thinking: believing inanimate objects have life and mental processes: “bad table”

• Centration: when children focus on one aspects of a situation and neglect others

• Irreversibility: an inability to think through a series of events or steps then reverse course

• PRetend play: mental symbols a child's arms may be mental symbol for an airplane or birds wings 

• Concrete operational stage (7-11): child develops the abilities of irreversibility, conservation and mental operations

  • Conservation: principle that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape

  • MEntal operations: the ability to solve problems by manipulating images in one's own mind 

• Formal operations: people begin to think about issues that are abstract, like being more accepted by peers, abstract issues like love, fairness and our reason for existence

  • 4 unique structural properties:

    • Hypothetical reasoning

    • analogical/abstract reasoning

    • Deductive reasoning 

    • Reflective abilities 

• Adolescent egocentrism: expect others are watching them

  • Personal fables: an adolescents belief that they are special and unique, none of life's difficulties or problems will affect them regardless of their behavior

    • Leads to risk taking behavior

    • Problem: eating hormones, not full maturation of frontal lobe usually leads to poor decision making

  • Imaginary audience: adolescent believes people r watching

• Theory of mind ability to infer others mental states, and know they may be different than our own 

  • This happens at 4-5 

• Lev Vygotsky:

  • Zone of proximal development: space between what a learner can do without assistance and what learner can do w adult guidance or collab w capable peers

    • Child learning to tie shoes, can strap on his velcro but cannot tie his laces. Zone of proximal development to tie his shoes--important bc it does not put a limit on earning

• Scaffolding: breaking down of info or of parts of new skill into pieces that are digestible for the learner 

Piaget Application Questions: The main character in each of the scenarios is displaying cognition at one of Piaget's developmental stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, or formal operational). Identify the stage of thinking being illustrated by the main characters and provide a brief explanation of your reasoning. 

1. Sheila complains because her brother has taken two big cookies and has only given her one. Her brother takes her big cookie, breaks it in half, and says, “Now we both have two.” Sheila yells, “Not fair, all you did was break mine into two pieces.”  Concrete operational, conservatism 

2. Rory’s mom has given him five empty cardboard boxes. He lines them up in a row, puts his toys in them, and then says, “Choo, choo, here comes the train!” preoperational , pretend play 

3. Jenny’s ball rolls out of sight under the sofa. She stares at the sofa for a few seconds and then turns her attention to her doll.  Sensorimotor: object permanence  

4. Clara enjoys spending free time imagining what kind of society would be created if a group of human beings from all over the world moved to a newly discovered habitable island.  Formal operations: hypothetical reasoning 

5. Sergio wants to pull his toy shovel into his playpen, but instead of grasping it by one end or the other and pulling it lengthwise through the slats, he grabs it in the middle and keeps pulling it against the slats. Preoperational, senstration 

6. Dan becomes upset because his sister’s scoop of ice cream looks taller than his. His mother squashes down his sister’s scoop, and Dan is happy now that they look like the same amount. Preoperational irreversibility 

7. Boris just loves his calculus and physics classes, where he consistently receives high grades. Formal operations; deductive reasoning

8. Pepe wants to make sure he distributes the jelly beans fairly, so he lines them up in one-to-one correspondence before giving some to his friends.   Mental operations: concrete 

Textbook Questions, pages 454-463 

1. What is autism spectrum disorder and how does it affect development 

Also known as DSM_v it ranges in difficulty, and is a neurodevelopmental disorder. IT creates difficulty with communication and interaction with others. Restricitived, overly focused interests, repetitive behaviors, symptoms usually appear before the age of 2. Spectrum disorder due to variation in symptoms--can be mild and manageable to severe

• People with ASD have an impaired theory of mind (creates difficulty of social cues)  (CalesS)

AP Daily Video 3.4.1: Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan 

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

• _____continuity_______________ describes development involving gradual______________ changes in behaviors and thought processes

• Discontinuity describes development involving distinct shifts in behaviors and thought processes

According to Piaget, thinking develops through schema

Testing for Theory of Mind--False belief test: Sally-Ann

What makes an ___effective__________ hypothesis?

Generate an effective hypothesis to test for theory of mind using the Sally-Ann Test.

AP Daily Video 3.4.2: Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan 

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Vygotsky’s Social Cognitive Theory

____zone______ of proximal___________ Development (ZPD) refers to what the learner__________ can do with help___ from a more ____knowledgable___________________ _____other_____ (ex. ____teacher_______ or mentor)

• Gap between what they can accomplish alone____ vs. with help_____

• ___scaffolding________________ is the process in which the more knowledgeable other provides ___support_______ or mentorship to a learner to help them achieve a new____ skill

Testing Vygotsky’s Theory