exam 2

Focus on the cognitive development stage during birth to approximately five years of age.
Significant changes occur in early years, affecting how children process the world and interact socially and with objects.

Cognitive development closely associated with Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.
Key contributions to understanding cognitive growth from infancy to early childhood.
Review of key Piagetian terms necessary for understanding his theory is emphasized.

Definition: Organized structures of information that help us understand the world based on experiences.
First encounters with experiences (e.g., seeing a dog) form initial neural networks called schemes.
As more experiences are gained, schemes evolve to produce generalizations (e.g., the nature of dogs as creatures).

Equilibrium: A state of balance where a person's expectations match their experiences.
Disequilibrium: Discrepancy where a person's expectations do not align with their experiences, leading to confusion.
Piaget theorized that everyone strives to achieve equilibrium after encountering disequilibrium (confusion).

Definition: Incorporating new experiences into existing schemes without changing them (e.g., meeting a new dog that behaves like previous ones).

Definition: Altering existing schemes or creating new ones to integrate new experiences (e.g., encountering a dog that behaves differently).

Piaget proposed four key stages of cognitive development:
1. Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
4. Formal Operational Stage (12 years and up)

Characterized by physical interactions with the environment to learn about the world.

Simple Reflexes (0-1 month)
- Reflexive responses, basic interactions with the environment (e.g., sucking, grasping).
Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months)
- Repetition of actions centered on the infant's own body (e.g., sucking thumb).
Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)
- Actions focused on the external environment (e.g., shaking a rattle).
Coordinated Secondary Circular Reactions (8-12 months)
- Using one action to achieve another goal (e.g., pushing an object to reach another).
Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months)
- Experimentation with new actions to see results (e.g., dropping toys to observe effects).
Mental Representation (18-24 months)
- Beginning of symbolic thought, manipulation of objects mentally before doing it physically.

Object Permanence: Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen; develops around 9 months.
Piaget observed that infants would search for hidden objects to test understanding of permanence.

Children develop language and engage in symbolic play, but their thought processes are not yet logical.

Centration: Focusing on one dimension of a situation, leading to flawed conclusions (e.g., failing to recognize volume conservation).
Irreversibility: Difficulty in mentally reversing actions (e.g., unable to visualize pouring liquid back).
Egocentrism: Inability to see perspectives other than their own (e.g., child believes others see the same view they do).
Animism: Attributing life-like qualities to inanimate objects (e.g., believing toys feel emotions).
Artificialism: Introducing the idea that natural phenomena are human-made (e.g., thinking that people created the weather).
Precausal Thought: Misattributions of causality where children assume actions cause unrelated effects (e.g., wanting it to snow will make it snow).

The understanding of one's own mind and the minds of others, including perception, beliefs, desires, and knowledge.
In early childhood, egocentrism affects their theory of mind, leading them to believe everyone has access to their knowledge and experiences.
Age-related development: As children grow, they begin to grasp that knowledge originates from personal experiences, not universally shared knowledge.

Difficulty in distinguishing between how things appear and their true nature.
Example: Preoperational children may identify a real cookie as a cookie rather than an eraser if it resembles a cookie visually.

Piaget's theories on cognitive development highlight the complexities of children's thinking in early years.
Understanding of cognitive processes evolves with age alongside the maturation of physical and social experiences.
Children progress from simple reflexive actions to complex mental representations, adaptation processes, and improved understanding of their environments.