COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT

• Discuss Piaget's theory of cognitive of development AO1

  • Children act as the scientist
  • We are born with schemas and construct new ones to understand the world
  • We are motivated to learn due to experiencing disequilibrium to achieve equilibration
  • We learn through assimilation and accommodation
• Discuss Piaget's theory of intellectual development (AO1)

  • Sensorimotor stage (0-2)- object permanence, physical sensation and co-ordination
  • Pre-op stage (2-7)- conservation, egocentrism, class inclusion
  • Concrete operations (7-11)- operations
  • Formal operations (11+)- formal reasoning
• Discuss and evaluate Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development(AO1)

  • Cognitive development as a social process
  • Knowledge is first intermental then intramental
  • Learning is important with interaction of others (ZPD)
  • Scaffolding is important in helping children cross ZPD
• Discuss and evaluate Baillargeon's explanation of infant abilities(AO1)

  • Suggested younger babies have a better developed understanding of the physical world than thought (contrast to Piaget)
  • VOE research to investigate infant understanding of physical world
  • Baillargeon and Graber VOE research (possible vs impossible rabbit event)
  • Infants have a PRS which is innate and universal, allows us to understand physical properties of the world
• Discuss and evaluate Selman's levels of perspective taking (AO1)

  • There is social perspective taking involved in understanding the world
  • Development of SPT is a separate process to physical perspective taking (piaget believed both occured hand in hand)
  • Perspective taking research in Kitten analogy
  • Selman's 6 stages of development
  • Additional 3 aspects to social development (schultz, selman and la russo)
• Discuss the ToM (theory of mind) as an explanation of development of social cognition 


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• Discuss the role of the mirror neuron system in social cognition (AO1)

  • Discovery of MN (Rizzolatti monkey study)
  • MN and intention (Gallese and Gottman)
  • MN and perspective taking (ability to take others' perspectives)
  • MN and human evolution (Ramachandran, evolution of social roles and rules in human culture)
  • MN and ASD (Ramachandran and Oberman, broken mirror theory of ASD)