WK2 Cognitive Development

• What is the focus of PS218 Week 2?

  Cognitive development
• What are the two parts of cognitive development discussed?

  • Infant cognitive development
  • Cognitive development in childhood
• What is the definition of 'cognitive'?

  Knowledge about the world
• What are the components of cognitive understanding?

  Understanding, insight, reasoning abilities
• What is the significance of developing mental representations?

  They support understanding of the world
• What should students be able to explain after the lecture?

  • Theoretical views of infants' knowledge
  • Piaget's methods and findings on object concept
  • Later findings on object concept
  • Testing methods for researching infant minds
• What is the structure of the cognitive development lecture?

  • Piaget’s theory of infant cognitive development
  • Sensori-motor stage
  • Object permanence
  • Six sensori-motor substages
  • Re-testing object permanence
  • Violation of expectations method
  • Conclusions from Baillargeon studies
  • Other theories of cognitive development
• What is Piaget's theory of cognitive development characterized by?

  Discontinuous stages

  
• What is a scheme in Piaget's theory?

  A unit of understanding
• How are schemes modified according to Piaget?

  Through organization and adaptation
• What are the two processes of adaptation?

  Assimilation and accommodation
• What drives the processes of adaptation in Piaget's theory?

  Equilibrium
• What happens when equilibrium cannot be achieved?

  There is a shift in thinking
• What is the key feature of the sensori-motor stage?

  Egocentricity
• What is object permanence?

  Understanding that an object exists out of sight
• What is deferred imitation?

  Imitating a behavior after some time
• What do 4-8 month old infants demonstrate regarding object permanence?

  They do not search for hidden toys
• Why do 4-8 month old infants not search for hidden toys?

  They lack understanding of object permanence
• What is the A-not-B error?

  Reaching for an old hiding place
• Why do children make the A-not-B error according to Piaget?

  They recreate the action that created the object
• What are the six sensori-motor substages of object permanence?

  1. Simple reflexes (0-1 months)
  2. Voluntary actions (1-4 months)
  3. Notices effects of actions (4-8 months)
  4. Repeats actions (9-12 months)
  5. Plans new actions (12-18 months)
  6. Forms mental representations (18-24 months)
• What does habituation measure in infants?

  Responses to familiar stimuli
• What does an increase in response measure indicate?

  Dishabituation
• What does a decrease in response measure indicate?

  Habituation
• What abilities can be inferred from dis/habituation?

  Infants' cognitive processing abilities
• What is the violation of expectation method?

  • Habituation paradigm
  • Tests infant's discrimination of event changes
  • Possible vs. impossible events
  • Measures surprise through looking time
• What did the drawbridge study by Baillargeon demonstrate?

  Infants have knowledge of object permanence
• What was the result of the drawbridge study?

  Infants looked longer at impossible events
• What did the truck on the ramp study reveal?

  Infants can hold mental representations
• What are the conclusions from Baillargeon studies?

  • Infants can hold mental representations by 3-6 months
  • They integrate understanding of object permanence with physical properties
  • Early understanding of object permanence does not require physical search
• How are different findings in cognitive development reconciled?

  Through motor deficits and memory failures
• What are the nativist approaches to cognitive development?

  • Core knowledge (Spelke)
  • Continuity principle
  • Solidity principle
  • Partial knowledge (Baillargeon)
• What do information processing accounts focus on?

  • Physiological functions of the brain
  • Pathways from goal to action
  • Repeated actions for ease of employment
• What is the summary of Piaget's contributions to cognitive development?

  • Established theories based on observations
  • New methods reveal earlier understanding of object permanence
  • Infants form mental representations early
  • Nativist approaches suggest innate knowledge

  
• What are the stages of cognitive development according to Piaget?

  1. Sensorimotor (0-2 yrs)
  2. Preoperational (2-7 yrs)
  3. Concrete operational (7-12 yrs)
  4. Formal operational (12+ yrs)

  
• What is the characteristic of the sensorimotor stage?

  Intelligence expressed through sensory and motor abilities
• What is a limitation of the preoperational stage?

  Unable to perform mental operations
• What can children do in the concrete operational stage?

  Reason logically about concrete processes
• What is the ability of children in the formal operational stage?

  Reason about abstractions and hypothetical situations
• What are the key features of Piaget's theory of cognitive development?

  • Constructivist approach
  • Discontinuous stages
  • Qualitative change
  • Brief transitions
  • Broad applicability
  • Invariant sequence