They have shown that his findings can be replicated but younger children can achieve greater success with modified versions of the tasks (Beilin, 1971, 1978)
1. Question as to whether the task makes sense to children? Huges developed a hide-seek game for children to make it more suitable for children
2. Hughes (1975) hide-seek policeman game: 90% children aged 3-5 now pass
3. Level of understanding? Different levels of understanding, they need to understand how things look from different angles and how occlusion plays a factor
4. Flavell, Everett, Croft & Flavell, 1981. Level 1: obstacle can occlude a view. Level 2: how an object looks from another perspective
3. Bowler (1965): Evidence of size constancy in 1 – 2 month old’s
4. Baillargeon, Spelke and Wasserman (1985) & Baillargeon, 1987: Drawbridge task. Removed the need for physical ability to locate target – utilized a preferential looking paradigm. As young as 3.5 months
2. Memory? Minimizing the delay between hiding and searching when the toy is located in B results in fewer errors by children (Bremner and Bryant 1977, Diamond, 1985). It could be memory that plays a factor
3. Difficulty with Inhibition? Even when objects are in clear view infants still search in the incorrect location (Butterworth, 1977). Could be motor memory that leads to children picking location A instinctively
Children’s abilities are related to experience and culture (Fahrmeier, 1978: Hausa tribe children do not receive formal education - cannot conserve until 11 years of age although Piaget says it should happen at 7 years of age)
Infants perform much better if they are asked only once which means dual questioning makes them think they got the question wrong (Donaldson & McGarrigle, 1974)
In the coin task, children witnessed a ‘naughty teddy’ mess up the coins. Success rates tripled: Children more much better at conserving after watching the ‘accidental transformation’ (McGarrigle & Donaldson, 1974)
Children are born with few mental functions which are gradually transformed by their culture. Cognitive abilities do not develop on their own, but with the help of adults - by sharing an activity with a more experienced partner (who provides scaffolding). The social world determines the structure and pattern of internal cognition (not cognitive structures as Piaget believed)
Vygotsky 1896 - 1934: Russian psychologist who said that development cannot be separated from its sociocultural context. Also, a constructivist theory of development, but language and interaction with other (more competent) people plays a more central role. Little apprentices opposite to what Piaget said, we follow people around us and learn so our cognition is a product of others knowledge which enriches you
It is possible that the child might be confused by the standard experiment and think there is a link between changing the display and the question asked (odd paradigm that infant might be confused with)
Variation in how we learn to conserve – dependent on the metric being assessed (e.g. number (6 yrs), liquid, length or mass (6-7 yrs), weight (9 yrs) and volume (11 yrs)
If a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other. Questions over negative strategy (e.g. Watson & Johnson –Laird, 1972). Which cards do you turn over to establish if the rule is true or false? Confirmation bias – looking for evidence to support rather than negate a rule. Leads to questions over Piaget’s conceptualization and testing of formal operations
Vygotsky suggested that there are four perspectives on how we can analyse cognitive development: Ontogenetic (changes across the lifespan), Microgenetic (short-term changes), Phylogenetic (evolutionary changes), Sociohistorical (cultural changes over time)
ZPD – Zone of Proximal Development: The child internalises knowledge learned in a social context, decontextualises it, then adult gradually withdraws support until child able to take over the activity alone - then becomes something you can do unassisted while your knowledge has grown. Other people help child to optimise their ZPD through scaffolding - prompting the next step, guiding and supporting the child’s efforts, stretching the child’s skills