Lecture

• Jean Piaget's big question was what is knowledge and where does it come from
• Constructivist perspective: we use interactions with the world to build theories on how the world works
• Maturationist perspective: children have to biologically prepared to learned certain concepts
• Intelligence described by piaget is the ability to adaptively survive
• Cognitive equilibrium: a state in which the information fits in with previous world view
• Schemes are considered basic building blocks of intelligence
• according to Piaget, Cognitive development is the building/modification of simple schemes to complex ones
• Organization is a method in sorting out schemes in order to establish connections and broaden worldview/intelligence
• Adaptation is the process of confronting knowledge that doesn't fit within your current schemes. It will either be assimilated into your understanding or accommodating your scheme to make it fit
• Learning is motivated by the feeling of being confused
• Piaget's stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor( birth to 2 years), preoperational(2 to 7 years) concrete operations( 7 to 11 years) and formal operational(11+ years_
• Piaget's stages laws: have to be in an invariant order, are universal and independent of culture, ages are approximate and certain experiences are required for cognitive skills to develop
• Within the sensorimotor stage, babies goes from reflexive to symbolic thinkers
• Part 1 of sensorimotor stage: reflex activity and its mindless exercising; occurs between birth to 1 month
• Part 2 of the sensorimotor stage is primary circular reactions. Use reflex based schemes to replicate actions. Occurs from 1 to 4 months
• Part 3 of Sensorimotor is Secondary Circular reaction is the same as part 2 but now they're interacting with interesting objects. Its between 4 to 8 months
• Part 4 of sensorimotor stage: Coordination of secondary schemes in which they have intentional goal-directed behavior. Occurs within 8 to 12 months
• Part 5 of sensorimotor stage: tertiary circular reactions in which interesting events are created in new ways. It occurs between 12 to 18 months
• Part 6 of sensorimotor stage: mental representation in which trial and error is no longer what's dominant and babies are imagining outcomes. Occurs between 18 to 24 months
• Operations are logic systems that are used to solve problems
• Preoperational stage: words, gestures, maps and models are now understood.
• Shortcomings in pre-operational thought: use animism often(giving life-like qualities to inanimate objects), egocentrism(incapable of understanding that people have other perspectives) and centration(hard to consider more than 1 part of the problem at a time)
• Concrete operational stage: have more sophisticated schemes and have understanding of reversibility(results in egocentrism decreasing.) They also have the ability to decenter(focus more on other aspects of an issue).
• Shortcomings of concrete operational stage: unable to apply to logic to abstract problems
• Formal operational stage: systematic problem solving and acceptance of abstract issues
• Formal operational stage was shown to be an overestimation of abilities
• Piaget's weaknesses: hard to test his mechanisms of cognitive change, did not address individual differences and undervalued sociocultural environment on development
• Lev Vygotsky focuses on the sociocultural perspective and how development is inseparable from cultural context.
• Vygotsky's beliefs: culture determines which cognitive activities are valued(reading in NA culture) and that cultural tools shape thought
• Zone of proximal development/scaffolding: helping a child do to task with guidance/support; Difference between what a child can do on their own vs with guidance
• Private speech/inner speech: Vygotsky thought that private speech holds children accountable/self-regulatory and then evolves into inner speech as kids grow up