Cognition and development

• What are the two types of learning suggested by Piaget?

  Accommodation and assimilation
• What occurs during accommodation according to Piaget?

  Accommodation occurs when new information radically changes existing knowledge, leading to the formation of a new schema.
• Give an example of accommodation as described by Piaget.

  A child mistakes a tiger for a cat at the zoo and forms a new 'tiger' schema after observing the differences.
• What is assimilation in Piaget's theory?

  Assimilation occurs when new information does not radically change existing knowledge and is incorporated into an existing schema.
• Provide an example of assimilation as per Piaget's theory.


  A child sees a tabby cat after only seeing black, white, and ginger cats, and incorporates this new appearance into their existing 'cat' schema.
• What are the main differences between accommodation and assimilation?

  • Accommodation involves creating new schemas.
  • Assimilation involves incorporating new information into existing schemas.
  • Accommodation occurs with radically new information, while assimilation occurs with familiar information.

  
• What motivates learning according to Piaget?

  The motivation to learn originates from the unpleasant emotions associated with disequilibrium.
• What is disequilibrium in Piaget's theory?

  Disequilibrium occurs when assimilation is not enough to understand an unfamiliar situation, prompting exploration to improve understanding.
• What is equilibration in Piaget's theory?

  Equilibration is the process of achieving a balanced mental state when new or existing schemas are complete.
• What is a schema according to Piaget?

  A schema is a mental framework of knowledge and beliefs about a specific place, object, person, or time.
• How do schemas influence cognitive processing?

  Schemas provide 'short-cuts' for processing large volumes of data quickly and efficiently, but can also lead to perceptual errors.
• What are some examples of innate schemas mentioned by Piaget?

  All babies are born with the schema for sucking and gripping.
• How do schemas change over time?

  Schemas become more sophisticated with time, allowing for understanding of more complex situations.
• What are the limitations of Piaget's sample in his research?

  • Piaget's sample was predominantly white, middle-class, well-educated children.
  • This suggests a lack of ecological validity.
  • Findings may not apply to children from poorer backgrounds or different cultures.

  
• How does Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development differ from Piaget's?

  • Vygotsky emphasized learning as a social process.
  • He believed children acquire knowledge from interactions with 'experts'.
  • Vygotsky placed greater importance on language as a cognitive skill.

  
• What did Howe et al. (1992) find regarding discovery learning?

  Howe et al. found that individual mental representations are formed through discovery learning, leading to different understandings among children.

  
• How did Piaget's theory influence classroom methods and attitudes?

  • Emphasized learning as an active process.
  • Introduced project-based work for concrete subjects.
  • Changed the teacher's role to a facilitator of discovery learning.

  
• What are the four main cognitive abilities Piaget suggested children acquire?

  Object permanence, class inclusion, egocentrism, and conservation.
• What happens during the sensorimotor stage of development?

  During the sensorimotor stage, children focus on physical sensations and develop basic language use through trial and error.
• At what age does object permanence develop according to Piaget?

  Object permanence develops at around 8 months.
• What is object permanence?

  Object permanence is the cognitive ability to understand that an object continues to exist even when it is not visible.
• What cognitive abilities develop during the pre-operational stage?

  During the pre-operational stage, children develop class inclusion, egocentrism, and conservation.
• What is egocentrism in Piaget's theory?

  Egocentrism is the tendency of pre-operational children to view the world solely from their own perspective.
• How was egocentrism measured in Piaget's research?

  Egocentrism was measured using the Three Mountains Task, where children had to match images of mountains to what a doll could see.
• What is class inclusion?

  Class inclusion is the cognitive ability to understand that a group of objects can form a class and that this class can be a subset of a larger group.
• How was class inclusion tested in Piaget's research?

  Class inclusion was tested by showing children pictures of 5 dogs and 2 cats and asking whether there were more dogs or animals.
• What is conservation in Piaget's theory?

  Conservation is the cognitive ability to understand that the quantity of an object remains the same even when its appearance changes.
• How was conservation tested in Piaget's research?

  Conservation was tested using the liquid conservation task, where children judged the volume of liquid in differently shaped beakers.
• What does the inability to understand 'reversibility' indicate in pre-operational children?


  The inability to understand 'reversibility' indicates that pre-operational children cannot comprehend that an operation can be reversed to return an object to its original state.

  
• Why are pre-operational children unable to learn 'concrete' subjects according to Piaget?

  Pre-operational children are unable to learn 'concrete' subjects because these subjects require abstract reasoning, which they have not yet developed.

  
• What cognitive skills develop during the concrete operations stage?

  During the concrete operations stage, children develop skills in egocentrism, class inclusion, and conservation.
• What is the final stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory?

  The final stage is formal operations, where children can reason about abstract ideas.
• What did Smith et al. use to test scientific thinking in children during the formal operations stage?

  Smith et al. used neologisms to test scientific thinking.
• What are the flaws in Piaget's experimental methods?

  • Some methods may have caused confusion among children.
  • Lack of statistical analysis makes data unreliable.
  • Non-standardized procedures may lead to biased results.

  
• What did McGarrigle and Donaldson find regarding conservation in children?

  McGarrigle and Donaldson found that 60% of 6-year-olds could conserve, compared to only 16% found by Piaget.
• What did Martin Hughes (1975) demonstrate about egocentrism in children?

  Martin Hughes demonstrated that children aged 3.5 years could position a doll where a single policeman could not see him 90% of the time.
• How does Piaget's approach to intellectual development differ from Vygotsky's?

  • Piaget focused on a domain-general approach, where all abilities develop together.
  • Vygotsky adopted a domain-specific approach, emphasizing the importance of language and social interactions.
  • Vygotsky viewed learning as a social process with 'experts' guiding children.

  
• What is the Zone of Proximal Development according to Vygotsky?

  The Zone of Proximal Development is the distance between the actual developmental level and the potential development level determined through guided interaction.

  
• Who were referred to as 'experts' in the context of cognitive development?

  More-advanced others
• How did Vygotsky's view on language development differ from Piaget's?

  Vygotsky believed language developed at a different rate compared to other cognitive skills, while Piaget thought it developed simultaneously with all cognitive skills.