HD 101 1nd EditionExam # 2 Study Guide, Unit 2Piaget- the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. His contributions include a theory of cognitive child development, detailed observational studies of cognition in children, and a series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities.-Piaget believed that children are natural curious, they constantly want to make sense of their experience, and they create theories about how things work, however, most of the time these theories are incomplete. Describes these theories as schemes- psychological structures that organize experience. Mental categories of related events, objects, and knowledge3 parts of cognitive theory: schemas, processes that enable the transition of one stage to another (assimilation, accommodation, equilibrium), stages of development Piaget's Theory Differs From Others In Several Ways:-It is concerned with children, rather than all learners.-It focuses on development, rather than learning per se, so it does not address learning of information or specific behaviors.-It proposes discrete stages of development, marked by qualitative differences, rather than a gradual increase in number and complexity of behaviors, concepts, ideas, etc.His most famous theory is Theory of Genetic Epistemology:Schemes change constantly, adapting to children’s experiences. Intellectual adaptation involves 2 processes working together:Assimilation- occurs when new experiences are readily incorporated into existing schemes, we understand things based on the knowledge we already haveExamples: baby has a familiar gasping scheme; she will soon learn that the grasping scheme alsoworks well on blocks, toy cars, and other small objects-Riding a big wheel to riding a trike-Calling a zebra a horse with stripesExtending grasping theme to new objects illustrates:Accommodation- occurs when schemes are modified based on experience; need to learn new ways in order to learn new things (soon infant learns some objects need to be lifted with 2 hands on some cant be lifted at all)-The infant whose theory is that objects can be lifted with one hand finds that her theory is confirmed when she tries to pick up small objects, but is in for a surprise when she tries to pick up something heavy. Examples: calling a zebra a zebra, riding a trike to riding a bike4 stages of cognitive development: 1. Sensorimotor thinking- (0-2 yrs)- learning through senses and motor skillsObject Permanence- Piaget’s term that objects exist independently-An infant’ s understanding of objects could be summarized as: “Out of sight, out of mind” -Infants have little understanding of objects—if an object is covered by a cloth- they think it’s gone 2. Preoperational- (2-6 yrs)- acquires multiple perspectivesEgocentrism- believe others see the world just like they do, the difficulty in seeing the world from another’s outlook-Do not comprehend that other people differ in their ideas, convictions, and emotions. (Mountain example in class) Centration- narrowly focused type of thought characteristic of preoperational children (different cups and liquid example, pennies example)3. Concrete Operations (6-12 yrs)- loss of egocentrism, acquires logic thought about concrete problems Conservation- The understanding that something stays the same in quantity even though its appearance changes, the ability to understand that redistributing material does not affect its mass, number or volume.-For example, if you take two pieces of string that are the same length and scrunch one up, a child will reply that the scrunched one is shorter, if conservation hasn't yet been reached. (Liquid example in the 2 different cups) 4. Formal Operations (12+ yrs)- thinks systematically, acquires abstract thought and logic Vygotsky- made the social development theory, stresses the fundamental role of social development -The idea that child development is the result of interactions between children and their social environment. These interactions involve people—parents and teachers, playmates and schoolmates, brothers and sisters. They also involve cultural artifacts, such as books or toys, as well as culturally specific practices in which a child engages in the classroom, at home, or on theplayground.Vygotsky's theory differs from that of Piaget in a number of important ways:1: Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development - this contradicts Piaget's view of universal stages and content of development. (Vygotsky does not refer to stages in the way that Piaget does).2: Vygotsky places considerably more emphasis on social factors contributing to cognitive development (Piaget is criticized for underestimating this).3: Vygotsky places more (and different) emphasis on the role of language in cognitive development (again Piaget is criticized for lack of emphasis on this).Scaffolding- a style in which teachers gauge the amount of assistance they offer to match the learner’s needs. -Early in learning a new task, children know little, so teachers give much direct instruction. As they learn, they give less and less instruction. -Defining characteristic of scaffolding: giving help but not more than what is needed- clearly promotes learningZone of proximal development- difference between what children can do with assistance and what they can do alone-Example: 4 yrs. old Ian and his father do puzzles together, Ian does most of the work but his father sometimes helps, but when Ian does the puzzles himself, he cant complete them. The difference between what Ian can do w/ assistance and what he does alone defines his zone of proximal development. Private Speech- a child’s comments aren’t intended for others but are designed to regulate the child’s own behavior, a way of guiding themselves -Example: Children talking to themselves Information Processing- ability to process new information-Computer is used as an analogy for the mind (hardware=brain, software=mental processes), development is a function of processing speed, efficiency, and capacity. Memory- retaining and recalling past experience Basic processes:Encoding- transferring info into memoryStorage- retaining info over timeRetrieval- recovering info from memory 1. Recognition- assisted recovery of past info2. Recall- unassisted recovery of past info Example: Recall: picking classmates in your yearbook- list people in your senior class, Recognition: would be seeing