Child Psychology Exam 2 CH 6 9 Chapter 6 Cognitive Development o Cognition refers to the inner processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing all mental activity o 3 Main Issues 1 Typical Course identify transformations most children 2 undergo from birth maturity Individual Differences at every age children think more less maturely differently than others 3 Mechanisms how genetic and environmental factors combine to yield patterns of change o Piaget s Cognitive Developmental Theory Constructivist approach view children as constructing knowledge Basic Characteristics 4 Stages sensorimotor preoperational concrete operational formal operational Stages provide general theory of development Stages are invariant Stages are universal Piaget s Idea About Cognitive Change Schemes specific psychological structures organized ways of making sense of experiences Mental representations internal depictions of info that the mind can manipulate Adaptation involves building schemes through direct interaction w environment Assimilation use our current schemes to interpret external world Accommodation create new schemes after noticing current way of thinking does not capture environment Equilibration back and forth movement between equilibrium comfortable state and disequilibrium cognitive discomfort Organization process that occurs internally apart from contact w environment relating schemes Infants toddlers think with their eyes ears hands and other sensorimotor equipment Circular Reaction provides special means of adapting first schemes new experiences caused by motor activity as infant tries to repeat event again sensorimotor response strengthens into new scheme Intentional Behavior coordinating schemes deliberately to solve simple problems o Sensorimotor Birth 2 Object permanence understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight A not B Search Error reach several times for object at hiding place A see it at B still search at A Mental Representation arrive at solutions suddenly rather than trail and error Differed imitation ability to remember and copy behavior of models who are not present Make believe play children act out everyday imaginary activities Violation of expectation method habituate babies to physical event or show expected event physical laws then show unexpected events violates physical laws Problem Solving Analogical Problem Solving applying a solution strategy from one problem to other relevant problems Displaced Reference realization that words can be used to cue mental images of things not physically there emerges around 1st birthday Research Experiments Testing object permanence recover to unexpected event infant surprised aware of aspect of physical world pass a tall and short carrot behind one wall with a window and one without a window the window allows baby to see top of tall carrot but not short carrot it is unexpected when they cannot see the tall carrot activity Make Believe Play Play detaches from real life conditions Becomes less self centered Includes more complex combinations of schemes Sociodramatic Play make believe play w others by end of 2nd year increases in complexity Drawing Scribbles representation contained in gestures First representational forms random marks then associate it with shape use lines to represent boundaries More realistic drawings develop gradually w perception language memory fine motor capacities depth cues Dual representation viewing symbolic object as both an Symbol Real World object and a symbol Limitations o Preoperational Stage 2 7 years Most obvious stage w extraordinary increase in representational o Concrete Operational Stage 7 11 years Operations mental representations of actions that obey logical rules Egocentric Animistic thinking viewpoints from one s own Inability to Conserve Egocentricism failure to distinguish others symbolic Conservation refers to the idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same even when outward appearances change Centration focus on one aspect of a situation neglecting other important factors Reversibility ability to go through series of steps in a problem Lack of Hierarchical Classification Organization of objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarities and differences Marks a major turning point in cognitive development thought becomes more logical flexible organized Conservation ability to pass conservation tasks provides clear evidence of operation Classification pass Piageant s class inclusion problem more aware of classification hierarchies and can focus on relations between general and two specific categories at the same time Seriation ability to order items along quantitative dimension such as length or weight Transitive Inference seriate mentally Spatial Reasoning more accurate Cognitive maps mental representations of familiar large scale spaces Limitations Children think in a an organized logical fashion only when dealing with concrete info they directly perceive Gradual mastery Culture and schooling Achievements Conservation perceiving that water in a wider glass is the same amount if the glass is thinner and taller Classification Seriation ability to order items along a quantitative dimension transitive inference seriate mentally Spatial Reasoning mental rotations directions improved cognitive maps o Formal Operation Theory 11 up Develop the capacity for abstract systematic scientific thinking Hypothetico Deducative Reasoning start w hypothesis deduce logical inferences systematically isolate variables to see which confirm in real world Propositional thought ability to evaluate the logic of propositions without referring to real world circumstances Consequences of Adolescent Cognitive Changes Self consciousness and Self focusing Imaginary audience belief that they are the focus of everyone s attention and concern Personal fable certain others are observing them inflated opinion of their own importance Idealism and Criticism imagine alternate systems fault finding critics Decision Making Identifying pros cons 1 2 Assessing likelihood of outcomes 3 Evaluating choices in terms of goal attainment 4 Learning from mistakes Logical necessity the accuracy of conclusions drawn from premises rests on the rules of logic not real world confirmation Infants begin life with innate special purpose knowledge systems core domains of thought these prewired understandings permit a grasp of new related info and therefore supports early development
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