Purdue IIE 366 - Theories of development

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Prof. Greg Francis 7/10/081Theories of developmentIIE 366: DevelopmentalPsychologyGreg FrancisLecture 14Chapter 6: Theories ofCognitive DevelopmentModule 6.1 Setting the Stage: Piaget’sTheoryModule 6.2 Modern Theories of CognitiveDevelopmentModule 6.3 Understanding in Core DomainsChildren and Their Development, 4/e by Robert Kail6.1 Setting the Stage: Piaget’sTheoryBasic Principles of Piaget’s TheoryStages of Cognitive DevelopmentPiaget’s Contributions to ChildDevelopment6.1 Basic Principles of Piaget’sTheory Metaphor of child as scientist Children are naturally curious and createtheories about how the world works In assimilation, new experiences are readilyincorporated into existing theories In accommodation, existing theories aremodified based on experience6.1 Basic Principles of Piaget’sTheory Assimilation and accommodation are usually inbalance, or equilibrium When balance is upset, children reorganize theirtheories to restore equilibrium, a process Piagetcalled equilibration Process results in qualitatively different andmore advanced theories6.1 Basic Principles of Piaget’sTheory Children periodically reach a point where theirtheories are wrong most of the time and so theymust reorganize thinking about the social andphysical worlds Three reorganizations of theories lead to fourstages of cognitive development Piaget believed all children pass through stagesin same orderProf. Greg Francis 7/10/0826.1 Stages of CognitiveDevelopment The sensorimotor stage spansfrom birth to approximately 2 yearsof age Begins with reflexive respondingand ends with using symbols Object permanence:understanding that objects existindependently Goal-directed efforts: trial anderror (intentional behavior)6.1 Stages of CognitiveDevelopment Preoperational stage spans ages 2 to 7 years Children use symbols but there are many errorsin thinking> Egocentrism: can only interpret the worldfrom their own perspective (three mountainsproblem)> Centration: concentrate on only one aspect ofsituation (conservation problems)> confuse appearance and realityThree Mountains Problem6.1: Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentChildren candescribe thescene from theirown point ofviewBut not from thepoint of view ofsomeone elseConservation Tasks6.1: Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentConservation Tasks6.1: Stages of Cognitive Development6.1 Stages of CognitiveDevelopment Concrete operational stage spans ages 7 to 11 years Thinking based on mentaloperations (strategies andrules that make thinking moresystematic and powerful) Operations can be reversed Focus on the real and concrete,not the abstract Does not always think through the possibilitiesProf. Greg Francis 7/10/0836.1 Stages of CognitiveDevelopment Formal operational stage spans from roughlyage 11 to adulthood Adolescents can thinkhypothetically Use deductive reasoning todraw appropriate conclusionsfrom facts6.1 Piaget’s Contributions toChild Development Piaget’s contributions:> the study of cognitive development itself> a new, constructivist view of children> fascinating, often counterintuitive, discoveries6.1 Piaget’s Contributions toChild Development Weaknesses of theory:> underestimates cognitive competence in infants;overestimates in adolescence> components too vague to test> Accommodation, assimilation, equilibration> stage model doesn’t account for variability> undervalues influence of sociocultural forces6.2 Modern Theories ofCognitive DevelopmentThe Sociocultural Perspective:Vygotsky’s TheoryInformation ProcessingCore-Knowledge Theories6.2 The SocioculturalPerspective: Vygotsky’s Theory Cognitive development is inseparable from social andcultural contexts Zone of proximal development:difference between what one cando alone or with assistance Scaffolding: teaching style thatmatches assistance to learner’s needs Private speech: comments intendedto regulate own behavior Inner speech: thought, derives fromprivate speechCultural Differences in ParentalScaffolding6.2: The Sociocultural Perspective All cultures use scaffolding But sometimes in different ways E.g., Parents try to get children tooperate a novel toy Divide task in to subtasks Parents do some tasks themselvesProf. Greg Francis 7/10/0846.2 Information Processing People and computers are both symbolprocessors Distinction between hardware and software Hardware includes sensory, working, and long-term memory Software is task specificMental Hardware6.2: Information Processing6.2 How Information ProcessingChanges with Development More efficient strategies How to find a missing toy? Increased working memory capacity More effective inhibitory and executiveprocesses Increased automatic processing Increased speed of processingIncreased Working Memory6.2: How Information Processing Changes with Development6.2 Core-Knowledge Theories Much knowledge is general Also distinctive domains of knowledge, some ofwhich are acquired early in life Some forms of knowledge so important forsurvival that learning of these is simplified Children rapidly acquire language andknowledge of objects, people, and living things Contrast with learning logic or calculus!6.2 Core-Knowledge Theories Builds on Piaget’s metaphor of child as scientist Research traces children’s knowledge of> naive physics (understanding objects)> naive psychology (theory of mind)> and naive biology (understanding unique propertiesof animate objects)Prof. Greg Francis 7/10/0856.3 Understanding in CoreDomainsUnderstanding Objects and Their PropertiesUnderstanding Living ThingsUnderstanding People6.3 Understanding Objects andTheir Properties Babies understand objects earlier than Piaget proposed Infants rapidly create reasonably accurate theory ofsome basic properties of objects Infant’s theories are far from complete and physicalproperties can be understood at many different levelsObject Permanence and the“Impossible Event”6.3: Understanding Objects and Their Properties4.5 monthbabies looklonger theimpossibleevent.Look shorter ifthe screenstops at the redbox.“Impossible” Physics Problem6.3: Understanding Objects and Their Properties6-7 month infants look longer at the unsupported case.6.3 Understanding Living Things Infants and toddlers use motion to identify animateobjects By preschool years, naïve theories of biology includeunderstanding of


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