PED 392 Child Growth and Development Chapter 4: Cognitive Development: Information Processing and Intelligence Theories PED 392 Child Growth and Development

Memory Short term memory – where memories are held while we consciously work on the memories Long term memory – Where information is stored in an organized fashion.

Memory Encoding strategies Rehearsal – repeat over and over again until you remember it (phone number) Organizational – grouping of items into a form easier to remember (phone number into xxx-yyy-zzzz) Elaboration – Adding to the information to remember it more effectively (Hamburger)

Definitions Metacognition – knowledge and understanding of our own cognitive capabilities and thinking processes. Metamemory – knowledge about memory IQ – divide the mental age by the chronological age, then multiply by 100

Gardner’s intelligences Logical-Mathematical Scientist, mathematician Linguistic Poet, Journalist Musical Musician Spatial Navigator, sculptor

Gardner's intelligences Bodily Kinesthetic Dancer, Athlete Interpersonal Therapist, Salesman Intrapersonal Access own feelings Naturalistic Farmer, Veterinarian, Botanist

Changes to intelligence Genetic Home environment / parenting Poverty Early intervention Race Ethnicity Gender

Giftedness Unusually high ability in any given area Cognitive Language Affective Physical???

Mental retardation / Intellectually Delayed A disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors. May need special attention and help in school and social environments

Levels of Mental retardation / Intellectual delay Mild IQ of 50-70 Mental age of 7-11 years old Piaget = concrete operational Moderate IQ of 35-50 Mental age of 2-7 years old Piaget = Preoperational

Levels of Mental retardation / Intellectual delay Severe / profound IQ below 35 Mental age of 6 months to 2 years Piaget = Sensorimotor Mental age refers to the level of which a child should be able to perform a given task.

Differences in cognitive performance Ethnicity Reading and math – gaps narrowing Science – large gaps Asian Americans outperform in math, reasoning, spatial and numerical abilities.

Differences in cognitive performance Gender Verbal is better in female Spatial – no clear differences Mathematical Elementary – girls better on computation High School – boys better on reasoning and problem solving Science – not much difference

Differences in cognitive performance Schools Schools must provide equal opportunities and equal resources for all children Multicultural education Reduce prejudice Increase involvement Increase knowledge of other cultures and people

Computers Becoming a larger part of schools Students are taught to use computers in school Homework, research, papers, etc No differences between boys and girls Limited research on effects on learning