DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Day 2: Piaget & COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

“Tabula Rasa” = blank slate key name John LOCKE 1632-1704 Proposed that when children are born they are “Tabula Rasa” “Tabula Rasa” = blank slate

Constructed a stage theory of Cognitive Development key name Jean PIAGET 1896-1980 Constructed a stage theory of Cognitive Development Observed that children think differently than adults

Piaget & Cognitive Development SCHEMA A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information Assimilation Accommodation Make new information fit into existing schemas Adjust your schema to fit new information

“Heart” = SCHEMA Assimilation Accomodation Make new information fit into existing schemas Accomodation Adjusting your schema to fit new information

ASSIMILATION vs. ACCOMMODATION When a student downloads music by an artist that is already on the iPod, this can be compared to assimilation (adding a new bit of info to an existing schema). Accommodation When a student downloads music by a new artist, this can be compared to accommodation (creating a new 'folder' is like building a new schema)

How do we develop our gender schemas? GENDER SCHEMA A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information about what it means to be a boy or a girl How do we develop our gender schemas?

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Birth – 2 years stage 1 Lack object permanence (until about age 8-10 months) Develop separation anxiety at about 12 months. Stanger anxiety also occurs in this stage.

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Preoperational 2 – 6 years stage 2 Egocentric (which does not (in Piagetian thought) mean selfishness, but rather the inability to take another's perspective or even to recognize that others have different perspectives and points of view. ) Use of symbols (especially language; difficulty using more than one category) Representational thought Role Playing Animism, or the tendency to attribute psychological properties to inanimate objects.

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Concrete 6 – 12 years stage 3 By age 7, develop law of conservation Can sort objects into multiple categories (color & size, for example)

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Formal 12 years - adult stage 4 Abstract thinking Can think hypothetically