Cognitive Development - Piaget Piaget: constructivist: knowledge that the child acquires is constructed from the child’s experience - not innate. -born with ability and incentive to learn -must be active in order to learn -internalization of physical knowledge -time consuming process to reach maturity - decentration -process by which you become less and less dependent on egocentrism - realize individual has unique experience. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9014865592046332725&q=piaget&total=553&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Constructivism The belief that children actively create knowledge rather than passively receiving it from the environment. Knowledge is constructed from experience Born with ability and desire to learn. Must be active to learn. Thinking/learning is internalization of physical knowledge. Piaget: constructivist: knowledge that the child acquires is constructed from the child’s experience - not innate. -born with ability and incentive to learn -must be active in order to learn -internalization of physical knowledge -time consuming process to reach maturity - decentration -process by which you become less and less dependent on egocentrism - realize individual has unique experience.

Adaptation Fundamental process by which schemes are altered through experience. Comprised of two complementary processes.

Mechanisms of Change Assimilation: information that fits into existing cognitive structure schemas Assimilation: information that fits into existing cognitive structure - schemas (file folders). When children/adolescents encounter something reasonably similar to what they already know - assimilated into existing knowledge.

Mechanisms of Change Accommodation: changing beliefs to fit new conceptual information Accommodation: changing beliefs to fit new conceptual information. Create new schemas. When children/adolescents encounter something that is different from what they know - they either ignore it or change their way of thinking to accommodate this new knowledge.

Equilibration Equilibration: regulatory process that maintains a functional balance between assimilation and accommodation

Process of Equilibration Children are satisfied with mode of thought (equilibrium) Become aware of shortcomings in existing knowledge (disequilibrium) Adopt a more sophisticated mode of thought (return to equilibrium)

Figure - Equilibration

Characteristics of Stages of Cognitive Development Each stage represents a qualitative change in thinking Culturally Invariant Includes structures and abilities of previous stages

Sensorimotor Stage Birth to 2 years of age Qualitative change: use senses, motor skills to gain knowledge

Piaget – Object Permanence http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1175151981122766441&q=social+referencing&total=175&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Preoperational Stage 2 to 6/7 years Representational skills Egocentric thought: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1175151981122766441&q=social+referencing&total=175&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 Magical thought Animism

Concrete Operational 6/7 to 11/12 years Qualitative Change: Operational thinking: mental actions that are reversible Reversibility: the ability to understand that actions that affect objects, if reversed in sequence, will return the objects to their original state. Decentration: the ability to comprehend more than one aspect of a problem at a time. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6920589460141885734&q=piaget+concrete+operational&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

Concrete Operational Stage Logical, but concrete in their thinking, i.e., can think only in terms of concrete things they can handle or see. Conservation: the principle that attributes such as mass, weight, volume, etc. remain unchanged regardless of irrelevant changes in the external appearance of an object that have no effect on that attribute.

Conservation http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1175151981122766441&q=social+referencing&total=175&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Cognitive Development Preoperational Stage - No conservation “Cut it up into A LOT of slices, Mom. I’m really hungry!!”

Formal Operations 11/12 years through adulthood Logical and abstract thought: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1175151981122766441&q=social+referencing&total=175&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 Adolescent egocentrism: Elkind Imaginary Audience Personal Fable Adolescent egocentrism: have trouble separating your own thoughts and feelings from others. 2 kinds (Elkind) imaginary audience - confusing your own thoughts with those of hypothesized audience. Personal fable - tendency to think you and your thoughts and feelings are unique.

EVALUATION OF PIAGET’S THEORY: Strengths Children do move from being more egocentric to less egocentric Also move from being less systematic and able to use logic to being better able to think in these ways Children do pass through stages in same order Constructivistic view of development

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory Findings may only work with Piaget’s tasks Can have skills characteristic of two stages at one time period Only 30-35% of adults reach formal operational stage

Vygotsky Soviet Psychologist Thought and Language, 1962 Sociocultural Approach

Sociocultural Approach Children are born with the fundamental cognitive and perceptual abilities Infants are active learners Individuals are products of culture

Influence of Speech on Development of Thought 3 Developmental Phases Social speech Egocentric speech Inner speech

Zone of Proximal Development Psychological distance between children’s individual performance in problem-solving and potential for higher levels of performance when guided by more capable peers/adults.

Criticisms Assumes that the majority of interactions proceed in optimal fashion. Little research on individual differences in child-mother dyads.

Functional Activities to Facilitate ZPD Modeling behavior for imitation Feedback Contingency management Direct instruction Questioning Task structuring Cognitive structuring