© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 1 John W. Santrock Cognitive Development in Infancy 6

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 2 Cognitive Development In Infancy What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development? How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize? How Are Individual Differences in Infant Intelligence Assessed and Do These Assessments Predict Intelligence? What Are Some Early Environmental Influences on Cognitive Development? What Is the Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3 Images of Children The stories of Laurent, Lucienne, and Jacqueline –Piaget’s children are the “models” for his theory –Meticulous observations on cognitive development What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 4 Cognitive Processes Adaptation: involves adjusting to new environmental demands –We build mental structures to help us adapt –Children actively construct their own cognitive worlds What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 5 Cognitive Processes Schemes: mental representations or actions that organize knowledge –Assimilation: incorporating new information into existing schemes –Accommodation: adjusting schemes to fit new information and experiences What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 6 Cognitive Processes Organization – grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into higher-order system –Equilibrium – mechanism for shifting from one level of thought to another –Disequilibrium – result of cognitive conflict –Cognition: qualitatively different in each stage of development What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 7 Sensorimotor Stage First of Piaget’s stages –Lasts from birth to about 2 years of age –Infants construct understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical, motoric actions; use of symbols What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 8 SubstageAgeDescription Simple reflexes Birth - 1 month Coordinates sensations, actions First habits, primary circular reactions months Coordination of sensations, habits, and primary circular reactions; body still main focus Secondary circular reactions months More object-oriented, repeats interesting/ pleasurable acts Coordination of secondary circular reactions months Coordination of schemes/touch/ vision, eye-hand coordination, intentional acts Tertiary circular reactions, novelty and curiosity months Intrigued by properties of and things done with objects, experiments with new behaviors Internalization of schemes months Ability to use primitive symbols, form lasting mental images Sensorimotor Substages Figure 6.1

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9 Understanding Physical Reality Object Permanence –Understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched –One of infant’s most important achievements, assessed by violation of expectations –Understanding of causality What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 10 Fig. 6.2 (a)(b) Object Permanence

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 11 The Infant’s Understanding of Causality

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 12 Evaluating Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage New way of looking at infants Piaget’s views need modification; his explanations of cause are debated –Object permanence occurs earlier –Distinguishing objects by 3 to 4 months –A-not-B error: infant selects familiar hiding place (A) rather than new hiding place (B) What Is Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 13 Conditioning Consequences of behavior produce –Rovee-Collier experiment on memory –Classical conditioning: pairing of new stimulus to conditioned response –Operant conditioning: consequences of behavior affect probability of that behavior reoccurring How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 14 Attention Focusing of mental resources on select information; helps cognitive processing –Habituation: decreased responsiveness to stimulus after repeated presentations –Dishabituation: habituated response recovered after a change in stimulation –“Short lookers” versus “long lookers” How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 15 Attention Joint attention – individuals focus on same object or event –Requires Ability to track another’s behavior One person directing another’s attention Reciprocal interaction –Important to caregiver-infant interactions How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 16 Memory Retention of information over time –Attention is important for encoding –Implicit memory: recall is automatic –Explicit memory: recall is conscious effort –Infantile or childhood amnesia Most remember little from first 3 years Immaturity of prefrontal lobe How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 17 Imitation Meltzoff – Infant can imitate facial expression within a few days after birth; others disagree Deferred imitation: imitate actions seen earlier; use of unusual gestures (extending arm, pointing index finger, etc.) –Piaget: begins about 18 months of age –Meltzoff: begins much earlier than 18 months –Mirror neurons play role in infant imitation How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 18 Concept Formation and Categorization Categories – grouping objects, events, characteristics by common features Concepts – ideas on what categories represent –Conceptual categories: perceptual variability found in 7- to 9-month-old infants –Object-examination test How Do Infants Learn, Remember, and Conceptualize?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 19 Infant Intelligence Infant testing movement grew Gesell: distinguish abnormal babies for adoption agencies –Developmental quotient (DQ): overall developmental score, combines domains Motor Language Adaptive Personal-social How Are Individual Differences in Infant Intelligence Assessed and Do They Predict IQ?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 20 Bayley Scales of Infant Development Widely used in assessment of infant development; has three components: –Mental scale; auditory and visual attention –Motor scale –Infant behavior profile Assesses infant, predicts later behavior How Are Individual Differences in Infant Intelligence Assessed and Do They Predict IQ?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 21 Infant Intelligence Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence –Increased use; focus on infant ability to process information Encoding attributes of objects Detecting object similarities and differences Forming and retrieving mental representations –Similar infant performances across cultures How Are Individual Differences in Infant Intelligence Assessed and Do They Predict IQ?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 22 Predicting Intelligence Older children – IQ tests focus on verbal ability Infants – IQ tests focus on perceptual- motor development and social behavior –Gesell and Bayley scales: poor predictors –Fagan: good correlation with later IQ tests –Habituation and dishabituation linked to IQ How Are Individual Differences in Infant Intelligence Assessed and Do They Predict IQ?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 23 Nutrition Affects physical development Malnutrition limits cognitive development Early nutritional supplements, proteins and calories, have positive long-term effects What Are Some Early Environmental Influences on Cognitive Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 24 Poverty Positive effects sought by manipulating children’s early environments –Emphasis on prevention, not remediation –Early intervention programs vary –Many low-income parents cannot provide intellectually stimulating environment What Are Some Early Environmental Influences on Cognitive Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Children retained in grades (percent) Treatment Group InterventionControl Fig. 6.9 Early Intervention and Retention in School

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 26 Poverty Best intervention programs are –Long lasting –Time-intensive –Providing direct educational benefits Often in educational context Does not rely solely on parental training –Comprehensive and multidimensional What Are Some Early Environmental Influences on Cognitive Development?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 27 Defining Language Language: form of communication (verbal, written, gestures) based on system of symbols; highly organized Infinite generativity: ability to produce endless number of meaningful sentences using finite set of words and rules What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 28 Language’s Rule Systems Five systems of rules –Phonology Sound system of language Basis and sequences for sets of words Phoneme: smallest unit of sound –Morphology Units of meaning in word formation Morpheme: smallest unit of meaning What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 29 Language’s Rule Systems Syntax –Ways words combine to form acceptable phrases and sentences Semantics –Meanings of words and sentences Pragmatics –Appropriate use of language in context What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 30 How Language Develops Babbling and gestures –Crying: present at birth, signals distress –Cooing: begins about 1 to 2 months –Babbling: occurs in middle of first year, strings of consonant-vowel combinations –Gestures: begins about 8 to 12 months; about same for hearing and deaf children What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 31 Recognizing Language Sounds Birth to 6 months –“Citizens of the Word”: recognize most sound changes in any language After 6 months, learn own language –Gradually lose ability to recognize sound changes in other languages 8 to 9 months: detect word boundaries What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 32 First Words First words at 10 to 15 months –First words name important people, familiar animals and objects, body parts, greetings –Infants understand about 50 words at 13 months (receptive vocabulary) but unable to say them until about 18 months (spoken vocabulary) What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 33 Fig Variation in Language Milestones First words Vocabulary spurt Age (months) Language Milestone

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 34 Language Growth Vocabulary spurt: 18 months to 2 years –50 words at 18 mos, 200 words at 2 years –Overextension: applying words too broadly –Underextension: applying word too narrowly Two-Word Utterances –Telegraphic speech: use of short and precise words without grammatical markers What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 35 Biological and Environmental Influences Biological –Evolution of CNS and vocal apparatus –Human language about 100,000 years old –Children’s language acquisition similar all over the world (biological basis) What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 36 Biological and Environmental Influences Brain’s Role in Language –Aphasia—Brain damage that involves a loss of ability to use words –Broca’s area—Brain’s left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in speech production –Wernicke’s area—Brain’s left hemisphere; involved in language comprehension What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 37 Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 38 Language Acquisition Device (LAD) Chomsky –Humans biologically prewired for language –Children born with LAD; biological ability to detect features and rules of language –Theoretical; not physical part of brain –Supporters cite uniformity of language milestones across languages and cultures What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 39 Environmental Influences Behaviorists view cannot explain –Creation of novel sentences –Learning of a native language syntax without reinforcements Extensive research on environment –Environment influences language skills –Importance of social context: ‘Wild Boy of Aveyron’ and ‘Genie’ What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 40 Environmental Influences Tomasello – interaction view –Language learned in specific contexts –In early development: children use social skills to acquire language –Child’s vocabulary linked to family’s socioeconomic status Type of talk parents direct to child Elaborated or restrictive vocabularies What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 41 Environmental Influences on Language Child-directed speech –Spoken in higher pitch than normal with simple words and sentences –Holds attention, maintains communication What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 42 Environmental Influences Other strategies used naturally: –Recasting: rephrasing what child says –Expanding: sophisticated restating of what the child says –Labeling: assigning, identifying objects by name What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 43 How Parents Can Facilitate Infants’ Language Development Baron’s Growing Up With Language What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy? Infants –Be active conversational partner –Talk as if infant understands what is being said –Use a comfortable language style Toddlers –Continue being active conversational partner –Remember to listen –Use comfortable and appropriate styles –Be flexible with child –Avoid stereotypes

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 44 Welfare Age of children (months) Parent utterances to child per hour Professional Fig (a) Language Input in Professional and Welfare Families and Young Children’s Vocabulary Development

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 45 Fig (b) Age of children (months) Children’s cumulative vocabulary words Welfare Professional Language Input in Professional and Welfare Families and Young Children’s Vocabulary Development

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 46 Interactionist View of Language Development Biology and sociocultural experiences contribute to language development Parents and teachers construct LASS— language acquisition support system Children acquire native language without explicit teaching What Is The Nature of Language and How Does It Develop in Infancy?

© 2009The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 47 The End 6