Chapter 7 Cognition

Constructivism – people are active learners Chapter 7: Cognition Cognition: the activity of knowing and the processes through which knowledge is acquired and problems are solved Constructivism – people are active learners

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Cognition unfolds in a sequence of four stages.

Genetic Epistemology How we come to know reality Clinical Method Question and answer technique Used to discover how children think about problems

Clinical Method (example of a 6 year old) Piaget: Why is it dark at night? Van: Because we sleep better, and so that it shall be dark in the rooms. Piaget: Where does the darkness come from? Van: Because the sky becomes grey. Piaget: What makes the sky become grey? Van: The clouds become dark. Piaget: How is that? Van: G-d makes the clouds become dark.

Piaget Intelligence: How well we adapt Scheme (s) or schema (schemata)/cognitive structures Organization - Children systematically combine existing schemes into new and more complex ones.

Adaptation Adjusting to the environment Using assimilation and accommodation Assimilation Using existing schemes to interpret new experiences E.g., Birds are things that fly Accommodation Modifying schemes to fit new experience E.g., Butterflies are different than Birds even though they both fly Equilibrium A resolution of conflict to create a balance

Process of Change in Jean Piaget’s Theory Figure 7.1 Process of change in Jean Piaget’s theory.

Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory Piaget’s Four Stages Cognition unfolds in a sequence of four stages. Each is age-related and distinctive. Each stage is discontinuous from and more advanced than another.

Piaget Sensorimotor Stage Newborn uses reflexes to understand world Eventually - mental representation Object Permanence A, not B, error – 8 to 12 month-olds search for an object in the place where they last found it (A) rather than in its new hiding place (B).

The Sensorimotor Period © 2015. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Symbolic Function Substage (2-4 Years) Symbolic thought: Mental representation of an object that is not present Egocentrism: The inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective. Animism: The belief that inanimate objects have “lifelike” qualities and are capable of action.

Can this boy report what the clown doll sees? Figure 7.4 Piaget’s “Three Mountains” task to evaluate egocentrism Can this boy report what the clown doll sees?

They Centrate: Focusing on one characteristic to the exclusion of others. No Conservation: Some characteristic of an object stays the same even though the object might change in appearance.

Piaget’s Conservation Task

Intuitive substage (4-7 years) Intuitive rather than logical Lack classification ability Lack transformational thought Lack conservation due to static thinking, irreversible thought and centration Asks a lot of questions signals the emergence of the interest in reasoning reflects intellectual curiosity

Class Inclusion

How would you group these?

Classification v v This grouping is by shape and size and color. It is multiple classification. The child has to think of three dimensions at once. In what stage could the child do this?

Preoperational stage

Conservation of Length Is one of these lines longer or are they they same? What would the pre-operational child say?

Conservation of Length The preoperational child would say the one on the top is longer. Pre-operational children base their concepts on perception, not logic.

Conservation of Length Are all of these lines the same length? Is one longer? What would the pre-operational child say?

Conservation of Length Preoperational children are tricked by perception. The think the one “out front” is longer.

Conservation of Area Which side has more green?

Both have the same area of green Both have the same area of green. Preoperational children rely on perception and think the one on the right has more.

Conservation of Number Do these two rows have the same number of balls? Do these two rows have the same number of balls? Which has more?

Conservation of Number Pre-operational children think the row on the bottom has more. Later they develop one-to-one correspondence. They understand there is one for this one, one for that one, and one for that one, etc.

Concrete Operations Age 7-11 Can conserve Decentration Reversible thinking Logical thinking (limited to reality) Seriation and classification Transitive thinking: “ If J is taller than M, and M is taller than S, who is taller – J or S?”

Figure 7.4 Some common tests of the child’s ability to conserve.

Comparison of Preoperational and Concrete-Operational Thinking Table 7.3 Comparison of Preoperational and Concrete-Operational Thinking

Formal Operations Adolescence/puberty Logical thinking about ideas Hypothetical and abstract thinking Hypothetical-deductive reasoning – from general ideas to their specific implications Decontextual thinking Ability to separate prior knowledge/beliefs from new evidence to the contrary

Hypothetical-deductive reasoning Which factor makes the pendulum go faster or slower? Length of string Weight Point of release Amount of impetus The shorter the string the faster the swing

The Pendulum Problem Figure 7.6 The pendulum problem

Expertise and Formal Pperations Figure 7.8 Expertise and formal operations

Adolescent egocentrism Enhanced ability to reflect on one’s own and other’s thoughts Imaginary audience Personal fable “No one has ever felt like this before!” “I drive better when I’m drunk!”

Cognition in Adulthood Formal operations requires Normal intelligence Higher education (scientific thinking) Lower performance on formal operations Use only in field of expertise Postformal thought Relativistic thinking: Labouvie-Vief No absolute answer in many situations Dialectical thinking Detecting paradoxes and inconsistencies among ideas and trying to reconcile them

Aging and Cognitive Skills Some mental abilities decline as the average person ages Other explanations Cohort effect May be differences in style Lack of motivation

Piaget Contributions Stimulated much research Correct about the sequence of cognitive development Challenges Underestimated young minds Focused on competence Domain specific rather than stages Social influences left out (too much the “isolated scientist.”

A Modern Take on Constructivism Neuroconstructivism theory New knowledge is constructed in the context of existing knowledge and is constrained by genetic as well as environmental factors Believe that the neural structures in the brain underlying cognitive phenomenon develop and change in response to experience

Vygotsky Emphasized the socio-cultural context Culture affects how and what we think Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) Accomplishment with guidance Where lessons should be aimed Guided participation (a form of scaffolding) learning Private speech/ guides behavior (3 & 4 yr olds)

Cognitive Development Vygotsky’s Theory The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) student can work with the student can work assistance of an instructor ________________________ independently Language and Thought Develop independently of each other Have external or social origins Scaffolding Teacher adjusts the level of support as performance rises ZPD

Scaffolding Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory New Task = Mentor + Learner 2. Time Passes = Gradual Release 3. Learner Takes on the Responsibility for learning Scaffolding

A Comparison of Vygotsky and Piaget

7.3 Fischer’s Dynamic Skill Framework Kurt Fischer Not possible to analyze behavior outside the context in which it occurs Behavior emerges from interactions between person and context Human performance is dynamic Changes in response to changes in context

Comparison to Piaget and Vygotsky Tested children in artificial settings Cognitive structures develop Fischer Study of development should happen in natural context Skill levels change and develop

Comparison to Piaget and Vygotsky Fischer proposes a series of four tiers Reflexive Sensorimotor action Representations Abstractions

Comparison to Piaget and Vygotsky Uses concept of zone of proximal development: To explain how cognition advances from one level to another Uses term developmental range: To better capture their findings that people’s abilities vary with context