Assumptions of the Cognitive Perspective 1.There is a biological basis for all behavior, but they have a focus on how the brain translates into the mind. They think about thinking. 2.The mental processes of the mind can be studied scientifically. 3.Behavior change is explained in terms of cognitive or mental processing. Mental Processes are: A. How we gain information about the world B. How information is represented and transferred to knowledge in the mind. C. How internal representation directs behavior.

Lev Vygotsky Discussed the interrelation of thought and language. He emphasized the role of the environment, especially the social world of people, in intellectual development. But he also said that each person has a ‘Zone of proximal development’ or ‘zone of potential’. He got into trouble for that… Stages of language and thought development: –Prelinguistic phase… babbling… (before the age of 2) thought and language develop separately. –After age 2, language and thought meld. Thought becomes verbal, and speech becomes rational –Social environment can accelerate or decelerate language development (Vygotsky was Russian…) –Speech develops first… external speech (egocentric speech used to communicate) then comes the internal speech.

Hart & Risley, 1995 Cumulative Vocabulary of 3 year olds: Children from professional families knew 1100 words Children from working class families knew 700 words Children from welfare families knew 500 words

Baker, Simmons, & Kame’enui, 1997 The number of new words students learn depends on how much vocabulary they already have. 2 words a day for students with a limited vocabulary… 8 words per day for a student with a rich vocabulary Results in 750 new words vs per year!

Language and Cognition Lev Vygotsky: language creates thought. Educational research of late tells us that organizing thoughts into written language actually develops the thoughts… writing does not merely record what is in the brain. It actually forms what is in the brain… More vocabulary means more intelligence… They say that kindergartners need a vocabulary of at least 1000 words to start school. (Many do not have this… also, the more words you have, the more you can learn!)