1. Chapter 10 Theories of cognitive development:
Piaget, Vygotsky, and information-processing theory

2. Piaget - a biography Born in Switzerland in 1896 Biologist
First paper at 8 yrs
Doctorate at 21 yrs
Worked with Simon
Interested in the how of cognitive development, not the how much

3. Basic concepts underlying Piaget’s theory
Schemes: mental structures that process information
Operations: reversible mental actions
Adaptation:
Assimilation
Accommodation
Equilibration:
a balance between environment & mental structures

4. The sensorimotor period:
Piaget’s first stage
of cognitive development
The sensorimotor period:
(birth to 2 years)
Primary
circular
response
Secondary
circular
response
Tertiary
circular
response
Symbolic representation
Object permanance
Imitation

5. of cognitive development
Piaget’s second stage
of cognitive development
The preoperational stage:
(2 to 7 years)
Preconceptual
stage
(2 to 4 years)
Intuitive or
transitional stage
(5 to 7 years)
Animism
Egocentricity
Transductive reasoning
Centration

6. The concrete operational stage:
Piaget’s third stage
of cognitive development
The concrete operational stage:
(7 to 12 years)
Mastery of the concept of conservation
Understanding of seriation problems
Ability to theorise about concrete objects

7. of cognitive development
Piaget’s fourth stage
of cognitive development
The formal operational stage:
(12 years onwards)
Increased abstract thinking
Use of metacognitive skills
Hypothetcial-deductive reasoning

8. Criticisms of Piaget’s theory
Cognitive development as a series of stages
Underestimation of children’s abilities
Competence vs performance
Description or explanation of cognitive development
Failure to include social & cultural influences on cognitive development

9. Vygotsky - a biography Born in Russia in 1896
Studied literature & cultural history
Died at early age of 38 - many years before his work became known in the West
Interested in influences of culture, social organisation & historical forces

10. Comparison of Piaget & Vygotsky
Biological origin
Genetic epistemology
Overlooked impact of cultural context
Case study
Non-social
Vygotsky
Marxist basis
Materialist historicity
Cognitive development & cultural context are inseparable
Groups
Fundamentally social

11. Basic concepts underlying Vygotsky’s theory
Higher mental functions
Lower mental functions
The zone of proximal development
Private speech
Egocentric speech
Inner speech

12. Schematic representation of the zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Beyond the upper limit are those tasks that the child is
as yet unable to perform, even with assistance since they
are beyond his/her current cognitive capacity
Upper limit: the highest level of problem solving
that the child is capable of, given the assistance
of an able instructor
Zone of proximal development
Lower limit: the level of problem solving
that the child is capable of when working independently

13. Information-processing theory and connectionist models
Mind as computer: Hardware (cells & grey matter of the brain) Software (learned strategies for processing information)
A functionalist approach: how cognitive processes actually work
Connectionism: Parallel distributed processing (PDP)

14. Short-term memory (STM) Temporary working memory E N V I R I O N N P
Atkinson & Shiffrin’s
model of memory
Short-term
memory (STM)
Temporary
working
memory
L P
O E
N R
G M A
T N
E E
R N
M T
M M
O O
R R
Y Y S T O R E E N V I
R I
O N
N P
M U
E T T A L
Sensory
registers
Visual
Control
processes:
Rehearsal
Coding
Decisions
Retrieval
Auditory
Haptic
Response output