1. Cognitive and Motor Development Chapter 2 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

2. 2-2 Cognitive & Motor Domains Evolution of domains Categorizing human behavior into domains evolved because it is useful in organizing and simplifying the study of human development Cognitive and motor development interact continually throughout the lifespan as they reciprocally inhibit or facilitate each other

3. 2-3 Interaction Cognitive Development Motor Development

4. 2-4 Cognitive & Motor Domains How does our gradually changing motor ability affect our cognitive development? How does our evolving cognitive development affect our motor development? What are some significant areas of integration?

5. 2-5 Psychomotor or Motor? Psychomotor: interaction between mind (psycho) and movement (motor) Stimulus comes from higher brain centers Motor Any human movment Initiated from lower brain Includes reflexive movement

6. 2-6 Jean Piaget and Cognitive Development 1896-1980 Cornell University, 1964 Swiss psychologist interested in the process of thinking Established the clinical method of research Collected data in question-and-answer sessions

7. 2-7 Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory Four major stages of cognitive development Sensorimotor Prepoperational Concrete operational Formal operational All children follow the sequence in order Rate and degree of completion may differ

8. 2-8 Piaget’s Cognitive Development StageAge/Period of Occurrence SensorimotorBirth to 2 years Preoperational2 to 7 years Concrete operational7 to 11 years Formal operational Early to mid-adolescence 11 to 12 years

9. 2-9 Piaget’s Cognitive Theory Adaptation Cognitive development occurs through adaptation A way of adjusting to the demands of the envirnoment Two facets of adaptation Assimilation Accommodation

10. 2-10 Adaptation Assimilation Accommodation Process by which children attempt to interpret new experiences based upon their present interpretaiton of the world Adjustments or modifications in the thinking process which will become a part of a child’s new cognitive repetoire

11. 2-11 Components of the Process of Adaptation ComponentProcess Assimilation Children try to interpret new experiences based on their present interpretation of the world Accommodation Children try to adjust existing through structures to account for (accommodate) new experiences

12. 2-12 Components of the Process of Adaptation Assimilation Child tries to grabs a large ball with one hand His experiences of the past tell him that he can use one hand to grab hold of an object because it worked with rattles and smaller objects The child assimilates his past experiences

13. 2-13 Components of the Process of Adaptation Accommodation Using the same example, when the child is unable to grasp the football, he may try to adjust or accommodate by using two hands or even adapting the one-handed grasp

14. 2-14 Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory Theory lacks scientific control Piaget used his own children to study Subject’s were not studied across the lifespan Piaget may have underestimated a child’s capabilities Theory does not discern between competency and performance Theory does not account for the influence of motivation and emotion Stages of developoment were too broad Developoment is described, but never explained

15. 2-15 Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory Most criticized aspect of the theory is that formal operational thought can be achieved as early as 11 years of age No account for adult development in his theory Cognitive development continues throughout adulthood Child may have been completely competent, but due to motivational or emotional circumstances could not perform the task well

16. 2-16 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage Emphasizes role of infant reflexes Intelligence develops as a result of movement actions and their consequences Movement is critical to thought processes Six substages

17. 2-17 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage SubstageAge of Occurrence Exercise of reflexesBirth to 1 month Primary circular reactions1 to 4 months Secondary circular reactions4 to 8 months Secondary schemata8 to 12 months Tertiary circular reactions12 to 18 months Invention of new means through mental combinations 18 to 24 months

18. 2-18 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 1-Reflexes Exercise of reflexes Birth through 1 month Repetition of reflexes helps child to form the foundation for cognitive understanding Reflexive movements do not need higher brain centers to be initiated Reflexive movements lead to new behaviors

19. 2-19 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 2-Primary Circular Reaction s Primary circular reactions Onset of increased voluntary movement 1-4 months Consciously create movement Called circular and primary because movements always occur in close proximity to the infant

20. 2-20 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 3-Secondary Circular Reactions Secondary circular reactions 4-8 months Continuation of primary circular reactions

21. 2-21 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 3-Secondary Circular Reactions The infant’s interaction with the environment expands Child begins to integrate vision, hearing, grasping and movement behaviors Can imitate behaviors No permanence – remove object – object is gone

22. 2-22 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 4-Secondary Schemata Secondary schemata 8 months to 1 year Past movement actions applied to new situations New behaviors emerge

23. 2-23 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 4-Secondary Schemata New behaviors are facilitated by increasing movement capabilities such as crawling and creeping which allow exploration of the environment Repetition of experimentation and trial-and-error exploration continue

24. 2-24 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 4-Secondary Schemata Child can predict some actions and situations Roll ball to child – he crudely roles it back – he anticipates you rolling the ball to him again The ability to predict (Piaget) is the onset of intellectual reasoning

25. 2-25 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 5-Tertiary Circular Reactions Tertiary circular reactions 1-1.5 years Use of active experimentation to learn Child realizes that discovery of an object and use of the object are separate entities First level of visualizing an object beyond its immediate use

26. 2-26 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 5-Tertiary Circular Reactions Tertiary circular reactions Child sees the ball and knows she can have fun, but also realizes she does not have to play with it right now – it will be there later Can distinguish self from others Seeks immediate family members for help – social and emotional development

27. 2-27 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 6-Mental Combinations Invention of new means through mental combinations 1.5-2 years Child recognizes objects and others as independent from herself Child is beggining to understand properties of objects Size, shape, color, texture, weight, use, etc.

28. 2-28 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Substage 6-Mental Combinations Invention of new means through mental combinations Semimental functioning “thinking with the body” is replaced with “thinking with the mind Child reflects

29. 2-29 Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage SUMMARY Increasing awareness of the difference between the self and others Recognition that objects continue to exist even though they are no longer in view Production of the mental images that allow the contemplation of the past, present, and future

30. 2-30 Childhood-Preoperational Stage Preoperational stage (2-7 years) Verbal communication begins to emerge Language development is the most important aspect of Preoperational Stage Walking facilitates language development Children are unable to think logically

31. 2-31 Childhood-Preoperational SubstageAge of Occurrence Preconceptual2-4 years Intuitive4-7 years

32. 2-32 Childhood-Preoperational Preconceptual Substage Preconceptual substage (2-4 years) Ability to use symbols to represent someone or something in the child’s life Pretend play common Egocentrism

33. 2-33 Childhood-Preoperational Preconceptual Substage Preconceptual Flawed thinking Drooping flower is sad – unrealistic Transductive reasoning Missed breakfast, so it can’t be morning

34. 2-34 Childhood-Preoperational Intuitive Substage Intuitive substage (4-7 years) Reduced egocentrism Improvement in the use of symbols Child is incapable of “conservation” Ability to recognize that certain properties of a substance remain unchanged when the appearance is rearranged Child cannot consider multiple aspects of a problem

35. 2-35 Childhood-Preoperational SUMMARY Second stage of cognitive development Emphasizes use of symbols and language development Two substages: preconceptual & intuitive Piaget emphasizes the limitations in a child’s cognitive development

36. 2-36 Later Childhood ~ Adolescence Concrete Operations Concrete operational stage (7-11 years) Follows conservation Enhanced ability to decenter attention from one variable in a problem solving situation Reversibility ~ Able to mentally modify, organize, or even reverse thought processes Limited to thinking about objects, events, or situations that are real

37. 2-37 Later Childhood ~ Adolescence Concrete Operations Children in the concrete operation stage can reverse the order of the balls as they go through the tube Preoperational stage children will see no difference in ball order Reversibility

38. 2-38 Later Childhood ~ Adolescence Concrete Operations Seriation Ability to arrange a set of variables by a certain characteristic Height in basketball can determine position Piaget emphasized that learning can be enhanced through movement

39. 2-39 Later Childhood ~ Adolescence Formal Operations Formal operational stage (11-12 years) Ability to consider ideas that are not based on observable objects or experiences Abstract ideas are possible Highest stage of cognitive ability

40. 2-40 Later Childhood ~ Adolescence Formal Operations Interpropositional thought Applicable to complex movement Enhanced level of cognitive ability Allows child to relate one or more parts of a proposition or situation to another part to arrive at a solution to a problem

41. 2-41 Later Childhood ~ Adolescence Formal Operations Hypothetical-deductive reasoning A problem-solving style that allows child to choose between possible solutions and then pick the best one Aids in emotional development and emerging values Child ponders – “do I follow the crowd; do I want to fit in”

42. 2-42 Adulthood ~Postformal Operations Postformal operations stage Answers become more relative and less absolute Thrive on detecting and inconsistencies in ideas and attempt to reconcile them Advanced thinking exists in a minority of people who are also highly educated and live in a culture that encourages new ideas and freethinking

43. 2-43 Adulthood - Theories of Intellectual Development Total intellectual decline Gradual, consistent, pervasive decline in overall intellectual ability throughout adult years Lacks strong scientific support today Studies backing this theory WAIS Seattle Longitudinal Study

44. 2-44 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development WAIS – Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Found declines in intellect But, this test is not designed to measure intellect – it is designed to ascertain psychopathological behaviors clinically Seattle Longitudinal Study Subjects increase performance until age 30 or early 40s By the age of 50-60 years, there is a plateau Less decline when process is a central part of one’s life Even by age 88 – not everyone declines in all aspects of intellect

45. 2-45 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Partial intellectual decline Widely accepted theory Intellectual decline occurs in some areas and not others Chinese elders are revered – studies find that intellectual is less than in US Negative thoughts about memory can hamper confidence and affect memory as one grows older

46. 2-46 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Contextual perspective Learning and memory depend in part on factors like culture Noncognitive, situational factors can affect degree of decline Self-fulfilling prophecy?

47. 2-47 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Biological changes Slower neural activation Less efficient circulatory system Brain decreases in size (variable) Neuronal losses are very gradual

48. 2-48 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development “there are no simple rules about when age differences in memory will and will not occur, and if they do, whether differences will be small, modest, or large” (Zacks et al., 2000)

49. 2-49 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Implicit memory Unintentional, automatic, without awareness Tested without subject knowing Explicit memory Deliberate and effortful Tested by traditional tests of recall or recognition

50. 2-50 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Two types of memory follow different developmental paths Explicit memory develops until adulthood Implicit memory develops with no decline in adulthood Elders perform similarly to young people

51. 2-51 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Age-related decline in memory is evident with new learning at an older age Well-established information learned early in life is easier to retrieve

52. 2-52 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development Older adults respond more slowly Especially during timed tasks Decline in speed of processing information is well- documented Practicing cognitive abilities will delay or avoid decline

53. 2-53 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development A lifestyle that involves movement can play an important role in the effort to allay the decline of intellect Physical activity increases motor neuron size and decreases neural synapse density Reaction time and cognitive performance improve in those who exercise

54. 2-54 Adulthood -Theories of Intellectual Development FINAL WORD... Only certain aspects of one’s intellect may decline Intellect can be maintained and even improved Lifestyle choices can optimize cognitive attributes Physical activity

55. 2-55 Role of Practice & Physical Activity What can be done to allay cognitive decline? Practice cognitive abilities Cognitive training Exercise Practicing cognitive abilities during older adulthood can delay or offset declines that might otherwise occur

56. 2-56 Role of Practice & Physical Activity Exercise and physical activity Reduces decrements and restores cognition Reduces depression Improves sleep Increases appetite Increases energy level Decrease morbidity & dementia related disease

57. 2-57 Role of Practice & Physical Activity Risk factor in cognitive decline Poor fitness level Protective factor in cognitive decline High fitness level Dose (how much exercise)-Response (improve cognition) is not known

58. 2-58 Knowledge Development & Sport Performance Declarative knowledge Factual information What to do Procedural knowledge Production system How to do something Expert performers have more knowledge of task- specific concepts By improving task-specific knowledge of a skill, performance may improve

59. 2-59 Knowledge Development and Sport Performance “development of sport-specific declarative knowledge is related to the development of cognitive decision making skills or procedural knowledge…” “development of shooting skill and dribbling skill are related to the motor execution components of control and execution.” French & Thomas, 1987, p. 24.

60. 2-60 Key Terms