1
Q
what are the cognitive processes?
A
- memory
- learning
- attention
- perception
- thought
- problem solving
2
Q
who is the father of cognitive development?
A
jean piaget (1896-1980)
3
Q
what did jean piaget do?
A
- observed children
- proposed a sequence of development that all normal children follow
- four ‘stages’ of cognitive development
4
Q
sensorimotor stage
A
- birth to 2 years
- cognition closely tied to external stimulation
- “thinking is doing” (cognition consists entirely of behaviour)
5
Q
object permanence
A
the idea that objects do not cease to exist when they are out of sight
6
Q
object permanence at birth- 3 months
A
look at visual stimuli
turn head towards noise
7
Q
object permanence at 3 months
A
follow moving objects with eyes
stares at place where object has disappeared, but will not
search for object
8
Q
object permanence at 5 months
A
grasp and manipulate objects
anticipate future position of object
9
Q
object permanence at 8 months
A
searches for hidden object
“A not B” effect
10
Q
object permanence at 12 months
A
will search in the last place they saw the object
11
Q
schema formation
A
a schema is a mental representation or set of rules that defines a particular behaviour category.
it helps us to understand current and future experiences.
12
Q
assimilation
A
the process by which new information is modified to fit in with an existing schema
13
Q
accomodation
A
the process by which an existing schema is modified or changed by new experience
14
Q
representational thought
A
ability to form mental representations of others’ behaviour
- occurs towards the end of the sensorimotor period
15
Q
what is mental representation instrumental in?
A
- imitation
- deferred imitation: a child’s ability to imitate the actions he or she has observed others perform in the past
- symbolic play: the use of words to represent objects
16
Q
pre-operational stage
A
- 2 to 7 years
- ability to think logically as well as symbolically
- rapid development of language ability
- counting
- object manipulation
17
Q
conservation
A
the understanding that specific properties of objects (height, weight, volume, number) remain the same despite apparent changes or
arrangement of those objects.
18
Q
egocentrism
A
a child’s belief that others see the world in precisely the same way that he or she does
19
Q
concrete operations stage
A
- 7 to 12 years
- ability to perform logical analysis
- ability to empathise with the thoughts/feelings of others
- understanding of complex cause-effect relations
20
Q
formal operations stage
A
- 12 years upward
- abstract reasoning
- metacognition
- dependent on exposure to principles of scientific thinking
21
Q
criticism 1. space and objects: the visual cliff
A
children appear to be able to perceive depth around the time they can crawl.
even pre-crawling infants may be able to discriminate between the two sides ofthe “cliff”
22
Q
criticism 1. space and objects: understanding of support
A
develops gradually by 6 months
23
Q
criticism 1. space and objects: the effect of occlusion (habituation procedure)
A
- infants prefer to pay attention to novel things
- over time they become accustomed to stimuli and pay less attention to
them - the moment something “new” happens they pay attention again
24
Q
piaget criticism 1. number and mathematical reasoning
A
- piaget said that infants had no concept of number and couldn’t conserve number until they were around 6 years old
- but even 6-months old show some understanding of number
25
piaget criticism 1. social cognition
- newborn babies would rather look at faces than scrambled faces
- at 3 weeks old, infants will attempt to imitate facial expressions
- 9-month-olds will look in the direction of their mother’s gaze
- intentions
26
what is criticism 1 in piaget's theory
babies don't seem to start with nothing
27
what is criticism 2 in piaget's theory
cognitive development isn’t an all-or-nothing phenomenon
28
criticism 2. numerical skills in preschoolers: counting
even when they don’t use the right numbers, toddlers understand what counting is all about
29
criticism 2. numerical skills in preschoolers: numerical reasoning
could Piaget’s assertion that children can’t conserve number be due to repeated questioning?
children younger than 6 can generally conserve number if the task is relevant
30
criticism 2. social cognition in preschoolers: egocentrism
- piaget thought that children were egocentric until they were around 7 years old
- even 3- and 4-year-olds can ‘pass’ a diorama task if it’s relevant
- at 2 ½ to 3 ½ children will turn a book around so an adult can see it, and bend down when talking to younger children
- children under 1 year will turn to see what their mother is looking at
31
criticism 2. social cognition in preschoolers: theory of mind
a group of skills relating to the understanding of the existence of other people’s minds (their intentions, beliefs, likes and dislikes, perspectives, etc.)
theory of mind allows us to be effective in social situations
32
criticism 2. social cognition in preschoolers: other's likes and dislikes
broccoli versus crackers study
- 18-month-olds gave the experimenter what she liked
- 14-month olds gave the experimenter what they liked
33
criticism 2. social cognition in preschoolers: true and false beliefs
- one aspect of theory of mind
- false belief task
- on average, 4-year-olds pass and 3-year-olds don’t
34
emotional regulation
- infants are reliant on adults to soothe them
- self-soothing ability develops over time
- display rules govern the degree to which emotions need to be regulated in a given situation
35
moral behaviour: not doing wrong
- initially entirely guided by consequences
- internalisation of rules
- principle of minimal sufficiency
36
moral behaviour: doing right
- empathic distress
- offers of help are initially egocentric
- prosocial behaviour might leave you worse off
37
kohlberg's theory of moral development
presented subjects with scenarios
example: heinz’s wife is dying of cancer, and can be treated only by a medication discovered by a local pharmacist. heinz cannot afford the price that the
pharmacist demands.
should heinz steal the drug?
why/why not?
38
kohlberg's theory of moral development: preconventional level (stage 1 and 2)
behaviour based on external sanctions, such as authority and punishment
stage 1 – punishment and obedience
obeying authority and avoiding punishment.
stage 2 – instrumental hedonism
behaviour guided egocentrically by the pleasantness of its consequences to them/fulfilment of needs.
39
kohlberg's theory of moral development: conventional level (stage 3 and 4)
includes an understanding that the social system has an interest in people’s behaviour.
stage 3 – maintaining good relations
wanting to be regarded as good, well-behaved people.
stage 4 – maintaining social order
laws and moral rules maintain social order and must be obeyed.
40
kohlberg's theory of moral development: post conventional level (stage 5 and 6)
moral rules have some underlying principles that apply to all situations and societies.
stage 5 – Social contracts
Rules are social contracts, not all authority figures are infallible, individual rights can sometimes take precedence over laws.
stage 6 – universal ethical principles
rules and laws are justified by abstract ethical values, such as the value of human life and the value of dignity.
41
evaluating kohlberg's theory
- effect of wording changes on response
- stages may not be coherent entities, but do reflect a progression
- cultural and gender biases?
- correlation between moral reasoning and moral conduct
42
morrongiello & dawber, 1999: gender differences and socialisation
examined mothers’ and fathers’ communications to sons and daughters aged 2-4 years:
1. during free play
2. when teaching a playground safety behaviour
mothers and fathers did not differ in their communications.
- sons received more directives, fewer explanations, and more physical pressure than girls.
- parents communicate with young children in a way that may promote increased risk-taking by boys and greater perceived injury vulnerability among girls.
43
smith and lloyd (1978): gender differences and socialisation
- mothers of young infants introduced to a 6-month old infant and asked to play.
- infant’s gender label was manipulated.
participants behaved differently according to the assigned gender label.
- even when there are no differences in appearance or outward behaviour, parents treat children according to gender label.
44
weisner & silson-mitchell (1990): gender differences and socialisation
parents who do not subscribe to gender differences in socialisation have children whose attitudes and behaviour reflect fewer gender stereotypes.
45
montemayor (1974): gender differences and socialisation
- 6- and 8-year-old boys and girls invited to play a game.
game labeled as gender-appropriate, gender-neutral, or gender inappropriate.
- children found the game more enjoyable if it was labeled as gender appropriate or neutral.
- children’s performance was highest when the game was labeled as gender-appropriate and lowest when the game was labeled as gender inappropriate.
46
the clinical value of children’s drawings: projective measures- intelligence
- florence goodenough (1920s)
- draw-a-person test (self, mother, father)
- one of the top 10 tests used by US psychologists
- research suggests that the test can differentiate between
groups, but isn’t good at identifying individual cases needing special help.
- nadia’s drawings
47
the clinical value of children’s drawings: projective measures- psychological wellbeing
- draw-a-family test, kinetic family drawings, house-tree person test
- interpreted in context of psychoanalytic therapy
- no studies have shown ability of raters to differentiate between drawings of well-adjusted children and those who are not well adjusted.
48
the clinical value of children’s drawings: projective measures- sexual abuse
- difficulties in diagnosing sexual abuse in children led to
clinicians seeking a non-verbal measure of abuse
- suggestions that drawings may differ according to abuse history (e.g., sexual content, use of shading)
- researchers have yet to find a consistent pattern of graphic indicators that can distinguish the drawings of abused children from those of their non-abused counterparts
49
the clinical value of children’s drawings: verbal communication aid
- helping children to talk about events they have experienced
- content of drawing not relevant
- historically used in clinical settings despite an absence of empirical evidence
50
why might drawing work
- increases the length of the interview?
- reduces social barriers?
- children provide their own retrieval cues?
- reinstates mental context?
- affects the interviewer’s behaviour?
51
butler, gross, & hayne (1995) manipulated and measured variables
two manipulated variables:
* interview: draw and tell (half of sample)
tell (other half of sample)
* question type: free recall (all children)
directed recall (all children)
measured variables:
* amount recalled
* errors in recall
52
the child sexual abuse dilemma
- children unwilling to disclose abuse
- medical/physical evidence rarely present
- absence of eyewitnesses
- child witness controversy
53
what governs children’s ability to act as reliable witnesses
memory, verbal reports, and suggestibility
54
early memories are limited by:
- short duration
- context dependence
- language competence
- knowledge base
55
the nz legal system for child witnesses:
- criminal cases are heard under an adversarial system
> direct examination
> cross-examination
> (re-examination)
* no lower age limit
* no corroboration laws
56
potential problems for child witnesses: lack of legal knowledge
- knowledge of Vocabulary
- knowledge of Procedure
57
potential problems for child witnesses: confronting the accused
- can make children less willing to incriminate
- effects likely to increase when children have been threatened?
58
potential problems for child witnesses: courtroom environment
- large group of strangers
- elevation of judge
- isolation of witness box
- formal attire
59
potential problems for child witnesses: cross-examination
- child is questioned by the opposing lawyer
- aim is to discredit testimony
- a “how not to” guide to interviewing children
- questions are often leading, complex, confusing, and challenging to credibility
- most children change at least one part of their earlier testimony
- in the lab, cross-examination-style questioning is detrimental to accuracy
60
how many children have imaginary companions
- up to 65% of pre-school children have 1 or more ICs
- slightly more common in girls than boys
- average age of appearance is 2-4 years old
61
why do children develop imaginary companions
- ICs act as scapegoats or protectors
- ICs help children overcome fears or anxieties
- ICs are intermediate steps to controlling own behavior
- ICs are developed as a surrogate for real friends/playmates/siblings
62
why do children develop attachments to objects
- attachment objects as transitional objects
- attachment objects as easing the passage between sleep and waking
- attachment objects as substitutes for a primary caregiver in some situations
63
ball & bogatz (1970) – evaluation of sesame street
- no difference in children’s scores as a function of viewing frequency prior to watching sesame street.
- children from all groups increased on alphabet and writing skill.
- children who watched sesame street the most exhibited the biggest gain on the alphabet and writing test.
- children from low SES families showed the biggest gains.
64
anderson & dill (2000) findings: videogames
videogame use correlated with aggressive personality, non-aggressive delinquency and aggressive delinquency
PYSC112
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