What are the patterns of change over time that begin at conception and continue through the lifespan?
Development, can be:
- Biological
- Social
- Emotional
- Cognitive
These patterns encompass various aspects of human development throughout life.
Jean Piaget main study:
Insightful description of children’s thinking and differences between adult and child thinking.
How humans gather information and make sense of the world.
He developed a model describing how people make sense of the world by gathering and organizing information.
What are the four factors that influence cognitive development according to Piaget?
- Maturation
- Activity
- Social transmission
- Changes in thinking
These factors interact to shape how children develop cognitively.
Define schema as per Piaget’s theory.
A cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning
Children construct reality through schemas, which become more refined as they grow.
What does organisation refer to in Piaget’s theory?
The individual’s tendency to organise their schemas into efficient systems
This can occur independently of interaction with the environment.
List the stages of cognitive development according to Piaget.
- Sensorimotor Stage
- Preoperational Stage
- Concrete-operational Stage
- Formal Operations
Ages are guidelines, and children may be in different stages in different situations.
What is developed during the Sensorimotor Stage?
Operations carried out physically with senses
Object permanence
Goal-directed actions
This stage focuses on physical interactions with the environment.
What characterizes the Preoperational Stage?
- Stage before mastering mental operations
- Begin to rehearse mentally
- Semiotic function
- Egocentric
Children start using symbols and begin to think about their actions.
What are the key features of the Concrete-operational Stage?
Mental tasks tied to concrete objects
Reasoning skills for solving conservation problems
Classification and reversibility
Children can group objects and understand identity and compensation.
What is the focus of the Formal Operations stage?
Abstract thinking
Coordination of multiple variables
Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
Not all adolescents reach this level of thinking.
True or false: Adolescent egocentrism refers to the ability to understand that others have different ideas.
FALSE- Focused on own ideas, (but understands other have different ones).
Adolescent egocentrism focuses on the individual’s own ideas, often leading to a sense of an imaginary audience.
What are flashboard memories?
Intense experiences that you always remember, usually negative
These memories are often vivid and impactful.
List some inconsistencies in Piaget’s Theory.
- Different order of stages
- Processes are more gradual
- Underestimated children’s abilities
- Overlooks cultural effects
These inconsistencies highlight limitations in Piaget’s research methods and conclusions.
What is Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective on cognitive development?
Human activities take place in cultural settings, and social interactions shape cognitive development
Vygotsky believed that cognitive structures and processes are created through social interaction.
Define co-construction in Vygotsky’s theory.
The social process of interacting to create understanding.
- cultural tools allow people to communicate i.e real tools like computers and psychological tools like symbols
- children don’t passively absorb these tools but transform them
This involves using cultural tools for communication.
What role does private speech play in Vygotsky’s theory?
Guides children’s thinking and helps in self-regulation
It evolves from verbalized speech to inner speech as children grow.
What is the Zone of Proximal Development?
The distance between a child’s actual developmental level and the higher level of potential development
This concept emphasizes the importance of guidance from adults or capable peers.
What is scaffolding in the context of Vygotsky’s theory?
Support for a child to solve a problem individually
This method helps children achieve tasks they cannot complete alone.
List some limitations of Vygotsky’s Theory.
- Humans likely born with more cognitive tools
- Young children understand aspects of their world before cultural learning
- General ideas without testable theories
These limitations suggest areas for further research and clarification.
The Role of Language and Private Speech
Vygotsky see private speech as guiding children’s thinking
- Moving children in stages toward self-regulation
- Verbalized or whispered until about age 9
- Then becomes inner speech to gain self-control (directing attention, solving problems, planning)
- Very important in pretend play
Piaget on private speech
Collective monologue, egocentric speech
- Collective monologue: Children talking in a group without interacting with one another
Who had ideas that related to both Piaget and Vygotsky?
Jerome Bruner
Bruner’s ideas incorporate aspects of both Piaget’s cognitive development and Vygotsky’s social factors in learning.
According to Piaget, what must cognitive skills be developed through?
Action and problem solving
Piaget believed children have an innate capacity to understand the world.
