Cognitive development

Jean Piaget (1920s)

Cognitive development

 Cognitive, or brain development means the learning process of memory,

language, thinking, and reasoning.
 Learning language is more than making sounds (“babble”)
 language development: Listening, understanding, and knowing the names
of people
 reasoning and understanding capabilities differ depending on age
sensorimotor stage(birth to 2 yrs)

 Chn learn by doing:

 looking,
 hearing,
 touching,
 grasping, and
 sucking
 coordinate movements of the body with incoming sensory data
 infants learn that certain actions lead to specific consequences
 understand cause‐and‐effect relationships
sensorimotor stage divided into six
substages
 Stage 1: reflexive activity (birth to 1mth)
 use reflexes(simply act out)
 cognitive capabilities are limited
 stage 2: primary circular reactions (1 to
4mths)
 engage in behaviors that accidentally
produce specific effects(e.g., pleasure).
 repeat the behavior to obtain the same
effect (on own body).
 E.g., suck on a pacifier or scream!!!!(Erikson-
trust)
 stage 3: secondary circular reactions (4 to
8mths)
 explore impact of behaviors on the
environment
 repeat actions onto their environment
 experiment with toys and other
objects(track with eyes)
 stage 4: coordination of secondary
schemes(8 to 12mths)
 infants purposefully carry out goal‐directed
behaviors(mimic).
 put different activities together to achieve
a goal
 Object permanence-knowledge that
out‐of‐sight objects still exist(appears at 9
months)
intentional, goal-directed behaviors

 coordination of secondary
schemes(8 to 12mths)
sensorimotor stages cont:
 stage 5: tertiary circular reactions
(12 to18mths)
 toddlers explore cause‐and
‐effect relationships by
intentionally manipulating causes
to produce novel/different
effects. E.g., wave hands
 Still unaware of dangers
 cross-modal recognition memory-
see a mental picture of object in
hand without nec. Looking at
it(senses at work)
 stage 6: representational thought
(18 to 24mths)
 exhibit representational(symbolic)
thought)
 internalize symbols as objects e.g.,
people, places, and things.
 learn scripts, or routines,
 uses words to refer to specific
items, e.g.,milk, dog, papa, or
mama.
 grasp the idea of past, present,
and future at 21 mths.
Cognitive dev

 Infants interact with environment entirely through reflexive behaviors

 reflexes provide the basis for schemas
 infant's innate thinking processes termed schemas
 Schemas coordinate sensory, perceptual, and motor information for
developing mental representations.
 Infants follow their instincts and involuntary reactions to get food, attention
etc
 engage in intentional, goal-directed behaviors
Major highlights of cognitive behavior

 goal-directed behavior
 object permanence
cognitive development

 cognitive development occurs  Adaptation involves children

from two processes: adaptation changing their behavior to meet
and equilibrium. situational demands.
 E.g., give example

 two subprocesses of adaptation:

assimilation and
accommodation.
Assimilation

 Assimilation is the application of

previous concepts to new
concepts e.g., refering to a whale
as a fish or bird to chick.
Accommodation and equilibrium
 Accommodation- altering
previous concepts in the
face of new information
e.g., fish is not whale and is
a mammal
 equilibrium-search for
balance between self
and the world.
 Match chn's adaptive
functioning to situational
demands
 E.g., realizes he is not
canter of the world but 1
member of family
Evaluation of Piaget’s theory
 infants and toddlers are active
learners who purposefully see,
touch, and do.
 Consistently develop additional
cognitive skills
 stimulate professional interest in
the cognitive world of children.
 not so distinct and clearly
defined
 All chn do not pass through the
stages in same way or
order(decalage).
 Not as egocentric or as easily
deceived as Piaget believed
 Preschoolers may empathize with
others(put themselves in others
shoes)
 young children may make
inferences and use logic.
Critisism cont:

 develop cognitive abilities in relation to particular social

and cultural contexts
 develop differently within enriched or deprived cultural
environments
 High SES better than low SES
 Chn understand symbols as early as 3 mths.
 Pay more attention to balls that seem to roll than
stationery
Memory

 ability to encode, retain, and recall information over

time
 Researchers are unclear about the exact nature of
infantile memory
 how long the memories last, how easily memories are
retrieved
 long‐term memories formed during the first 6 month
 recognize and remember primary caretakers and env.
 Help them understand basic concepts and categories
Language Development

 representational thinking, lays the foundation for language

 mouths, tongues, and ears used to mimic the sights and
sounds of other people.
 interact with your child as much as possible
 initial communication-cry when hungry, tired, or
uncomfortable
 Cooing at 3 mths
 3-4 mths-consonants sounds e.g b, k,
 4 months, put vowel sounds and consonant sounds together
to form nonsense words e.g., gaga
Language dev. Cont:

 Non-verbal-cling, push them away, and turn their heads

when they dislike something(5 mths).
 Babble-6 mths
 Wait for their turn at 7mths
 Real words-mama, milk(9-12) (holophrastic speech)
 receptive language more developed than expressive
language
 Observational learning (imitation) and operant
conditioning (reinforcement) play major role