What are we learning about today?

1. What are we learning about today? What does John Watson, Behaviorist Theory, and children have in common? Jean Piaget and his 4 Stage Theory of Cognitive Development Are you smarter than a 5th grader??? 

2. Cognitive Development Theorists John Watson

3. John Watson *Who? He was an American psychologist who founded the cognitive development theory known as behaviorism. Behaviorism: the belief that most behaviors are conditioned and they result from the association of unconditioned stimuli to other stimuli.

4. John Watson con’t *Who? Watson pioneered observational and experiential research on newborns and infants, and soon after became a popular child- rearing expert.

5. John Watson con’t Who? He is famous for saying: “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well informed, and my own special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select— doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even beggar— regardless of his talents, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and the race of his ancestors.”

6. John Watson con’t *Basic premise of his theory? Watson believed that unhealthy adult personalities resulted from the habits that they developed as a child. He believed that behavior develops as a result of conditioning.

7. John Watson con’t *Basic premise of his theory? Watson asserted that psychologists could study anything that people do or say—for example, shopping, playing chess, eating, or complimenting a friend, but they could not study the thoughts, wishes, and feelings that might accompany these observable behaviours by using basic science. Watson’s radical reorientation, or rethinking, of psychology did not end with his redefinition of its subject matter. He also took a rather extreme position on one of psychology’s oldest and most fundamental questions: is our behaviour determined by our genetics (“nature”) or environment (“nurture”)?

8. John Watson con’t The Nature Vs. Nurture Debate This age old debate is concerned with whether behaviour is determined mainly by genetic inheritance (“nature”) or by environment and experience (“nurture”).

9. Back To The Nature Vs. Nurture Debate So, I want to hear your opinion: Is a master criminal born or made? What do you think Watson would say?

10. John Watson con’t Watson would argue that a criminal is made, not born. *In other words, he downplayed the importance of heredity, maintaining that behaviour is governed primarily by the environment.

11. John Watson con’t *Basic Premise Of His Theory? Watson believed that the aim of psychology should be to change the needs of people to fit the needs of society.

12. John Watson con’t Basic Premise of His Theory? Watson warned against the dangers of “too much motherly love” and advocated instead for strict routines and tight control over the child’s environment and behavior.

13. John Watson con’t *Thoughts? Watson’s views did not have a decisive influence on academic child psychology, but it did however contribute to professionalizing childrearing and it also helped to encourage academics and child care professionals to think critically about the long term effects of ones childhood. *He is also responsible for the Little Albert Experiment. In this experiment, Watson proves that phobia’s can be taught to a child (“nurture”) and that phobia’s do not exist naturally within us (“nature”).

14. Little Albert Experiment

15. Jean Piaget Who? Jean Piaget was a Swiss child psychologist. His research has influenced a lot of child psychology theories as we know them today. *His research focuses in on the development of intelligence across ones life span.

16. Jean Piaget con’t *Basic Premise Of The Theory? Piaget studied the growth of children’s capacity to think in abstract, logical terms and in such categories as time, space, numbers, etc. Piaget was a psychologist who studied children’s cognitive development. Cognitive development refers to transitions in youngsters patterns of thinking, including reasoning, remembering, and problem solving.

17. *Jean Piaget con’t Interesting fact: He did research on his own children! Would YOU do research on your own children?

18. Jean Piaget con’t *He believed that intelligence is a form of adaptation to the external world. Basic Premise Of The Theory?

19. Jean Piaget con’t Basic Premise Of The Theory? He believed that there are 4 stages to our cognitive or intellectual development: 1. Sensorimotor stage 2. Preoperational stage 3. Concrete operational stage 4. Formal Operational Stage

20. 4 Stages of Cognitive Development • Sensorimotor stage (birth – 2 yrs): The infant constructs an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions. An infant progresses from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought towards the end of the stage. The child has not yet mastered object permanence. *Object Permanence: develops when a child recognizes that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible.

21. 4 Stages of Cognitive Development 2. Preoperational Stage (2-7yrs) The child begins to represent the world with words and images. These words and images reflect increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the connection of sensory information and physical action. Children at this stage have not yet mastered conservation. *Conservation: is Piaget’s term for the awareness that physical quantities remain constant in spite of changes in their shape or appearance.

22. 4 Stages of Cognitive Development 3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 yrs): The child can now reason logically about concrete events and classify objects into different sets. Reversibility: permits a child to mentally undo an action (trial and error). *Decentration: allows the child to focus on more than one feature of a problem simultaneously.

23. 4 Stages of Cognitive Development 4. Formal Operational Stage (11yrs – adulthood) The adolescent reasons in more abstract, idealistic, and logical ways. Formal operational children are more systematicin their reasoning. They can think things through.

24. Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Activity Some of you will be observed by a group of “scientists” as you sit through and complete a number of tests to determine the level of reasoning required for each task. Each of these tests are linked to Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development. The entire groups task: based on your experiences with each task, and using the terminology of Piaget’s 4 stage theory, determine and explain which task relates to which of the four stages of Piaget’s cognitive development.

25. Your Task • Scientists: Your job is to facilitate the activities. • Participants: Your job is to do the activity and talk about how you were, or were not, successful with your group mates. • Researchers/Observers: Your job is to observe the participants and determine if they were successful in completing the task. You should also make mental notes about the challenges that the participants faced while trying to complete the task— if any. • Scientists, participants, researchers/observers: at the end of the study, you must all determine which task represented which of the 4 stages of cognitive development. You must justify your answer by using Piaget’s terminology and explanations. Some of the activities will be very easy and some will be a bit challenging. Explain why this is the case. You will present your findings to the class.

26. Researchers: convene with your team members and complete the following questions on a sheet of paper. Follow this template for each task. Task 1: a) What was it called?_________________________________________________ b) In your scientific opinion, what stage did it represent?_______________________________________________ c) How do you know? Explain and give concrete examples.______________________________________ d) Was the task easy or hard to complete? Why do you think this is the case? Use Piaget’s theory’s to answer this question.

27. Task # 1 Play Doe and Sticks

28. Task # 2 Eagle Eye

29. Task # 3 Triceratops Or Puppy Test

30. Task # 4 Crossword or Sudoku

31. Jean Piaget *Basic Premise Of His Theory? He discovered that children at first are egocentric (thinking that is characterized by a limited ability to share another persons point of view) and attached to concrete appearances. However, he believed that they gradually move away from egocentrism and become capable of abstract thinking.

32. Jean Piaget con’t *Thoughts? Piaget’s work reinforced the belief that instruction must be adapted to the child’s developmental level. His investigative techniques, observations and emphasis on the development of cognitive capacities form much of contemporary child psychology.