LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT

1. 6 A Topical Approach to LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT Cognitive Developmental Approaches John W. Santrock

2. Cognitive Developmental Approaches • Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development • Applying and Evaluating Piaget’s Theory • Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development • Cognitive Changes in Adulthood

3. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Processes of Development • Organization • Equilibrium • Equilibration • Piaget observed own 3 children; believed six processes used in constructing knowledge • Schemes • Assimilation • Accommodation

4. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Schemes • Actions or mental representations that organize knowledge • Behavioral schemes: physical activities characterizing infancy • Mental schemes: cognitive activities develop in childhood

5. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Assimilation and Accommodation • Both operate even in very young infants • Assimilation— incorporate new information into existing knowledge schemes • Accommodation— adjust schemes to fit new information and experiences

6. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Organization • Children cognitively organize experiences - Grouping isolated behaviors into a higher-order, more smoothly functioning cognitive system - Grouping items into categories

7. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Equilibrium and Equilibration • Mechanisms proposed to explain how children shift from one stage of thought to the next • Disequilibrium— shift occurs as children experience cognitive conflict • Equilibration— they resolve conflict through assimilation and accommodation, to reach a new balance or equilibrium of thought

8. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Stages of Development • Piaget’s theory unifies experiences and biology to explain cognitive development • Motivation is internal search for equilibrium • Four stages of development…progressively advanced and qualitatively different

9. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor stage • First of Piaget’s stages • Birth to about 2 years • Infants construct understanding of world by coordinating sensory experiences with motoric actions • Contains six substages

10. Simple reflexes Basic means of coordinating sensation and action through reflexive behaviors 1 First habits and primary circular reactions Infants’ infant’s attempt to reproduce interesting or pleasurable event (1-4 mos) 2 Secondary circularreactions Infant is more object-oriented moving beyond preoccupation with the self(4-8 months) 3 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Substages

11. Coordination of secondary circular reactions Significant changes in coordination of schemes and intentionality (8-12 mos) 4 Tertiary circularreactions, novelty and curiosity Intrigued by objects’ many properties; explores new possibilities with them(12-18 mos) 5 Internalization ofSchemes Ability to use primitive symbols; shift to mental manipulation (18-24 mos) 6 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Substages

12. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Object Permanence • Understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot directly be seen, heard, or touched • One of infant’s most important accomplishments • Acquired in stages • Violation of expectations testing

13. (a) (b) (c) Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Infant’s Understanding of Causality Fig. 6.5

14. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Evaluating Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage • New research techniques suggest Piaget’s theory needs to be modified • Some abilities develop earlier • Intermodal perception; substantiality and permanence of objects • Transitions not as clear-cut; AB error • Objects seen as separate at much younger age; possibly at birth or shortly after

15. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Preoperational Stage • Second Piagetian developmental stage • About 2 to 7 years of age; two substages • Children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings • Not ready to perform Operations • Internalized actions that allow children to do mentally what before they only did physically • Reversible mental actions

16. First substage of preoperational thought; young child gains ability to represent mentally an object that is not present (2-4 years) Symbolic function Inability to distinguish between one’s own and another’s view Egocentrism Belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, capable of action Animism Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development The Symbolic Function Substage

17. View 1 View 2 (d) (c) Child seated here (c) (d) (a) (b) (b) (a) Child seated here Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development The Three Mountains Task Fig. 6.6

18. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development The Symbolic Drawings of Young Children (a) A 31/2-year-old’s symbolic drawing. Halfway into this drawing, the 31/2-year-old artist said it was “a pelican kissing a seal.” (b) This 11-year-old’s drawing is neater and more realistic but also less inventive. Fig. 6.7

19. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development The Intuitive Thought Substage • Children begin using primitive reasoning and want to know answers to all sorts of questions (4-7 years) • Why? questions exhaust adults • Centration— focusing attention on one characteristic to exclusion of others • Conservation— object’s amount stays same regardless of changing appearance; lacking in preoperational stage

20. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Piaget’s Conservation Task Fig. 6.8

21. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Some Dimensions of Conservation: Number, Matter, and Length Fig. 6.9

22. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage • Piaget’s third stage (7-11 years) • Children can perform concrete operations • Logical reasoning replaces intuitive reasoning if applied to specific, concrete examples • Horizontal Décalage • Similar abilities do not appear at same time within stage of development such as conservation abilities

23. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Classification Skills • Concrete operations child understands one person can be father, brother, and grandson • Seriation — involves stimuli along quantitative dimension (e.g. length) • Transitivity — if relation holds between first and second object, and holds between the second and third object, then it holds between first and third object

24. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Classification: An Important Ability in Concrete Operational Thought Fig. 6.10

25. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Formal Operational Stage • Individuals move beyond concrete operations and think in more abstract and logical ways (11-15 years) • Abstract, Idealistic, and Logical Thinking • Verbal problem-solving ability increases • Increased ability to think about thought itself • Thought is full of idealism and possibilities

26. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Formal Operational Stage • Children solve problems by trial-and-error • Adolescents think more like scientists • Assimilation dominates initial development • Hypothetical-deductive reasoning • Have cognitive ability to develop hypotheses, or best guesses, and systematically deduce the best path to follow in solving a problem

27. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Adolescent Egocentrism • Heightened adolescents’ self-consciousness • Imaginary audience • Belief that others are as interested in them as they are • Involves attention-getting behavior motivated by desire to be noticed, visible, and “on stage” • Personal fable— adolescent’s sense of uniqueness and invincibility

28. Applying and Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Piaget and Education • Take a constructivist approach • Facilitate rather than direct learning • Consider child’s knowledge, level of thinking • Use ongoing assessment • Promote the student’s intellectual health • Turn classroom into setting of exploration and discovery

29. Applying and Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Evaluating Piaget’s Theory • Contributions • New way of looking at children as active thinkers • Criticisms • Some estimates of children’s competence is inaccurate • Development not uniformly stage-like • Effects of training • Culture and education influence development

30. Applying and Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Neo-Piagetians • Argue Piaget got some things right, but theory needs revision • More emphasis to memory, attention, information-processing strategies, and processing speed

31. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development • Social contexts; minds are shaped by cultural context in which they live • Tools are provided by society • Children actively construct their knowledge and understanding through social interactions

32. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development The Zone of Proximal Development • Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) • Tasks too difficult for children to master alone but that can be mastered with guidance and assistance from more-skilled person • Scaffolding • Changing level of support over course of a teaching session to fit child’s current performance level

33. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Fig. 6.11

34. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development Vygotsky: Language and Thought • Believed young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor behavior • Language and thought initially develop independently, then merge • Private speech: language of self-regulation • Self talk (3 to 7 years of age) • Inner talk: child’s thoughts

35. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development Teaching Strategies based on Vygotsky’s Theory • Successfully applied to education • Use child’s ZPD • Use more-skilled peers as teachers • Monitor and encourage private speech • Effectively assess child’s ZPD • Instruction in meaningful context • Transform classroom

36. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development Guided Participation • Widely used around the world • Culture may differ in goals of development • Child’s responsibilities revised as skill and knowledge are gained • Chewa of Zambia • Maya of Guatemala

37. Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development Evaluating Vygotsky’s Theory • Social constructivist approach— emphasize social contexts of learning and construction of knowledge through social interaction • Shift from individual to collaborative learning • Teachers facilitate and guide, not direct and mold • May overemphasize language’s role in thinking • Facilitators may help too much; make child lazy

38. Cognitive Changes in Adulthood Piaget’s View of Adult Cognition • Thinking qualitatively in formal operations same as adolescents • Adults have more knowledge • Research shows: • Many don’t reach highest level until adulthood • Many adults don’t use formal operational thinking

39. Cognitive Changes in Adulthood • Thinking of young adults is beyond formal operational stage of adolescents. It is… • Realistic— Idealism decreases in face of real world constraints • Pragmatic— Switch from acquiring knowledge to applying it • Reflective and Relativistic— Move away from absolutist thinking of adolescence

40. Cognitive Changes in Adulthood Is There A Fifth, Postformal Stage? • Postformal thought is • Reflective, relativistic, and contextual • Provisional • Realistic • Open to emotions and subjective • More research needed • Another possible stage may be wisdom

41. 6 The End