Module 2

Cognitive Development
Broad Theories and Approaches

Announcements & Office Hours
E-texts available via CourseSmart and other
sources on-line
Dr. Birch is away week of 23
rd

Office hours:
Me: Thurs Sept (19
th)
2:30-3:30 Room 2031
Kyle (TA): Tues (24
th
) 2-3:30
Will (TA) Wed (25
th
): Noon-2
Dr. Severson: Thurs (26
th
) 10:00-11:30 on her guest
lecture

Module 2: Whats covered

* Key Terms: Developmental Change
* 4 Theories of Cognitive Development
1. Piagetian Theory
2. Information Processing Theories
3. Core-Knowledge Theories
4. Sociocultural Theories
Key Terms: Developmental Change

Neurogenesisproliferation of neurons through cell division
Occurs from the 3
rd
/4
th
week to the 18
th
week after
conception

Myelinationinsulation around the axon
Occurs prenatally through late adolescence

Synaptogenesiseach neuron forms 1000s of connections
Occurs pre- and post-natally, with rapid development
right before and after birth

Synapse Elimination pruning of excess synapses
Occurs prenatally through adolescence


The Brain and Experience
Plasticity: The capacity of the brain to be affected by
experience.
E.g. near vs. farsightedness
E.g. cellists/violinists
(extra cortical representation of fingers)

Critical/sensitive periods (time window where input can
organize the brain, when the sensitive period ends neural
organization is typically irreversible)
E.g. Strabismuslazy eye
E.g. Signers (auditory cortex is put to a better purpose)
E.g. Ability to hear all phonemes of the worlds languages


4 Theories of Cognitive Development
1. Piagetian Theory
2. Information Processing Theories
3. Core-Knowledge Theories
4. Sociocultural Theories
Piagetian Theory: Child as Scientist
He offered a constructivist
theory (the active child)--child is
motivated to learn does not need
rewards to do so.

Saw children as generating
hypotheses, performing
experiments, and drawing
conclusions

Piagets stage theory
pre-operational
sensori-motor
formal operations
concrete operations
10-13yr 0-2 yr 2-6 yr 7-10 yr
3 Processes
Assimilation = translate new info into a form you
already have/understand
Accommodation = When this new info doesnt fit
you need to restructure your conceptions
Equilibration = balancing assimilation and
accommodation to create stable understanding
What I saw
My concept of Wolf My concept of Dog
Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years)
[No need to know specific substages]
Begin with simple reflexes and sensory-motor skills
and through assimilation/accommodation learned
(theory is weak on HOW such concepts were acquired)
*Over this stage infants increase their ability to hold
mental representations
Infants live largely in the present --out of sight, out of
mind

Object Permanence
Piaget claimed that until 8 mths of age infants did not
understand object permanence--that objects continue
to exist even when they are out of view
(e.g. failed to reach under cloth for toy that was just
hidden) BUT

Deferred Imitation
Deferred imitation is the repetition of other
peoples behavior after a delay
Occurs around 18-24 mths
Evidence of persisting mental reps.
Preoperational Stage (ages 2 - 7)
They acquire symbolic representation--
the ability to see one thing to stand for
another (e.g. seen in their pretend play and
in their language acquisition).
Scale model studies
Preoperational Stage (ages 2 - 7)
viewed by Piaget as only being able to focus
on one aspect of an event of problem--even
when multiple aspects are important
Centration: Centering attention on one dimension.

Preoperational Stage (ages 2 - 7)
Children in this stage are viewed by Piaget
as not being capable of operations (i.e. pre-
operational)--that is, they cant perform
reversible mental activities
E.g. conservation concept
Conservation Concept
Preoperational Stage (ages 2 - 7)
Egocentrism: According to Piaget, children at this
stage are also limited in their ability to take someone
elses perspective--they only see it from their own
point of view


The 3 Mountain Task
Concrete Operational Stage (ages 7-12)
understand conservation.
begin to reason logically about concrete objects but
have difficulty with some abstract concepts and
hypotheticals.
Difficulty reasoning systematically
(e.g. --the pendulum problem).
Formal Operations Stage (ages 12+)
begin to think abstractly and hypothetically
E.g. Increased fondness for SciFi/Fantasy
E.g. Comments like what would you do if you
could be 13 again? Do you think there is another
planet out there with another you on it?
now capable of systematic and scientific
reasoning
Unlike the other stages Piaget believed that
some adults never reach this stage.
Strengths
A good overview of childrens thinking at different points
Appealing due to its breadth
Fascinating observations
Weaknesses/Criticisms
Stage model depicts childrens thinking as being more
consistent than it is
children are more cognitively competent than Piaget
recognized
understates contribution of the social world
vague about cognitive processes/mechanisms that produce
cognitive growth
Where Piaget Left Us
Information-Processing Theories
View children as
undergoing continuous
cognitive change.
Describe how cognitive
change occurs.
Mostly concerned with the
development of learning,
memory, and problem-
solving skills.

Information Processing Theories:
Child as Problem Solver
Children experience difficulties solving some
problems because of lack of planning/use of strategy

3 factors that lead to a lack of planning in young children
1. Sometimes plans fail (high failure rate leads them to
believe planning is not worth the effort)
2. Young children are overoptimistic (e.g., they think
they can remember more, get more done, and
communicate more effectively than they can)
3. Inhibition is difficult (e.g., frontal lobe development)
Information Processing Theories
Cognitive growth is the result of three kinds of processes working
together and improving with age:

1. Basic Processes (associating, encoding, recognizing,
recalling, generalizing)
Sensory Memory, Working Memory, Long-term Memory

2. Use of Strategies (e.g. rehearsal, selective attention, mnemonic
techniques)

3. Content Knowledge (e.g. scripts, analogical reasoning,
autobiographical memory)
- greater knowledge of the world increases ability to encode
and recall info because it makes it easier to relate new material
to old. (e.g. playing first vs. 10
th
card game)

Speed of Processing Increases with Age
Myelination (the covering of
neurons with myelin, a fatty
substance that insulates the
axon) helps speed processing
and increases the childs ability
to rule out distractions.


Both experience AND brain maturation (Innate--pre-
programmed development) play a role in changes in information
processing
Core-Knowledge Theories:
Child as Theorist
Principles of core-knowledge theories:
Children have innate cognitive capabilities
Children form informal theories to help them organize related
information (nave physics, psychology, and biology)
Informal theories allow for inferences, e.g. what is true about one
member of a category will most likely be true for others
E.g. boy scouts/personification
Focus on areas (such as understanding people) that have been
important throughout our evolutionary history
Often endorse a modularity approach
Modularity and Domain Specificity
objects
numbers
people
Principles of Modularity
1. Results in Domain Specificity--a special
system dedicated to a particular domain
(people, number, objects, faces, etc.)--
system answers questions specific to that
area.
Principles of Modularity
2. Fast and Mandatory



3. Restriction on Information Flow
- Information Encapsulation and Lack of Access to Interlevels

e.g. Hollow Mask/Face illusion
Ambulance illusion
Principles of Modularity
4. Characteristic Breakdown

e.g. Autism--Lack Nave Psychology?
e.g. Prosopagnosia -- Unable to Process Faces

* Not all skills (e.g. memory) or domains (e.g.
language) have 1 specific location/system

Sociocultural Theories of Cognitive
Development:
Child as Product of Their Cultures
Cognitive development occurs in interpersonal
contact(interaction with parents, siblings, teachers,
and playmates).
Children are products of their cultures
Emphasize aspects of cognitive development that involves use
of cultural tools, like symbol systems, artifacts, skills, and
values.
E.g. Vygotsky vs. Piaget: Whereas Piaget depicted
children as trying to understand the world on their
own, Vygotsky portrayed them as social beings
intertwined with other people who were eager to help
them learn and gain skills.
Sociocultural Theories:
How Cognitive Change Occurs
Zone of proximal development: The range between what
children can do unsupported and what they can do with optimal
social support (this optimum social support is referred to as social
scaffolding)
Social scaffolding: More competent people provide temporary
frameworks that lead children to higher-order thinking.
(sometimes used interchangeably with guided participation)
Joint attention: Infants and social partners intentionally focus on
a common referent.
Intersubjectivity: Mutual understanding established during
communicationa meeting of the minds
Social referencing: Children look to social partners for guidance
about how to respond to unfamiliar events.

The Visual Cliff and Social Referencing
In ambiguous situations

If Mom looks fearful,
child wont cross.
If Mom looks happy,
child will cross.
Child uses emotional cues from social partner to
interpret new things!
Conclusion
Why so many different theories?
The cognitive theories have contradictory features--It
is not possible to create a unified grand theory
(though they dont disagree on all aspects so in many ways are
complementary).
Each theory emphasizes different aspects and each has
its strengths and weaknesses
Ideally, we will incorporate insights from all four
theories to help us understand children in different
ways and in different settings.

Module 2: Whats covered

* Key Terms: Developmental Change
* 4 Theories of Cognitive Development
1. Piagetian Theory
2. Information Processing Theories
3. Core-Knowledge Theories
4. Sociocultural Theories
IF TIME.

I may show some short clips. (If not, Ill incorporate key ones
later in the course).