Cognition and Development
- Created by: LaraPope
- Created on: 26-05-15 14:45
Piagets Theory of Cognition and Development
Key Words
Schema: Menatl representations of the world used to understand and respond to situations
Assimilation: Used to add to existing schemas
Equillibration: Maintaining the cognitive balance, Disequilibrium, accomodation and new schemas
Accomodation: Expanding and making new schemas
Operation: Logical mental rules- more sig as child dev
Paiget= stages, observations, Switzerland
Sensorimotor (0-2): born with refelexes, dev through senses and movements
Object permanence task: if hidden it doesnt existt
Pre-operational stage (2-6): language shows general concepts and Egocentricity (understanding is limited to own perpective)- preconceptual thinking (2-4), Intuitive thinking (4-6)
Three Mountains task: perspectives and egocentricity
Conservation Task- beakers of liquid
Concrete operational stage (7-11): Use of logical mental rules to understand concrete info, and see others perspectives.
Formal stage (12 plus): abstract thoughts, hypothetical problems, more logical systematic approaches (beakers of colourless liquid)
Evaluation of Piaget
Longitudinal
Sample: Small sample from limited cultural backgrounds (Switzerland/ middle class), ethnocentrically biased.
Lack of objectivity: own children
Not universal: ignores cultural element of dev.
Stages: Who reaches formal operations?
Dansen: 1 in 3 (western) reach, other research= 1 out of 62 15 year olds reached it.
Egocentricity: three mountains task is too difficult and not meaningful
Nature Vs Nurture: ability to learn, maturaration of body and brain= N
ability to respond to demands of environment= Nur
Highly first comprehensive theory of cog and dev, influenced educational practice throughout the world.
Vygotsky's Theory of Cognition and Development
Russian Psychologist, published after death, see's children as an apprentice
Society and cultural context: finnger pointing= grasping gesture is a movement with meaning and mother scaffolds learning to ensure they learn the cultural meaning.
Cultural tools: tools of intellectual adaptations providing the child with thought processes- teach them how to think and the root of cog and dev is based around language.
Language: expanded by peers and family, enhances social interaction
External speech: (0-3) adult directed
Egocentric speech: (3-7) articulates thoughts out loud
Internal speech: (7+) silent speech to organise thoughts
ZPD: gap from childs actual dev and potential dev enhanced from MKO
Scaffolding: support to ensure next steps of dev, MKO encourages and motivates, gradual withdrawl to ensure independence, ZPD dev.
Evaluation of Vygotsky
Scaffolding: Wood and Middleton: 4-5 year olds and mother interaction, diff levels of support. Concluded best suppport is given if needed (independence) promotes autonomy and careful guided assistance when needed tailored to each child. Research; same in other cultures.
P-Discovery of V-ZPD and scaffolding? Freund: scaffolding from mother performed better than just discovery learners (against P)
ZPD Study: puzzles of varied ability, low scores= no help, no attention= too easy, mum taking control= too hard, ZPD= guided and aided attention.
Best performance when within ZPD with aid if needed.
Comparison to P: Need an itegration of both
V= guidance from MKO, born with basic materials for dev (elemenntary mental functions- memory)
P= more iinfluencial, focus on discovery
V= over emphasis on social factors and ignore bio or individual factors, suites collectivist cultures with focus on SLT
V= sees child as an aprentice P= child as a scientist
Application to Education V+P
Piaget:
1) Readiness: work is ability appropriate. (algebra in maths)
2) Role of teacher: creates disequillibrium
3) Discovery learning: child finds things out for themselves, child is scientist and teacher- resources.
4) Curriculum: Progression of learning, stage dependent, too challenging for some, vice versa.
Vygotsy:
instruc teach and shape learning, peer tutoring and collaborative work. construction of joint views.
1) Scaffolding: manageable parts, MKO proovides suitable assistance, demoonstrations-immitation.
Good scaffolding has a lasting effect.
2) Role of Teacher: language, scaffolds learning, MKO- tutoring. Differs to P, more active role.
3) Collaborative learning: groups encourage lang dev, knowledge is collectively and socially sonstructed. (Gokhale: tested students on critical thinking, groupsoutperformed indiv learners. Higher range of solutions and wider range of knowlege)
Kohlbergs theory of moral development
Heinz dilemmas, understand their justification.
Preconventional morality- right or wrong determined by rewards/punishments
1) obedience to AF, punishments and consequences
2) focus on society- expectations, rewards
Conventional morality- avoid blame and seek approval. influenced by others opinions.
3) assign good/bad characters, conform to behaviours, good intentionns
4) obey to AF, understand laws
Post conventional morality- abstract justice, rights of other overide obedience of laws.
5) moral and legal rights sometimes get broken
6) understand everyone affected by moral decision.
Kohlberg evaluation
(A02)
Sharney: meta analysis supports k stages and timings. 5 is restricted to urban western cultures (reflection of western individuallism)
Colby: Longitudinal 20yrs- stages are not set. USA males= stages 1-4 only 10% at stage 5 at 30's and no evidence for stage 6.
Gender Bias- Gillingham, girls stage 3 boys stage 4/5- could be 2 reasons, inferior or method
Andocentric sample, women destined to score lower (traditional duty to care), reductionist- focus on males, over simplified view of morality.
Methodology- Dilemmas= hypothetical scenarios, not relateable and lack realism unlike Gillingham.
Findings are criticised- evidence suggests you cannot distinguish between satges 5+6 and most only reach 4.
reductionist: restricted view of morality- ignores pracitcal factors, argued that he favoured morality than justice and restricted his perspective and ignores emotional factors.
Cultural differences: cross cultural analysis Japan and USA= favoured stealing drug Japan=shouldnt- preserve a clean and pure life.
Self Recognition
Subjective- ability to percieve themselves as different from others
Objective- reflect upon themselves.
Subjective self awareness- present at birth, personal agency dev at 2 months (can direct own movement) recognise own face.
Objective self awwareness- key milestone. looking at reflections.
Amsterdam: Rouge study shows:6-12mnths = someone else. 13-24mnths confusion. 24mnths = clear self recognition/ personal pronouns used 'mine'.
(A02)
Research- At birth we have a rudimentary sense of self- distinguis ourselves from others.
Contradicting research- individuation occurs in first few months (before= attached to mum)
Development of concious self awarenness- needed for relationships (jealousy and empathy)
Individual differences: faster in securely attached individuals showing independence.
Cultural differences: western cultures promote independence, non western= interdependence.
Development of self/ ToM
Younger= only dinstiguish themselves differently- physically
Older= more psychological characteristics.
Rosenburg: random sample in USA, interviewed 18 yr olds (small sample) on self.
broad categories- physical, character, relationship, inner.
Younger= physical and charracter
Older= character, refernce to relationship and inner.
Theory of Mind: own understanding that other have diff menta states and their view of the world differs from others.
Wimmer and Perner: false belief task. 3,6 and 8 year olds- chocolate cupboards, where would he look. 3=wrong no ToM, think he will act on false belief
6+8= ToM
Sally Anne experimen- Baron Cohen et al: 20 autistic, 14 downs, 27 normal. asked for an answer which needed children to attribute a false belief to Sally.
Autistic= less likely to succeed, no ToM, failed due to social cog probs not inteligence.
X- some did succeed so its not conclusive.
X- use of dolls could have caused confusion.
-accross culture, similar ages. large fam= more interaction and conflict.
X- Task is too language dependent.
Self Esteem
Global Self Esteem= general feelings and evaluations of ourselves
State Self Esteem= f and e at a given point
Self Evaluations= evaluation of specific part of self (appearance)
Harter No global self esteem until mid chilhood-8,
Attachment theory, internal working model= cognitive framework comprising mental representations for future (protype for future)
Hazen and Shaver childhood and parent attachment= correlated to self esteem in adulthood.
Self esteem: no impact on work performance or aggression.
high= happpiness low= depression
Link to narcissism- craving attention and egotistic
Development of child's understanding of others
Immitation: Meltzoff- Newborns immitate facial gestures
Intentions: toddlers understand communitive intent- autistic children do not. Role taking is part of social dev and leads to understanding of others to produce PSB.
Deception: from age 3, hide disappointment for presents
(A02)
Individual differences: seperate bio modules for diff abilities and mature at diff rates. different to TooM so autistic children clearly understanf intentions.
Fundamental skills: needed for soc dev, popular children have better role taking skills, social success as they can understand mental states. Deception highlighted to be key role in evolution.
SELMAN- 5 stages
1) 3-6- others have diff thoughts, no integration or differentiation
2) 6-8- diff persectives as result of diff info exposure, no integration.
3) 8-10- understand others thoughts, behaviours and persepctives
4) 10-12- view from an impartial 3rd party and use integration.
5) adult- considers others perspectives with reference to social environment and culture.
Selman evaluation
(A02)-
Selman et al= improve perspective taking skills shows children to be more mature in relationships
Walker and Selman=perspective taking resolves conflicts, reduces bullying (understand others)
cultural bias: based on western cultures, doesnt account for minority ethnic communities.Rascism and prejudice needs to be accounted for.
Dilemmas: objective, sometimes not relateable
Correlational:
Gender differences: girls have been shown to have more empathy
Mirror neurons
During certain motions certain brain cells are active. Same brain reaction when someone else does the motion. (Recorded using EEG- used to work out role of neurons). Allows you to immitate motions and emotions.
Rizzolatti et al studied monkeys reaching for the peanut and neurons fire, observe movement= neurons fire showing use of mirror neurons.
only fired when a interaction betweeen movement and object (needs to have meaning)
Respond to sound of nut cracking- meaning.
Humans: MN fire during facial expressions and activates appropriate feelings
basic social cognition, MN creates foundation to empathise and understand others.
(A02)
MU Waves: electrical patterns in the brain - supressed when observing other perform a motor action. MN system is invovled in MU wave supression represents high level of co-ordination of mirror neurons.Autism= mu waves supressed during own body movement, not when observing others.
Evolutionary: adaptive and aids survival.
Brain scan evvidence: brain systems are activated during observed emotions and directly replicate these sensations as the others
Autism less cotisol matter in the brain associated with MN- account for poorer social cognition
Gender differences: Cheung, females- stronger MN advanced soc cog?, males more autism..
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