Cognition & Development

Cognition & Development

1. Piaget's theory of COGNITIVE development

   • Piaget asserted that children do not know less than adults - but just reason differently. MATURATION is the key to how a child's thinking changes- it's not just a matter of learning more. Piaget also looks at children's learning in particular:
     • * The role of motivation in development *The question of how knowledge develops
       • Our knowledge of the world is represented in the mind and organised by a SCHEMA. Cog developments include the construction of increasingly detailed schemas. Children are born with a few schema but construct new ones during infancy, including the 'me-schema' in which the child's knowledge of themselves is stored
         • DISEQUILIBRIUM (DM): When a child cannot make sense of their world because existing schemas are not enough- the feel a sense of DM which makes them uncomfortable. To escape this the child learns more which results in equilibrium. eg when a plane doesn't fit the schema of a bird
           • EQUILIBRIUM: A pleasant state of balance and occurs when experiences in the world match the state of our current schema
             • ACCOMMODATION (ACC): An experience that is very diff from our current schema (cannot be ASS). ACC involves the creation of a whole new schema or major changes to existing ones. eg. if a child with a pet cat (who has never come across dogs - no schema's for them) - on meeting a dog will incorporate it into a cat schema. When the dog does something diff from a cat then the child had to ACC by creating a dog schema - both development and equilibrium take place.
           • ASSIMILATION (ASS): Any new experiences create disequilibrium because as yet, it does not fit our existing schema. ASS takes place when new info doesn't change our understanding of a schema we we incorporate it into our existing schema.
             • E:+ The theory has supporting evidence as one researcher put 9-12 year old in groups to discuss how objects move down a slope. F: level of children's knowledge increased after discussion but not all of them reached the same conc or pick up the same facts about movement down a slope. Supports Piaget as children learn through forming personal mental representations.
               • E: - The role of equilibrium may be overemphasised as Piaget believed that DM and removal of its associated discomfort was the motivating factor in COG-D. (POPULATION BIAS)Though, not all children are equally motivated to remove DM. Piaget studied middle-class children who may be more motivated. This weakens the validity and generalisability.
                 • E:- The role of language is not acknowledged. To Piaget language is just a cog ability that develops in line with other abilities. Vygotsky and other researchers have placed a lot more importance on language development suggesting it is crucial to broader cog development. Hence, it is REDUCTIONIST as Piaget has only looked at one aspect of the whole situation. Therefore, the theory is limited in its validity

2. VYGOTSKY's theory of cognitive development

   • Vygotsky agreed with Pg that children develop reasoning skills sequentially but believed that this process was mainly dependent on social processes. He claimed knowledge is * INTERMENTAL ( between someone more expert and less expert) |*Then INTRAMENTAL (within the individual)
     • Reasoning abilities via contact with those around us and as a result there will be cultural differences in cogD because we all grow up and learn about the world surrounded by cultural values/beliefs. Children pick up 'mental tools' that are most important for life and the world they live in
       • experts use scaffolding to help learners across ZPD and WOOD et al suggested a number of features of scaffolding : * Recruitment-engaging learner's interest | * Reduction in degrees of freedom-focusing learner and getting started |* Direction maintenance - Motivating learner to persevere
         • WOOD et al identified progressive strategies that can be used to scaffold learning: *Demonstration: (eg mother draws an object with crayons |*Preparation: (eg mother helps child hols crayon) |*Indication of materials (mother points to crayons) |*Specific verbal instruction ("how about using the green crayon?) |*General prompt: ("now draw something else")
     • The ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD) is the gap between what {a child knows or can do alone} and [what a child is capable of following interaction with an expert]. Vygotsky claimed the role of a teacher was to guide a child through this gap to as fill the level of understanding as the child's developmental ability would allow.
       • For Vygotsky cogD was not just about acquiring more facts but about becoming more skilled at reasoning. The most advanced formal reasoning can only achieved with the help of experts not simply through exploration.

3. Piaget's theory of INTELLECTUAL development

   • Piaget's theory explains how our knowledge of the world is acquired through schema and disequilibrium/equilibration. Also, explained cognitive development as a set of stages each characterised by a diff level of reasoning ability. Proposed that children develop through the same sequence of stages
     • (0-2Y) SENSORIMOTOR STAGE: baby's focus is on physical sensations and basic coordination between what they see and body movement. Babies understand that ppl are separate objects and they acquire some basic language. They develop object permanence. *B4 8 months children immediately switch attention away from an object once out of sight. *After 8 months children continue to look for it - suggests they have object permanence
       • (2-7Y) PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE: EGOCENTRISM was tested in 3 mountains task where children were shown, 3 model mountains each with a diff feature (a cross/a house/snow) and ONLY pre-operational children showed a view other than their own.
         • Class inclusion is tested by showing a child a pic of 5 dogs and 2 cats then asking them is they see more dogs or animals? children under eight reply "dogs". Younger children cannot simultaneously see a dog in the dog class or animal class
       • (7-11Y) CONCRETE OPERATIONS STAGE: Here children have mastered conversation and are improving egocentrism and class inclusion. However, they still have some reasonin problems - only able to operate on physical objects in their presence
         • E: - The theory was based on tests that lack validity. For instance, 2 reasearchers found that in a conversation of a number task, if the counters were moved accidentally by a 'naughty teddy' 72% of children under 7 said the number was the same as before (correctly). This suggests that Piaget underestimated the conservation ability of children ages 4-6. Pg's method may have led to children to think something must have changed (or why would the researcher ask?)
           • E:- Assertions about egocentrism are not supported as 1 researcher found that even at 3.5 years a child could position a boy doll in a model building to hide it well from a police doll. Suggests that children are able to decentre and imagine other perspectives much earlier than Piaget proposed. Suggests the manner of Pg's studies and tasks led him to underestimate children's intellectual abilities and that resultant stages were incorrect
           • E: - Children's abilities are both under/over stated. As well as underestimating what young children can do, Pg may have overestimated other abilities such as achieving formal operations. There is also evidence that children can achieve logical thinking earlier than Pg estimated. Challenges the basic principles of his theory if some stages are not universal and progression is not just due to maturation.
       • (11+) FORMAL OPERATIONS STAGE: Abstract reasoning develops and you are able to develop beyond the here and now. Children can focus on the form of an argument and not get distacted by its content.
         • For example they can understand SYLLOGISMS "All yellow cats have 2 heads- i have a yelow cat called charlie, how many heads?" Answer=2 but younger children are ditracted by the fact that cats dont have 2 heads.