CHAPTER 7 COGNITION. Learning Objectives How do organization, adaptation, and disequilibrium guide...

CHAPTER 7

COGNITION

Learning Objectives

How do organization, adaptation, and disequilibrium guide development?

Chapter 7: CognitionCognition: The activity of

knowingTypical of humans throughout

lifespanChanges across the lifespanPiaget and Vygotsky

PiagetGenetic Epistemology

How we come to know realityHow do children come to know the world?

Clinical MethodQuestion and answer techniqueUsed to discover how children reason

Intelligence: How well we adapt Schemes/cognitive structuresActive creators of our own intelligence

organization, children systematically combine existing schemes into new and more complex ones.

Adaptation is the process of adjusting to the demands of environment

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AdaptationAssimilation

Using existing schemes to interpret new experiences

E.g., Birds are things that fly

AccommodationModifying schemes to fit new

experienceE.g., Butterflies are different than birds

even though they both fly

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equilibriation

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PiagetAdaptation

Adjusting to the environmentUsing assimilation and accommodation

Intelligence = AdaptationConstructivism

Children construct own reality Use their experiences (schemes)

PiagetFour stages/changes in ability to reason

Sensorimotor: birth to 2 yearsPreoperational: 2 to 7 yearsConcrete operations: 7 to 11 yearsFormal operations: 12+ years

Invariant sequenceRates may varyRequires maturation and experience

Learning Objectives

What are the major achievements of the sensorimotor stage ?

How do infants progress toward these achievements?

PiagetSensorimotor Stage

Newborn uses reflexes to understand world (sensory & motoric intelligence)

Outcome of Stage Mental representation

Evidence: Object Permanence

Symbolic CapacityEvidence: Language

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Object Permanence4-8 mos-out of sight

out of mind

A not B errorMastered 18 mos

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Learning Objectives

What are the characteristics and limitations of preoperational thought?

Preoperational StageEgocentric ThinkersProblem Solving Limited

Classification and seriation problems

Ages 2–7: PreschoolMay have imaginary companions

Lack ConservationPerceptual Salience

Static thoughtIrreversible thinking

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• Some common tests of the child’s ability to conserve.

Learning Objectives

What are the major characteristics and limitations of concrete operational thought?

What are the main features of concrete operational thought?

Concrete Operations Age 7-11Can Conserve

DecentrationReversible thinkingLogical thinking (limited to reality)

Seriation and classificationTransitive thinking:

“ If J is taller than M, and M is taller than S, who is taller – J or S?”

Learning Objectives

What are the main features of formal operational thought?

In what ways might adult thought be more advanced than adolescent thought?

Formal OperationsAdolescence/PubertyLogical Thinking About Ideas

Hypothetical and abstract thinkingHypothetical-deductive reasoning

Decontextual ThinkingAbility to separate prior

knowledge/beliefs from new evidence to the contrary

Formal Operations 2Adolescent Egocentrism

Differentiating own thoughts from others’Imaginary audience

Also, learning to present themselves to a real audience

Personal fable “No one has ever felt like this before!”

“I drive better when I’m drunk!”

Cognition in AdulthoodFormal Operations Require

Normal intelligenceHigher education (scientific thinking)

Lower Performance on Formal OperationsWhy? Field of expertise

Postformal Thought

“A” grows 1 cm per month, “B” grows 2 cm per month

Who is taller?

John is known to be a heavy drinker, especially when he goes to parties. Mary, John’s wife, warns him that if he gets drunk one more time she will leave him and take the children. Tonight John is out late at an office party. John comes home drunk.

Does Mary leave John?

Postformal Thought (Highest Level)Relativistic thinking

Relativist Absolutist

No absolute answer in many situations

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Progression to postformal thought

Adolescence to adulthood:AbsolutistRelativistCommitment to

position

Advanced thinkers:Thrive on paradoxes

and challenges

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Concrete Operations: objectsFormal Operations: ideasPostformal: systems of ideas

Postformal occurs…

In a minority of adults

Mostly in those with advanced education

In those who are open to rethinking issues

In a culture that nourishes new ideas

Life circumstances and environmental demands tell us more about cognitive abilities than age.

The Demographics of AgingPopulation Trends in the United States

The Demographics of AgingPopulation Trends in the United States

The Demographics of AgingPopulation Trends in the United States

The Demographics of AgingPopulation Trends in the United States

Diversity of Older Adults in the U.S.

Population Trends Around the World

Population Trends Around the World

Aging

Some skills decline as we age

Age-Related Changes in Primary AbilitiesData from Seattle Longitudinal Study of

more than 5,000 individuals from 1956 to 1998 in six testing cycles:People tend to improve on primary abilities

until late 30s or early 40s.Scores stabilize until mid-50s and early 60s.By late 60s consistent declines are seen.Nearly everyone shows a decline in one

ability, but few show decline on four or five abilities.

Poor performace of older groups does not necessarily mean that cognitive abilities are lost as one agesCohort effect

Piagetian tasks are more like school exercises than real life challenges

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Pipe

Matches

Cigar

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Kpelle

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ExpertiseOlder adults

compensate for poorer performance through their expertise.Expertise helps the

aging adult compensate for losses in other skills.

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Learning Objectives

What are the limitations and challenges to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

“Assessing the impact of Piaget on developmental psychology is like assessing the impact of Shakespeare on English literature or Aristotle on philosophy--impossible.

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Piaget

ContributionsStimulated much

research

Correct about cognitive development

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Some things we learned from Piaget

Infant are active in their own development

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Young humans think different than older humans

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The sequence of development seems to be correct

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ChallengesUnderestimated competencies

Focused on performance not competence

Domain growth rather than stages

Social influences left out

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Learning ObjectivesWhat is the main theme of Vygotsky’s

theory of cognitive development?How does social interaction

contribute to cognitive development according to Vygotsky’s theory?

In what ways are Vygotsky and Piaget similar and different in their ideas about cognition?

VygotskyEmphasized the Sociocultural Context

Culture effects how and what we think

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Society precedes the individual and provides the conditions that allow individual thinking to emerge

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)Gap.

Accomplishment with guidance

Where lessons should be aimed

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Knowledge is not fixed

No single test can reflect a person’s range of knowledge

Performance on assisted learning tasks predict future achievement

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Guided Participation Learning

Private Speech Guides Behavior (3&4 yr olds)

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