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Cognitive Developm
entIB Psychology
Daphnee Pita, Rikki Ignacio, Gerlene Ragsac, Elizabeth Wells,
and Pomai Nakoa
Assess the extent to which biological, cognitive, and
sociocultural factors influence human development
Pomai
Purpose To better understand how the three levels of analysis affect human development
The biological level of analysis
Argues that there are physiological origins of many behaviors, and that human beings should be studied as biological systems.
Development of a person’s brain is understood through the biological level of analysis.
Brain Development • As newborns we
show certain characteristics that are universal in all human beings–E.g. sucking,
grasping, and basic visual and auditory abilities (seem prepared for social interaction with others)
Brain Development• Brain of a newborn has more than a trillion nerve cells that
communicate across many trillions of synapses– Supported by a trillion glial cells
• Account for 90% of the cells in the human brain• Central Nervous system continues to grow
– In both size and complexity (after birth)• Synaptic growth is most significant in the first year of life
– Growth of the gap between two neurons, over which impulses lead to learning
– Brain Activity increases with synaptic growth– Continues on during childhood and into late adolescence
• Neural connections can be formed over an entire life span because human brains are equipped for lifelong learning
• Ability to change and develop in response to the environment = neuroplasticity
Brain DevelopmentAge 6-9 months: frontal lobes and
prefrontal areas of the cortex begin to function more fully (due to development of the brain during adolescence, myelinization)
Growth in hippocampus and cerebellum, also
Control center for body movements
Psychologists believe this to be the reason they now have more complex motor behavior and an increased ability to learn
Middle Childhood: frontal lobe growth persists
Hypothesis: The pattern of brain changes taking place between 5 and 7 years of age enables the frontal lobes to coordinate the activities of other brain centers (Case 1991)
More complex behaviors become possible
The Cognitive Level of Analysis• Human beings are information
processors and mental processes guide behavior
• “Cognitive development is dependent on how the individual child interacts with the social and physical world”
-John Piaget– Suggested that children use strategies
in thinking and problem solving that reflect dif. stages of cognitive development• Kept a baby diary for each of his four
children (clinical interview journal)
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
“Knowledge consists of cognitive structures- schemas-which are mental representations of how
to deal with the world” The child’s first experiences are based on a
limited innate repertoire of schemas. Sucking, reaching, and grasping Modified as a result of experience
- Piaget called this adaptation
2 forms: Assimilation & Accommodation
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
• Assimilation: new information can be integrated into existing cognitive schemas
Red triangle
*Fits because it is still a triangle
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
• Accommodation: existing cognitive schemas have to be altered because they no longer match new experiences.
Starting set of schemas
Star = new experience
Altered cognitive schemas*results in change and new knowledge
The Sociocultural
Level of Analysis
• How the presence and behavior of one or a few people affect the behavior and attitudes of another individual
• Russian psychologist Vygotsky argued that it’s not possible to describe the process by which children acquire knowledge without taking into account the child’s social environment or culture– Culture provides knowledge and teaches
children what to think and how to think
Sociocultural theory• Concept of zone of proximal development
– Refers to the difference between what a child can do on his/her own and what he/she can accomplish with help
– Child can increase in competence if he or she receives assistance to perform a task that’s slightly beyond his/her current ability (scaffolding) • Successful scaffolding can change
the child’s level of performance on a particular task.
• Example: Children growing up in very poor families, with low social status, experience levels of stress that may impair brain development.
Psychological Studies Relevant to
Developmental Psychology
Elizabeth Wells
• Observations or Interviews
• Laboratory Experiments• Naturalistic Studies or
Case Studies • Longitudinal
Studies• Cross-Sectional
Studies
Methodologies
Used in developmental psychology to measure change over time
Longitudinal Studies
Strengths
• Provide rich data about kinds of experiences can influence development
• No participant variables
Limitations
• Time consuming• Participants may
decide to leave the study early, making it difficult to generalize from the study
Cross-Sectional StudiesUsed in developmental psychology to test the change of a variable in different age
groups
Strengths
• Less time consuming
• Fewer participants are lost during the process
Limitations
• Uses different participants at different age groups
• Cannot be certain the difference in the variable is solely due to age change
• Used a PET scan to find that newborns have little activity in their cerebral cortex (where higher level functioning takes place)
• Higher activity in the brain stem• Glucose levels steadily increased in the
hippocampus with age
• Strengths: effective in developing evidence about brain activity over time, cannot deny PET scan data, replicable
• Limitation: did not observe the participants after childhood
Chugani’s Study (1999)
• Lesioned a baby monkey’s brain in the limbic system, amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate cortex
• It lost ability for social behavior and had many of the same traits as a human with autism
• Helped psychologists understand biological factors that influence development
• No longer allowed because unethical
Bachivalier’s Study (1999)
• Longitudinal study, using MRI scans on normal children
• Found that 95% of the brain is formed at age 5 or 6, and there is a “growth spurt” of synapses in the prefrontal region before puberty
• Strengths: shows that different parts of the brain develop at different times, replicable
• Limitation: does not connect certain behaviors and brain development
Giedd’s Research (2004)
• Open-ended, conversational attempt to understand the child’s judgments and explanations. He studied his 4 children
• Must be trained for a year to be an interviewer
• Detailed notes and “baby dairies” are the product
Piaget’s Interviews
Strengths
• Longitudinal study of more than one participant
• Thorough interviews• Constantly able to
observe participants• Replicable
Limitations
• Interviewed his own children, may be bias
• Disregarded sociocultural factors
• Only used 4 participants
Piaget Study Continued
Strengths
• Conducted on many (486) children
• Replicable• Draws a connection
between cognitive development and age
• Considered sociocultural factors
Limitations
• Only conducted on Chinese students, may not be able to generalize
Li’s Conservation Task Study (1999)
Cognitive Development Evaluate theories of
cognitive development
Gerlene Ragsac
Key Aspect of Vigotsky’s Theory
• Zone of Proximal-Development: Difference in how a child works – alone or with help.
• Scaffolding: increasing own abilities by getting help from someone else, for a large task.
• Cooperative Learning, rather than child-centred learning.
Piaget’s
Theory • Children and adults
think differently – but how?
• Constructionist Approach– Environment changed
people– Interaction with
social/physical aspects affect cognition
• Kids work with objects hands-on or mentally
• Strategies used by children show ‘stages’ in their development
Piaget’s Methods• Case studies: 4 own
children – baby diaries with observations and conversations
• Clinical Interview: Minimum amount of influence by the questioner– Allows the child to answer
with their own perspective of what happens and how/why
– Training lasted for a year before starting
Piaget’s Beliefs• Schemas are the things that
change• Children begin with an
assortment of natural schemas• Adaptation: Existing schemas
that change due to experience –Sucking, reaching, grasping, etc.
Assimilation
New information is mixed with old
schemas
A boy learns that cars come in various sizes, shapes, etc.
Accommodation
Old schemas must be changed, new
schemas are made
Sees a tractor, which isn’t a car –
car schema excludes tractor and makes a new tractor
schema
Two Types of Adaptation
Sensorimeter: 0-2 Years
• Babies have to use their natural born instincts
• Movements & sensations help the baby learn– 5 senses play a role in this
method of learning – Able to discern different objects
• No control at first – specific movements open up opportunities to gain knowledge
• Object Permanence: ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ – Ignorance Curiosity Acceptance
Three-Mountain Task: Piaget & Inhelder
(1956)• 3 Mountains are set up: A large one with 2 smaller ones
• The child is placed at any angle, and a doll is placed in various positions
• Child is asked to choose a picture of many that shows that the doll would see
• Results: Child typically chose the images that showed their perspective
Criticisms of Three-Mountain Task• Donaldson (1984) – Task
wasn’t an ordinary task that most children do on a daily basis
• Hughes (1975) – Used a doll and policeman– Perpendicular pieces of wood
were placed– Child questioned on if the
policeman could see the doll; given the task to hide the doll
• Results: The task was interesting & meaningful
Pre-operational Stage: 2-7
Years
• Speaking abilities – but can only focus on one topic/aspect/situation at each time
• Egocentrism: Own perspective only – ‘cognitive limitation’ due to inability of understanding other viewpoints
Conservation – Limitation 2
• Physical properties remain constant even if the appearance changes • Children are concerned about
seeing the action, rather than analyzing it–Water poured into different sized
glasses
• 486 Chinese primary schools used• Percentage of right replies
improved with age.• Better school image did
well, compared to less privileged schools.–Education affects cognitive
development as well.
LIQUID CONSERVATION TASK: LI ET AL. (1999)
Concrete Operational Stage:
7-12 Years• Rules of logic begin to apply in problem solving – usually in non-abstract questions• Visuals may be needed to aid the child
Formal Operational Stage: 12+
years• Abstract logic can be used – manipulate various concepts and grasp unusual ideas.• Education plays a key role
on when a person reaches this ‘stage .’
Key Concepts of Piaget’s Theory• Child-Centred Learning:
When a child learns things mainly on their own.
• Children seek knowledge and are adventurous individuals, rather than ‘passive’
• Basis for new ways of research methods.
Criticisms of Piaget’sTheory
• The use of his own children– There were only 4 of them, which makes it hard
to generalize findings to larger populations• Some traits in children are found in earlier
ages than those Piaget predicted• Social learning wasn’t treated as important– Self-discovery was all that ‘mattered’– Social/Cultural context was disregarded
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural
Approach• Understanding a child’s pursuit of knowledge includes considering cultural/social aspects
• Human interaction + cultural tools– Actual tools, or observed social
norms – aids in understanding what to think, and how
– Imitation, instructions, or collaboration
– Language: precious tool to pass information
Key Aspect of Vigotsky’s
Theory• Zone of Proximal-Development: Difference in how a child works – alone or with help
• Scaffolding: increasing own abilities by getting help from someone else, for a large task
• Cooperative Learning, rather than child-centred learning
Developmental Psychology: Cognitive Development
Discuss how social and environmental variables may affect cognitive development.
Rikki Ignacio
Variables I will discuss
PovertyDietEducational Environment
Educational Environment/Poverty
• Poor nutrition, poverty-related health problems, home environment, parenting practices, and living in poor neighborhoods with high levels of crime and unemployment are all factors that may impact cognitive development in children and influence the possibility of education.
• Wertheimer (2003) found that children from poor families were less likely to be identified as academically gifted, more likely to repeat a year in school, less likely to participate in extracurricular activities, and more likely to suffer from learning disabilities and developmental delays when compared to children who are not living in poverty.
Poverty• Cognitive researchers found that poverty is one of the
major risk factors in children’s cognitive development• An economist named Paul Krugman (2008)
commented on the findings from neuroscientists.• Children growing up in very poor families with a low
social status experience levels of stress hormones that may impair brain development and cognitive function
• Also, in 2006 17.4% of children in the US live below the poverty line
• Krugman argued that children born to the poorest parents have an almost 50% risk of remaining in that position (particularly true for children from ethnic minorities)
Educational Environment/Poverty
• Referring to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 1/3 of children from low-income communities who enter kindergarten are behind their peers; in their 4th year of elementary school 50% of these children do not meet the reading proficiency.
• Generally children who suffer rom poverty have a worse academic performance than that of children who are not impoverished; they are less likely to enter university; and more likely to become teen parents and to be unemployed.
Pungello et. Al (2006)
• Described the benefits of the longitudinal Abecedarian Project
• Between 1972 and 1977, the program enrolled 111 infants; around ½ of the children were chosen at random to participate in early educational intervention, and the rest represent a control group
• This program was offered to children from poor families; the children received all-day center based care throughout the year before entering Kindergarten
• The children are still being followed today
Pungello et. Al (2008)• The program consisted of
educational games focused on developing cognitive and linguistic skills
• Each child was offered adult to child intervention (e.g. talking with the child and showing them pictures or toys)
• The results showed that the program had beneficial effects in terms of cognitive development and many other areas
Nourishment/Diet• The effects of undernourishment can
begin even before a child is born– Pregnant women who are undernourished
are likely to give birth to underweight babies who are especially at risk for impaired brain development
• Research in the US shows that poor children are more likely to experience stunted growth and problems with cognitive development than more privileged children
Diet• Inadequate food intake limits children’s ability
to learn• Children who are chronically undernourished
become less active and show less interest in their social environment and exhibit less emotional expression
• If children are given appropriate food and stimulation, it can modify cognitive impairment caused by earlier malnutrition
• According to Ernesto Pollit (Professor of pediatrics at the University of California) nutrition and prenatal care for pregnant women, school breakfast programs, and special food supplement programs fro women and children have positive effects on the cognitive development of children
Gray, not Black and
White• According to researchers the exact link between socio-economic background and individual development is not fully understood.
• There is a cumulative effect of positive or negative factors related to socio-economic factors.
• Individuals from more privileged homes have greater education opportunities because of increased access to financial resources (e.g. paying for higher education) more role models, and greater parental expectation than children from less privileged backgrounds.
• Early adverse experiences do not necessarily determine the life path of an individual
• Werner and Smith (1992) carried out a longitudinal study of high-risk children and found that 1/3 adjusted well to adult life
• Real life connection: Liz Murray (Homeless to Harvard)
Evaluating theories of the cognitive development
• Piaget’s theory incorporated 4 different stages for when individuals reach a new stage of knowledge– His findings were based on his own children and a distinct method,
clinical interview• Criticisms do exist for Piaget’s theory
– There may be a bias towards various aspects– He only focused on his children – a small sample which cannot be
generalized • Adaptation can either be assimilation or accommodation
– Assimilation: New information is added to old schemas– Accommodation: Schemas have to be changed, and some new ones
are made• Vigotsky believes that cultural and social aspects affect a
child’s ability to learn– A child can either learn alone or with help, preferably with help in
certain tasks – Unlike Piaget, he believes that it’s more of a cooperative learning
• Studies in developmental psychology vary, but the most commonly used are longitudinal and cross-sectional.
• Common limitations: often overlook sociocultural factors
• Common strength: typically replicable• It’s important that the study connects
cognitive development with age, so that developmental psychology can be better understood.
Psychological Studies Relevant toDevelopmental Psychology
Discuss how social and environmental variables may affect cognitive development.
• Some social and environmental factors that were discussed that may affect cognitive development are poverty, diet, and educational environment.
• Poverty is one of the major risk factors that can affect cognitive development because of the levels of stress and lack of financial support which impairs one's abilities to reach their full cognitive potential.
• The factor of educational environment is closely tied to poverty because generally, children from poverty have worse academic performance in comparison to children who are not impoverished.
• Diet can affect a person's cognitive development because malnourishment can cause stunted growth and less interest in interaction with social environment which limits a person's ability to learn.
• Since it has been shown through longitudinal studies, not all people who were born into poverty or into an unstimulating environment have difficulty adjusting to adulthood; there are a sufficient amount successful cases as well.
