Cognitive Development Theory

Sensorimotor Motor Stage6 Substages1. Simple Reflexes-basic means of coordinating sensation and action is through reflexive behaviors such as rooting and sucking.First Habits and Primary Circular Reactions

2. First Habits and Primary Circular Reactions- 1 to 4 months

Habit – is a scheme based on a simple reflex such as sucking.Primary Circular Reactions – is a scheme based on the infants attempt to reproduce an interesting or a pleasurable event that initially occurred by chance.

3. Secondary Circular Reactions- 4 to 8 months- the infant becomes more object-oriented or focused

on the world, moving beyond preoccupation with the self in sensorimotor interactions.

-infants imitate simple actions of others

4. Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions- 8 to 12 months- infants combine and recombine previously learned

schemes in a coordinated wayIntentionality - the separation of means and goals in accomplishing simple feats.

5. Tertiary Circular Reactions, Novelty and Curiosity- 12 to 18 months- infants become intrigued by the variety of properties

that objects possess and by the many things they can make happen to objects

- are schemes in which the infant purposely explores new possibilities with objects, continually changing what is done to them and exploring the results

- starting point of human curiosity and interest in novelty.

6. Internalization of Schemes- 18 to 24 months- infant’s mental functioning shifts from a purely

sensorimotor plane to a symbolic plane- infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols.

Symbol – is an internalized sensory image or word that represents an event

Object Permanence - infant’ most important accomplishment in the

sensorimotor stage- is the understanding that objects and events continue

to exist, even when they cannot directly be seen, heard or touched.

Conditioning- if an infant behavior is followed by a rewarding

stimulus, the behavior is likely to recur.Habituation -repeated presentation of the same stimulus, which

causes reduced attention to the stimulusDishabituation - is an increase in responsiveness after a change in

stimulation

Deferred Imitation- imitation which occurs after a time delay of hours

or days- does not occur until infants are 18 months of age.

Memory- a central feature of cognitive development,

pertaining to all situations in which an individual retains information over time

Implicit memory – retention of a perceptual motor variety that is involve in conditioning tasks

Explicit memory – the ability to consciously recall the past

Infantile Amnesia – adults cannot remember anything from the first three years of their life.

Language – is a form of communication based on a system of symbols. In humans, is characterized by infinite generativity and rule systems.

Infinite Generativity- is the ability to produce an endless

number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules.

- this quality makes language a highly creative enterprise

Language Milestone

Age MilestoneBirth Crying1 to 3 months Cooing begins6 months Babbling begins8 to `12 months Use gestures, such as showing and

pointing, comprehension of words appear

13 months First word spoken18 months Vocabulary spurt starts18 to 24 months Uses two -word utterances

Rapid expansion of understanding of words

Phonology -is the language sound system= provide a basis for constructing a large and

expandable set of words/sp/ /ch/ /ba/

Vocabulary spurt – is a label that has been given to the rapid increase in an infant’s vocabulary

18 months – can speak 50 words2 –year old – can speak about 200 words

Telegraphic Speech

- is the use of short and precise words to communicate, young children’s two to three- word utterances are characteristically telegraphic.

Language Production- refers to the words and sentences that children use.

Language Comprehension- refers to the language children

understandIn infancy – receptive vocabulary (words

the child can understand) exceeds spoken vocabulary (words the child uses)

Noam Chomsky- believes that humans are biologically

prewired to learn a language in a certain time and in a certain way.

- children are born into this world with LADLanguage Acquisition Device (LAD) – a

biological endowment that enables the child to detect certain language categories, such as phonology, syntax, and semantics.

Infant-directed Speech- speech often used by parents (parentese) and other

adults when they talk to babies.- it has a higher than normal pitch and involves the use

of simple words and sentences

Other strategies:1. Recasting – is rephrasing something the child has

said in different way perhaps turning it into a questionEx. The dog was barking. When was the dog barking?

2. Echoing – is repeating what a child says, especially if it is an incomplete sentence

3. Expanding – is restating in a linguistically sophisticated form what a child has said.

4. Labeling – is identifying the names of objects.

Goodness of fit – refers to the match between the child’s temperament and the environmental demands the child must cope up with.

Attachment – is a close emotional bond between an infant and a caregiver

Secure attachment – the infant uses caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment

3 Types of insecurely attached infants1. insecure avoidant babies – babies that

show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver2. insecure resistant babies – babies that often

cling to the caregiver, then resist her by fighting against the closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing away

3. insecure disorganized babies – babies that show insecurity by being disorganized and disoriented

end