Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

Chapter 8: Cognitive Development: Piaget and Vygotsky

Terms in this set (64)

Cognition
The mental activity through which human beings acquire and process knowledge
1. Includes many mental processes; perception, attention, learning, memory, and reasoning
Constructivist Theory
Piaget's theory that child is scientist, active agent in development and has ability to learn through intrinsic motivation
Dialectical Theory
Piaget's theory that cognitive change results from evidence that refutes what child previously knew; thought patterns change when counter-evidence is presented
Cognitive structure
An organized group of interrelated memories, ideas, and strategies that the child uses in trying to understand a situation; this is what schemas become when they develop more complexity
Schema
An organized unit of knowledge that the child uses to try to understand the situation; it forms the basis for organizing actions to respond to the environment
Organization
Combining simple mental structures into more complex systems
Piaget's theory
This man's theory that is an interaction of nature and nurture; not a maturational theory; focuses on environmental stimulation, challenges, and reaching goals; discontinuous/stage-like; same sequence/order; qualitative change
Operations
schemas based on internal mental activities
Stages
Large-scale organizational changes
Adaptation
Adjusting one's thinking to fit with environmental demands; process through which schemes are altered as a result of experience; occurs through assimilation and accomodation
Assimilation
Applying an existing schema to a new experience
Accomodation
Modifying an existing schema to fit a new experience
Stages of development
In Piaget's theory, comprehensive, qualitative changes over time in the way a child thinks; each stage is qualitatively different; transitions happen through experience; earlier stages are foundations for later ones; all pass through in same order; do not reach stages at exact same ages because depends on experience; not everyone reaches formal operations stage even adults
Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operations, Formal Operations
Piaget's 4 Stages of development
Preoperational Stage
2-7 Years; Stage where primary advance is symbolic function (use of one item to stand for another); developments such as pretend play, language, and memory
Symbolic function
The ability to use symbols, such as images, words, and gestures, to represent objects and events in the world
Equilibration
Need to have concordance between existing schemes and reality; state of disequilibration motivates indivduals to search for solutions through assimilation or accomodation
Animalistic thinking
the attribution of life to inanimate objects
Egocentrism
The tendency to view the world from one's own perspective and to have difficulty seeing things from another's viewpoint
Centration
Focusing one's attention on only one dimension or characteristic of an object or situation; ex. focusing only on the height of the water in the glasses
semi logcial
Main limitation of preoperational thought is that child is ___ ___ as can be seen in ability to conserve the identity/quality of liquid but not the amount/quantity.
Conservation
The understanding that altering an object's or a substance's appearance does not change its basic attributes or properties
Semi logical reasoning explained
1. Inability to understand reversibility
2. Tendency to focus on end state of an action
3. Centration
Reversibility
The understanding that the steps of a procedure or operation can be reversed and that the original state of the object or event can be obtained
Ends over Means Focus
Consideration of only the end state of a problem in evaluating an event; failure to consider the means by which the end state was obtained; tends to overlook the process or transformation by which the change occurs; ex. ignoring the experimenter pouring the liquid into the other glass
Concrete Operations
Third stage in Piaget's theory; (7-12) - stage in which the child is able to reason logically about materials that are physically present; understand reversibility; able to attend to more than one dimension of a problem at a time; able to conserve quantity and classify/group things in a logical way; thinking is tied to concrete reality and can only solve problems if objects necessary for problem solving are physically present
1. Identity - none take away, none added
2. Compensation - changes cancel each other
3. Inversion - can reverse the process
Abstractly
Primary weakness in concrete operations is inability to think ___ or hypothetically.
Formal Operations
Fourth stage in Piaget's theory; (12 and up) - stage in which the child becomes capable of abstract thinking, can reason hypothetically, experiment via systematic reasoning, and ability to reason equally well as adults
Criticism of Piaget's Stage theory
He may have overestimated the child's verbal ability and if nonverbal versions of tests are used then more competence is shown
Object permanence
___ ___ has relevance for development of self-recognition and development of attachment
Social Cognition
Egocentrism and Perspective taking have implications for development of ___ ___.
Self
Central component in development of social cognition is differentiation of the ___ from the environment
Theory of Mind
Understanding of the mind and how it works; topics range from development of ability to distinguish appearance from reality; to understanding of dreams, beliefs, intentions, desires, and deception; also when and how child comes to think of self and other people as psychological beings
False Belief Task
Tell child a story then ask child what character in story thinks
Strengths of Piaget's theory
1. Really communicates what thinking is like, individuals can relate directly to his findings
2. Founded scientific study of cognitive development in infancy, uncovered richness of cognition
3. Determined that cognitive development is intrinsically motivated
4. Infants are not blank slates; they actively construct their knowledge based on what they notice and how they interpret it
Piaget
Father of Cognitive Development
Horizontal decalage
The term Piaget used to describe unevenness in children's thinking within a particular stage; for ex. in developing an understanding of conversation, children conserve difference substances at different ages; reflects differing degrees of abstraction required to understand the conservation of a particular substance (ex. conserving mass acquired earlier than conserving volume because it requires less abstract operations than volume)
Limitations of Piaget's theory
1. Some question the stage concept and favor a continuous view of development
2. Vague about vehicle for change; describes patterns of thinking but not thought processes or mechanisms
3. Recent research indicates that some abilities may develop earlier
4. Underestimated importance of social context
5. Cognitive development can be accelerated through training and active intervention
6. Talks more about importance of peers than adults
Sociocultural theory
Name for Vygotsky's view of cognitive development because it proposes that it is largely the result of children's interactions with more experienced members of their cultures (i.e. parents, teachers, older children); He believed child born with innate capabilities (i.e. attention, perception, and memory) but that input from child's social and cultural worlds in form of interactions with more experienced adults and peers, directs these basic capabilities toward more complex, higher order cognitive capabilities
Mediators
Psychological tools and signs (i.e. language, counting, mnemonic devices, algebraic symbols, art, and writing) that facilitate and direct thinking processes
Social interaction
According to Vygotsky, cognitive developments result from ___ ___.
Cultural
___ tools lead to advances in psychological functioning (i.e. language, internet, math, etc.)
Elementary Mental Functions
Psychological functions with which the child is endowed by nature, including attention, perception, and involuntary memory, that emerge spontaneously during children's interaction with the world
Higher Mental Functions
Psychological functions, such as voluntary attention, complex memory processes, and problem solving, that entail the coordination of several cognitive processes and the use of mediators
Zone of Proximal Distance
The region of sensitivity for learning characterized by the difference between the developmental level of which a child is capable when working alone and the level she is capable of reaching with the aid of a more skilled partners; when support for learning is targeted at the child's area, their level of competence in this area changes through social experience
task; negotiate; share
Adults can help child with more opportunities to learn about a ___, peers can help child learn how to ___ and ___ activities
Scaffolding
An instructional process in which the more knowledgeable partner adjusts the amount and type of support he offers to the child to fit with the child's learning needs over the course of the interaction; allows child to perform difficult tasks with assistance
Reciprocal Instruction
A tutoring approach based on the ideas of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding; helps children in reading comprehension by having learner collaborate with tutors who help children develop skills critical to comprehension, such as explication and elaboration
Community of Learners
An approach to classroom learning in which adults and children work together in shared activities, peers learn from each other, and the teacher serves as a guide; long-range class project; teacher has two roles--one as scaffolding agent for the students and the other as a participant in the learning process
Fifth Dimension
After-school computer-based program designed so that children could learn during collaborative activities that involve engaging and important cultural tools, such as computers, in a challenging but fun setting
Guided Participation
Learning that occurs as children participate in activities of their community and are guided in their participation by the actions of more experience partners in the setting
Intent Community Participation
Children's participation in the authentic activities of their community with the purpose of learning about the activity; one of the most prevalent forms of child's learning
Social processes that promote learning
Observational learning, social regulation of attention in infancy, deliberate efforts to transfer knowledge from more to less experienced partners, social coordination during joint cognitive activity, and cognitive socialization through conversations and joint narratives
Language
The most important psychological tool; necessary for forms of interaction; used to regulate behavior, form plans, etc; seemingly involved in thought patterns when not conscious of it
Vygotsky
For ___, thought and speech are independent in early development; around second year of life they begin to joining together when children start to use words to label objects; Within a year, speech assumes two forms: social/communicative speech and egocentric speech (private speech)
Egocentric Speech
According to Vygotsky, a form of self-directed dialogue by which the child instructs herself in solving problems and formulating plans; as the child matures, this becomes internalized as inner speech
Inner Speech
Internalized egocentric speech that guides intellectual functioning
Kamehameha Early Education Program
Uses Vygotsky's zone of proximal development as basis of theory for instruction; learner centered program; particularly concerned with how the cultural practices that Hawaiian children experience at home could be incorporated into the classroom
Talk story
An approach to literacy instruction in which the teacher and the children jointly produce narratives about the focus of the day's lessons; emphasizes social participation, story creation, and comprehension
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
Hypothesis that states that how language is formulated influences how people think
Language
___ influences cognition and vice versa.
Microgenetic change
Changes associated with learning that occur over the time of a specific learning experience or episode; as opposed to ontogentic (age-related) change
Evaluation of Vygotsky's theory
Created awareness of:
1. Importance of immediate social contexts
2. New ways to assess cognitive potential (with assistance)
3. Importance of cultural and ethnic traditions
4. Importance of role played by psychological tools
5. Emphasis on microgenetic change over time
6. Offers more possibilities for future research
7. Lots of application in education
Difference between Vygotsky and Piaget
Vygotsky believes in importance of social context and focuses on adults.
Piaget does not consider social context and focuses on peers.
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...