DDL Exam 2 Study Guide Nineth Ed.

7/30/2019 DDL Exam 2 Study Guide Nineth Ed.

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PSY 324 Childhood and Adolescence Exam 2 Study Guide 9th ed. 1

Chapter 6 Cognitive Development:

Piagetian and Vygotskian Perspectives

Introduction to Chapter 6

This chapter covers two theories of cognitive development that were introduced in

Chapter 1. You do not need to review the material covering cognitive development

during infancy. Except for the concept of mental representation, sensorimotor cognitionis not covered in this course. Cognitive development during early childhood would not

be covered except that the preoperational thinking typical of preschoolers occurs

frequently in older children and adolescents.

There are many useful examples and discussions of the concepts in this chapter. Reading

the examples and discussions in addition to studying the material on the specific pages

listed for each concept will help you understand each concept much better. This material

will also help you understand how childrens thinking processes operate in everydaysituations.

There are many terms in both Piaget's theory and in Vygotsky's theory that are not part of

everyday vocabulary. If it looks like too many foreign-sounding terms, maybe it will

help to think of this as something like learning a foreign language. Because this is thesecond or third course in which you have studied these terms and concepts, I will be

asking you to think about how they relate to each other and what they tell us about how to

understand and communicate with children.

Theoretical Concepts in Piaget's Theory

1. Definescheme. (p. 226)

The textbook defines schemes as psychological structures and explains that they

are initially in the form of structured physical actions, such as grasping an object.

Later, schemes develop that are mental structures, such as images and concepts.

2. Define mental representation. How does mental representation relate to schemes? (p.

227)

Note that mental representation develops in the last substage of the sensorimotor

stage. It is the cognitive achievement that marks the transition to preoperational

thought. (Table 6.1)

3. Define adaptation in terms of assimilation and accommodation. (p. 227)

Note that adaptation is designed to result in a more effective interaction between

the organism and its environment. One way we can become more effective is tochange our ideas (accommodate to the environment, p. 227). The other option is

to change the environment (assimilation, p. 227). Everything you do that leads to

a better relationship between you and your environment, whether it involveschanging yourself or changing your environment, is adaptive.

4. Define assimilation. (p. 227)


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5. Define accommodation. (p. 227)

6. Define operations. (pp. 243-245)

Note how the limitations of preoperational thought, including centration and

irreversibility, are related to the lack of operational (logical) schemes.

7. Define egocentrism. (p. 244 and Figure 6.8)

Note that egocentrism as defined in cognitive-developmental theories is differentthan egotism. An egocentric person is unaware that other people have different

viewpoints or feelings. An egotistical person is aware that other people have

different viewpoints or feelings, but thinks theyre wrong. This is important tokeep in mind when studying egocentrism in cognitive development. When a

childs thinking is described as egocentric, there is no implication that the child is

choosing his or her viewpoint over the views of others.

Concrete Operational Thought

8. Define conservation. (p. 244)

Conservation depends on the ability to understand quantity as a higher order

concept comprised of two sub-concepts. Look at the example of conservation of

number in Figure 6.9. Notice that length of a row of pennies depends on twothings: the number of pennies and the density of their placement. In the

conservation of liquid example, notice that volume is determined by height and

width. The ability to organize concepts into hierarchies is a major characteristicof operational thought.

9. Define centration. (p. 245) If you had a birthday party for a child with friends, balloons, presents, cake, ice

creamthe whole enchiladaand the child was upset because the cake didn't

have enough frosting, can you see centration as one part of this situation?

10. Define reversibility. (p. 245)

An example of reversible operations in mathematics is addition. After adding two

quantities, you can apply the reverse operation (subtraction) to get back to yourstarting point.

11. Describe what is meant by "lack of hierarchical classification." (p. 245)

12. Explain how the lack of hierarchical classification leads to failure in class inclusion

problems. (p. 245 and Figure 6.10)

13. Explain what is meant by concrete operationalthought. (p.249)

In effect, concrete operations are logical mental operations (p. 243) that can only

be applied to actual "concrete" objects or events, as opposed to hypothetical orabstract ideas.


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14. Note the role of decentration in conservation. (p. 249)

Formal Operational Thought

15. How does formal operational thought differ from concrete operational thought?

(p. 253) When operational thought is freed from its dependency on concrete things that are

physically present, new formal operational skills become possible. For example,

applying operations to abstract concepts results in hypothetico-deductivereasoning and propositional thought.

16. Describe hypothetico-deductive reasoning. (pp. 253-254)

17. Describe what is meant by two cognitive distortions related to the onset of formal

operational thought: (1) imaginary audience and (2) personal fable. (p.255)

18. Note that Berk refers to advances in perspective taking as contributing toadolescents imaginary audience and personal fable beliefs. (p. 256)

What Berk is referring to is the achievement ofrecursive thought(also known asself-reflective perspective taking), which includes the ability to step into another

persons shoes and look back at the self. When we focus our attention on

ourselves from the perspective of other people, it is easy to jump to the conclusionthat other people are also focusing their attention on us. As an example, think

about how you feel in an embarrassing situation. (Recursive thoughtis defined

and discussed on page 453.)

Applications of Piaget's Theory to Education

19. Explain how the concept ofdiscovery learningfits with Piaget's concept ofadaptation as the fundamental process of development. (p. 259)

20. Explain how the concept ofreadiness relates to Piaget's theory. (p. 259)

21. Explain how Piaget's theory supports the need for teachers to accommodate

individual differences between children. (p. 259)

Theoretical Concepts in Vygotsky's Theory

22. A fundamental idea Vygotsky emphasized that was not emphasized by Piaget is therole of social interaction in cognitive development. (p. 266)

23. Define thezone of proximal development. (p. 267)

Applications of Vygotsky's Theory to Education

24. How does Vygotsky's idea of the zone of proximal development support the

educational strategies called (1) assisted discovery and (2) peer collaboration? (p. 269)


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25. Describe reciprocal teachingand explain why it makes sense from Vygotsky's

perspective. (p. 271)

26. Describe cooperative learningand explain why it makes sense from Vygotsky's

perspective. (p.271)

27. How do collectivistic and individualistic cultural values relate to cooperative

learning? (p. 271)

Chapter 7 - Cognitive Development:

An Information Processing Perspective


The information processing perspective on cognitive development describes and explainshow information is acquired, retained, and used. Information is acquired through the

sensory register, attentional strategies, and perceptual strategies. Information is retainedthrough short-term and long-term memory. Information is used by retrieving it from long

term memory and using it in problem-solving, decision-making, and in reconstructing

memories of prior events.

A full developmental model of cognitive development can be created by combining

Piagets theory with the information processing approach. Piagets qualitative stages inthe structure of knowledge add a developmental component to long-term memory. As

you study long-term memory, you will learn that it is the repository of all our

accumulated knowledge. Piaget explained that our knowledge changes in structure as wemature. Initially, all our knowledge is in the form of associations between sensations and

motor movements. In early childhood, we store much information in the form of simple

symbols or images. In middle childhood, we begin to store information in hierarchies of

concepts.

As I selected the most important material from this chapter, my goal was to avoid

overwhelming you with details about developmental changes in individual parts of theinformation processing system. To the extent possible, I would like you to learn

developmental principles and patterns that are characteristic of the whole information

processing system.

Information Processing Theories

Theories or models? Did you notice that Berk uses the term "model" when

discussing information processing? I chose to use the term "theory." What's the

difference between a model and a theory and why would anyone care? First, thedifference is models are more limited than theories. Atkinson and Shiffrin's

"model" doesn't attempt to explain the whole range of human behavior. It has

nothing at all to say about emotions, for example. On the other hand, Piaget's


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theory doesn't explain emotions either, but it is called a theory. So, guess what?

You can use the terms interchangeably until you run into someone who cares to

make a distinction between them.

1. List the components of Atkinson and Shiffrin's store model of the information

processing system. (pp. 278-280 and Figure 7.1)

2. Describe the functions of the sensory register, short-term memory (working memory),

and long-term memory. (pp. 278-280 and Figure 7.1)

3. Note the 3 key developmental improvements in cognitive processing. (pp. 280-282)

increased capacity of working memory

increased speed of processing

increased executive function (e.g., attention, strategy use, self-regulation)

4. In Case's theory, what process leads to automatization of schemes (mental strategies

and concepts)? (p. 283)

5. What are the consequences of automatization in terms of information processing? (p.283)

Explaining the consequences of automatization is Case's most valuable addition to

Piaget's theory. On a practical level, this explanation makes clear the role ofdrillor rote practice, or what some psychologists might call overlearning.

As noted on p. 283, this process has also been shown to apply to a wide range of

cognitive tasks, including problem solving, understanding stories, reading music,handling money, and interpreting social situations.

Attention

6. Berk describesselectivity of attention in terms of tasks requiring that attention be

focused on central elements of the task while ignoring irrelevant elements. She goes on

to point out that selective attention improves dramatically between ages 6 and 10.

One implication of this is that the typical, normal child's ability to focus on

relevant stimuli and ignore irrelevant stimuli is not strong until about age 10 or

older. (p. 287 and Figure 7.4)

7. Define cognitive inhibition. Note that cognitive inhibition is a key component of

selective attention. Similar to selective attention, there are large gains in the ability to

inhibit thoughts during the early elementary years, roughly ages 6-10. (p. 287)

8. After studying selective attention and cognitive inhibition, you won't be surprised to

learn that children need support in developing and using attentional strategies.

Read the sections entitledAttentional Strategies andPlanningand think of several

ways you could help a child with tasks that require an attentional strategy. (pp.288-291)


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19. What does metacognition refer to? (pp. 303-304) Note examples of the kinds of

metacognitive knowledge that develop during early childhood.

Knowing that doing well on a task requires paying attention.

Knowing that if you remember or know something, you are more certain

about your knowledge than if you are guessing.

Knowing that if you understand something it is more likely that you will be ableto remember it.

Knowledge about information processing strategies.

20. What is cognitive self-regulation? (pp. 304-305) A great deal of improvement in

cognitive self-regulation should occur in late childhood (3 rd 5th grades).

By the time they reach junior high/middle school, children should demonstratecognitive self-regulation in their schoolwork. For example, they should

spontaneously monitor and evaluate their skills, effort and progress when working

on academic tasks.

Parents and teachers can support the development of cognitive self-regulation by

suggesting effective information-processing strategies (e. g., memory andproblem-solving strategies) and by emphasizing the importance of self-monitoring

and self-correction.

Chapter 8 - Intelligence


IQ is both misunderstood and overrated. IQ assessment has an important function, but it

only makes sense as part of a thorough assessment of a child's strengths and weaknesses

and of the environments the child lives in conducted by a professional psychologist. Asan isolated test score, IQ is virtually meaningless and potentially dangerous. Too often,

an IQ score becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once a child's score becomes known,

parents, teachers, and peers may treat the child differently.

Why do we have false beliefs about IQ tests? Partly, we are misled by the success of IQ

tests in predicting school achievement for groups of children and for children at the

extremes of the IQ distribution. Within the normal 90% of children, an IQ score is not agood predictor of school achievement, talents, creativity, psychological adjustment, or

anything else (except their score on another IQ test). For intellectually gifted or impaired

children, IQ scores simply quantify the obvious unless they are just one part of a

comprehensive diagnostic evaluation.

Motivation, interests, talents, and other personal qualities such as self-control andcooperativeness, are vastly more important factors in school success than is IQ. When

one takes into account the influence of environmental factors (such as stress, teaching

styles, parenting styles, peer conflict) on school performance, the importance of IQ alone

is reduced even further.


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Another reason we have false beliefs about IQ scores is their relationship to occupational

success and psychological adjustment. Again, these relationships hold for groups of

people, but not for individuals. As with academic achievement, occupational success andpsychological adjustment are based on many personal qualities and environmental factors

that are far more influential than IQ.

Because IQ tests have an important role in professional assessments and because they are

so widely misunderstood, misinterpreted and misused, it is important to learn something

about them.

Theories of Intelligence

1. What was the reason Binet was asked to develop his IQ test? (p. 320)

This is important because many of the misconceptions about IQ tests are based on

failure to understand what IQ tests are designed to do. (See IQ Test

Controversies below.)

Typical tasks on children's IQ tests include: General information questions,Similarities (explaining how two different things could be alike),Arithmetic,

Vocabulary,Digit Span (repeating a dictated series of digits),Identifying missingparts of pictures, Sequencing cartoon pictures to make sensible stories,

Assembling puzzles. Sample items are shown in Figure 8.3 (p. 328).

2. What is the gist of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences? List and give a brief

description of each type of intelligence. (p. 325 and Table 8.1)

The most valuable contribution of Gardner's theory is that it puts many types oftalents on an equal footing with IQ. Children who are particularly skilled in their

relationships with others or who have musical or athletic talents can be viewed as

having skills that are just as important and just as legitimate as IQ. Any of the 8 intelligences can serve as a foundation upon which academic

achievement can be built.

3. Read theEmotional Intelligence section. What is the definition ofemotionalintelligence? (p. 327)

Note that testing instruments are still evolving as researchers are looking for a

scientifically useful way of defining emotional intelligence and its relationship togeneral intelligence.

IQ as a Predictor

4. How well do preschool IQ scores predict later IQ scores? (p. 331)

This is the concept ofcorrelational stability of IQ scores, the degree to which a

child's IQ score predicts the same child's score at an older age.

5. How stable are IQ scores during childhood? (p. 331)

This is the concept of how much variation normally occurs among a child's actual

IQ scores when the test is taken at various ages. Differences of 20 points are

common.


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6. Note that the average correlation between IQ scores and academic achievement is

about .50. (p. 331)

A correlation of .50 means that IQ scores can account for about 25% of the

differences between children in academic achievement.

It also means that 75% of the differences between children in academicachievement are due to things other than intelligence.

7. Why are IQ tests good predictors of school achievement? (p. 332)

8. Which is a better predictor of occupational success, educational achievement or IQ?

(p. 332)

9. What conclusion does the textbook reach regarding the relationship between IQ and

psychological (emotional and social) adjustment? (p.333)

Genetic and Environmental Factors

10. ReadRace and Ethnicity: Genetic or Cultural Groupings. Why is it incorrect toassume that differences between racial or ethnic groups in psychological traits, such as

IQ, are caused by genetic differences? (p. 339)

11. Note the features of a high-quality home life in middle childhood as indicated by the

HOME subscales. (Applying What We Know, p. 344)

12. Note the importance of the home environment in intellectual development, including(1) an organized, stimulating environment, (2) parental encouragement, involvement,

and affection, and (3) parents beliefs about educational achievement. (pp. 344-345)

Creativity

13. Berk describes creativity as one aspect of giftedness. Contemporary definitions ofgiftedness are broader than the concept of high intelligence and include the whole range

of children's talents (music, graphic arts, dramatic arts, for example). Because the

concept of creativity has been around for much longer, we know more about creativitythan other aspects of children's giftedness. Define creativity. (p. 350)

14. How is divergent thinking involved in creativity? (p. 350)

See the example of divergent thinking in Figure 8.15. Notice that convergentthinking (the opposite of divergent thinking) is given much greater emphasis at all

levels of education.

15. List and describe the four types of resources needed for creativity according to the

Investment Theory of creativity. (p. 352)

Notice that one of the crucial resources is the child's environment. Under normalcircumstances, the development of gifts or talents requires a supportive


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environment that nurtures the child's abilities. (Characteristics of that type of

environment are listed in theApplying What We Know box on p. 355.)

16. Note that traditional educational methods focusing on knowledge acquisition (getting

the right answer) discourage the development of creativity. (p. 354)

IQ Test Controversies

IQ tests have been the subject of great controversy for many reasons. Among them is thesimple fact that we often forget what IQ tests are designed to do. They are designed to

predict success in a Western-European version of school. They aren't designed to be fair.

They aren't designed to explain why some people succeed and some don't. Strangely

enough, they measure only a few of the many skills we think of as intellectual. If youspend some time thinking about this, you should be able to see that many of the issues

about IQ tests wouldn't be controversial if we kept in mind what IQ tests are designed to

do.

I chose not to ask you to study the material on ethnic and socioeconomic variations in IQ,

including the opinions of Arthur Jensen, Richard Herrnstein, and Charles Murray. Mostof the debate about genetic differences in intelligence between races is nonsense, because

it is based on the false assumption that there are significant genetic differences between

races. As difficult as it is for most people to believe, the genetic differences betweenracial and ethnic groups are insignificant.

I also chose not to ask you to study the material on heritability. The theoretical and

psychometric issues in heritability research are too advanced for an undergraduate course.The concepts are beyond the level of expertise of many psychology professors whose

training in behavior genetics, psychometrics, and statistics isn't sufficient to fully

understand the complexities of this highly specialized area of research.

A third issue related to IQ testing that has been widely misunderstood is test bias.

Members of racial minorities and lower socioeconomic groups may perform less well onIQ tests for reasons unrelated to their intelligence. As with other issues related to IQ

testing, the theoretical and psychometric concepts involved are beyond the level of this

course. In all these issues, a little bit of knowledge combined with negative stereotypes

leads to wrong-headed and destructive conclusions.

Chapter 9 Language Development


Most of the basics of language are acquired before middle childhood. Consequently,only a few topics in the chapter are directly relevant to the age range we cover in this

course. One major area of language development in which there are major achievements

during late childhood is conversational skills (pragmatics). An aspect of language thathas important psychological consequences during childhood and beyond is bilingualism.


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Negative attitudes and stereotypes associated with bilingualism in the past have been

replaced by scientific evidence showing the benefits of growing up bilingual.

Linguistic Terms

1. Definesemantics. (p. 360)

2. Definepragmatics. (p. 360)

Note the many types of skills and knowledge that children need in order to carryon conversations.

Later in the chapter, you'll read about a subset of these skills, called referential

communication skills.

Language Development

3. Note that adult-child conversation is very important in fostering language

development during early childhood. (p. 391) The textbook doesn't give the whole story. These adult-child conversations

during infancy and early childhood are related to all kinds of competencies duringlater childhood and adolescence, including school achievement, intelligence,

social skills, peer relationships, parent-child relationships, teacher-child

relationships, and psychological adjustment.

Passive forms of stimulation (e.g., watching TV or listening to stories on tape)

lack a crucial component: active interaction (i.e., communication) with another

person.

4. Define referential communication skills. (pp. 391-392)

Referential communication skills develop slowly over a long period of time.They are still quite limited by the end of childhood.

Many adolescents continue to have poor referential communication skills. Even

college students frequently fail to recognize when they need more information

regarding an assignment, for example.

It would be helpful if children and adolescents were given more training in this

aspect of language development.

5. Children's narratives (verbal accounts of experiences) are sometimes used by

researchers as a means of learning about how they experience events. Berk points out

that the ability to produce clear narratives enhances literacy development, the ability to

read and write well. (pp. 392-393) Note the importance attributed to family mealtimes in the development of

language and literacy.

6. Define metalinguistic awareness. (p. 394)

Berk points out that primitive forms of metalinguistic awareness can be seen inearly childhood. However, the knowledge and skills that contribute to a mature

level of metalinguistic awareness develop primarily in middle childhood and

beyond.


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Examples include the ability to understand multiple meanings of words and

phrases and the ability to understand that a statement can be grammaticallycorrect even if its meaning is false (as in "The cow jumped over the moon").

7. What are some of the benefits of bilingualism? (p. 396)

DDL Exam 2 Study Guide Nineth Ed.

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