INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Chapter 10

Cognitive Development

At the end of this Chapter you should be able to:

Understand the steps of Physical Development

Understand what Cognitive Development is

Physical Development

Obvious aspect of our growth Longer span of time – 16 to 17 years just to

achieve full height – for physical growth than in any other species

What influences bear on this? Why so slow?

Prenatal and Neonatal Growth

In-uterus: cell division first does not increase size of cellular mass; then becomes an embryo

Embryo differentiates in cell types – grows to about one inch by 8 weeks of age

By 7 months: good chance of survival if born, with many reflexes developed, including:

– Crying– Sucking– Breathing – Swallowing

Growth patterns

In most ways, human infant quite helpless– Especially if compared to other species’ infants

Brain continues to show a tremendous amount of growth in neural connectivity

Overall physical growth also continues– Growth spurts occur around ages of 2, 6, 10, and 14 – Up to two decades of some degree of parental care is usual

in humans

Sensorimotor Capacities of the Newborn

Capacity for organized interaction with own body and with environment:– Physical reflexes predominate at first

Grasping reflexRooting reflex

– Infantile reflexes replaced later by more conscious control over head, arms, legs, and trunk

– Sensory abilities more advanced

Genetic Roots of Cognitive Capacities

Cognitive capacities bear genetic imprint– When comparing adopted children to biological children:

genetics are powerful, beyond the environment in which one was raised

Genes strongly influence intellectual development Similar genetic background similar intellectual

development– Highly verbal parents have highly verbal children...

Sensitive Periods

Also known as “critical periods” In embryonic development of cells, early

stages have high flexibility, called “critical periods” for that cell’s differentiation

More complex behaviors also seem to occur during specific times of development– Attachment, language

Cognitive Development

Major figure: Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (1896 - 1980)

First to propose that a child’s thinking was qualitatively different from that of adults

Proposed a series of stages of intellectual growth

Sensorimotor Intelligence

Infant’s mental life: no continuity, just fleeting and disconnected impressions and motor reactions

Child’s first task: to create distinctions between stable and transient objects; to develop a sense of “me” separate from “you”

– Object permanence (achieved by most 2 y.o.):Searching for objects not seen but remembered

Schemas

What makes object permanence possible? Schemas

– Mental categories around which we organize and understand our world

2 processes that make schema development and usage possible:Assimilation: schemas help to act on and interpret the worldAccommodation: schemas are changed to reflect the

experiences and interactions the child has with his or her world

Sensorimotor Schemas

The two-month-old has assimilated the rattle into her sucking schema and has accommodated the schema so that it now includes the rattle as a suckable object.

Sensorimotor Schemas

Ways of “knowing and interacting with the world” using ones’ senses and own motion– Grasping, sucking: one way to “know” a toy– Combining these schemas, refining them, and

discovering more sophisticated ways to interact with the world: use of schemas in combination, etc. lets the child “know” the toy

– Developing the concept of object permanence becomes possible over time

The Preoperational Period

With development of object permanence comes representational thought

Marks end of Sensorimotor stage Beginning of Preoperational stage Emergence of new schemas:

– Operations– Ability to manipulate objects according to a set of

rules– Emerge slowly, over several years

Failure of conservation

Child’s inability to conserve amount (mass, quantity, etc.) indicates that child is still pre-operational

Concrete and Formal operations require that child has mastered Conservation schema– Conservation: child understands the concept of

transformation processes

Concrete and Formal Operations

Child is able to take another’s perspective: less egocentric

Child can perform concrete operations (thus the title) but not ability to think purely abstractly (Formal Operations)

Embrace the “possible as well as the real” = Formal Operations

Cognitive Starting Point: Where is it?

Piaget’s claims about what child does not yet know hold up in some instances– Increasingly clear that babies may

comprehend more than Piaget thought, as well

Some of his specific claims about stages and infant “knowledge” not supported, although much of his work is supported, by research

Infant comprehension of space and objects

Infants display comprehension of occlusion– Use of habituation paradigms to test infants’

knowledge Infants demonstrate some comprehension about

notion of “support” (what is required to keep one object from falling); what to expect if one object strikes another; object permanence; etc.– Again, use of habituation and observation of

gaze-length to gauge infant’s “expectations”

Knowing about objects: A 4,5 months old infant is looking at a Knowing about objects: A 4,5 months old infant is looking at a stage on which he sees an upright box. In front of the box is a stage on which he sees an upright box. In front of the box is a screen that initially lies flat and then starts to rotate upwards screen that initially lies flat and then starts to rotate upwards (A). In the first condition (B), the screen stops rotating as soon (A). In the first condition (B), the screen stops rotating as soon as it hits the box. In the second condition (C), when the screen as it hits the box. In the second condition (C), when the screen is high enough to hide the box, the experimenter removes the is high enough to hide the box, the experimenter removes the box, so that the screen continues to move backwards. Infants box, so that the screen continues to move backwards. Infants find this, surprising as he looks at it longer than the first find this, surprising as he looks at it longer than the first condition.condition.

Developing a sense of support: Developing a sense of support:

3 months old: believe any physical contact will provide support so 3 months old: believe any physical contact will provide support so red block in (B) will hold it’s positionred block in (B) will hold it’s position

5 months old: learns a support has to be underneath the object, so 5 months old: learns a support has to be underneath the object, so red will fall in (B), but but not in (C)red will fall in (B), but but not in (C)

6 months old: learns the support has to be appropriately positioned; 6 months old: learns the support has to be appropriately positioned; so red block in (B) and (C) would fall, but not the one in (D).so red block in (B) and (C) would fall, but not the one in (D).

Social Cognition in Infancy: other minds

Evidence for infant social awareness:– Infants like to look at faces

prefer faces to other stimuli– Imitation of facial expressions quite pronounced

even in infants– Comprehension of others’ intentions also can be

demonstrated Social cognition: Much less sophisticated, but

present in rudimentary form

Face recognition in newborns: They look longer Face recognition in newborns: They look longer at the pattern showing a schematic face than at a at the pattern showing a schematic face than at a scrambled or blank one.scrambled or blank one.

Perceiving IntentionsPerceiving Intentions

6 month old infant watched as an actor reached to 6 month old infant watched as an actor reached to the ball on the right. But, was the infant focused on the ball on the right. But, was the infant focused on the behavior (reaching toward the right), or the goal the behavior (reaching toward the right), or the goal (reaching toward the ball)? (reaching toward the ball)?

When tested, infants found a reach toward a bear on the right to When tested, infants found a reach toward a bear on the right to be surprising (same behavior, but a new goal); they showed no be surprising (same behavior, but a new goal); they showed no surprise when they saw a reach toward the ball on the left (same surprise when they saw a reach toward the ball on the left (same goal, but a new behavior). So they had understood the initial goal, but a new behavior). So they had understood the initial action in terms of it’s goal.action in terms of it’s goal.

Social Cognition: A Theory of Mind

Theory of mind: – Understanding actions/thoughts of other people– Ability to predict someone else’s actions – not just

act as if all people want/do the same things that you yourself want/do

Evidence that 18-month olds may have basic theory of mind

Many limitations: belief systems, false beliefs, etc.: beyond most 3 – 4 year olds

The false-belief testThe false-belief test

The child watches as the experimenter makes The child watches as the experimenter makes the teddy bear “hide” the ball in the red boxthe teddy bear “hide” the ball in the red box

While the teddy bear is gone, the experpimenter While the teddy bear is gone, the experpimenter and the child move the ball to the green boxand the child move the ball to the green box

When the child is now asked “When the child is now asked “Where does the Where does the teddy bear think the ball isteddy bear think the ball is?” she points to the ?” she points to the green boxgreen box

Sequence or Stages?

Certain ages: generally associated with certain stages

Ages do not mark transitions between qualitative differences in thought

Children proceed in smaller, more sequential fashion than Piaget proposed

The Causes of Cognitive Growth: Biological Inheritance

Piaget’s emphasis: experience, interaction with the environment

However: role of biological influence must be included to fully comprehend development –

Consider that…– Genetic overlap predicts similar cognitive abilities– Specific brain structures influence abilities/cognitive

capacity– Cognitive changes occur early, before much interaction with

environment has occurred

Innate capacities: role in cognitive development

Genetic inheritance: may set up learning pathways, specific processing paths for certain types of information– Infants’ behavior guided by principles that

were not acquired by experience