Cognitive development-
Social and Cultural contexts of development-
Object permanence-
Alternative indications of understanding of object permanence –
Violation of expectation method (Drawbridge paradigm)-
- 3.5-month-old + infants looked longer at impossible event
- Appreciation of existence of the box behind the screen and properties of a
solid object
Occlusion-
- Children habituated to tall and small carrots moving behind screen
- Exposed to test events
- Longer looking at the unexpected event suggests awareness of the
properties of objects and object permanence
- Infants as young as 2.5- 3.5 months looked longer at the unexpected
event
A not B error –
Diamond (1991)- A not B error a result of rapid forgetting or a perseveration error
Impact of language and context-
- Egocentrism – 3 mountains revisited (Bourke, 1975)
- Children can demonstrate success with child friendly tasks
- Making human sense (Donaldson, 1978)
- Hughes- policeman version of the three mountains
- Children asked to hide a doll figure where the policeman will be unable to
see it
- Children are even able to demonstrate success when multiple perspectives
must be taken into account
Attending to nature of the questioning in conservation experiments-
- Improved performance with a single question (Rose & Blank, 1974)
- The conservational pragmatics of repeated questioning (Siegal, 1991)
- Childs interpretation of ‘same’ and ‘more’
Attending to context of the investigation-
Transformation not completed by the experimenter-
- Naughty teddy as the protagonist improved performance in conservation
tasks (McGarrigle & Donaldson, 1974)
Incidental transformation –
- Performance improved if transformation incidental in the experimental
procedure (Light, Buckingham & Robbins, 1979)
, Alerting the language used in class inclusion tasks
To clarify levels of comparison improves performance – more black cows or
sleeping cows? (McGarrigle, 1978)
- Original = more black cows or more cows?
- Altered = are there more black cows or more sleeping cows?
Universality of formal operations-
Culture specific nature of formal operations=
- Formal operational thought may not be universally achieved – the difficulty
of abstract reasoning syllogisms
- Facilitatory effects of context in syllogisms
Abstract propositional problems –
All A are B, some B are C = some A are C
Concrete propositional problems –
All angels are harp players; some harp players are members of musician’s
union= some angels are members of musician’s union
Vygotsky-
Aimed to explain the evolution and transmission of human culture- the customs
of particular people at a given time and their collective intellectual material,
scientific, artistic achievements over historical time
Inspired by Marx’s and Engles’ theories of the influence of society on human
nature and cognitive capacities
Sociocultural theory of cognitive development- Vygotsky
Within a child the development of understanding is fostered by those in the
child’s social sphere
Two lines of development –
- Natural- line of development- within a child
- Socio- historical line of development – external forces
Instruction the lynch pin of cognitive development
Main aspects—
- Initial interaction with world is through actions
- Advent of language allows reflection on one’s thoughts
- Learning is achieved through co – operation with others in a variety of
social settings – capacity to learn
The role of language-
Social and Cultural contexts of development-
Object permanence-
Alternative indications of understanding of object permanence –
Violation of expectation method (Drawbridge paradigm)-
- 3.5-month-old + infants looked longer at impossible event
- Appreciation of existence of the box behind the screen and properties of a
solid object
Occlusion-
- Children habituated to tall and small carrots moving behind screen
- Exposed to test events
- Longer looking at the unexpected event suggests awareness of the
properties of objects and object permanence
- Infants as young as 2.5- 3.5 months looked longer at the unexpected
event
A not B error –
Diamond (1991)- A not B error a result of rapid forgetting or a perseveration error
Impact of language and context-
- Egocentrism – 3 mountains revisited (Bourke, 1975)
- Children can demonstrate success with child friendly tasks
- Making human sense (Donaldson, 1978)
- Hughes- policeman version of the three mountains
- Children asked to hide a doll figure where the policeman will be unable to
see it
- Children are even able to demonstrate success when multiple perspectives
must be taken into account
Attending to nature of the questioning in conservation experiments-
- Improved performance with a single question (Rose & Blank, 1974)
- The conservational pragmatics of repeated questioning (Siegal, 1991)
- Childs interpretation of ‘same’ and ‘more’
Attending to context of the investigation-
Transformation not completed by the experimenter-
- Naughty teddy as the protagonist improved performance in conservation
tasks (McGarrigle & Donaldson, 1974)
Incidental transformation –
- Performance improved if transformation incidental in the experimental
procedure (Light, Buckingham & Robbins, 1979)
, Alerting the language used in class inclusion tasks
To clarify levels of comparison improves performance – more black cows or
sleeping cows? (McGarrigle, 1978)
- Original = more black cows or more cows?
- Altered = are there more black cows or more sleeping cows?
Universality of formal operations-
Culture specific nature of formal operations=
- Formal operational thought may not be universally achieved – the difficulty
of abstract reasoning syllogisms
- Facilitatory effects of context in syllogisms
Abstract propositional problems –
All A are B, some B are C = some A are C
Concrete propositional problems –
All angels are harp players; some harp players are members of musician’s
union= some angels are members of musician’s union
Vygotsky-
Aimed to explain the evolution and transmission of human culture- the customs
of particular people at a given time and their collective intellectual material,
scientific, artistic achievements over historical time
Inspired by Marx’s and Engles’ theories of the influence of society on human
nature and cognitive capacities
Sociocultural theory of cognitive development- Vygotsky
Within a child the development of understanding is fostered by those in the
child’s social sphere
Two lines of development –
- Natural- line of development- within a child
- Socio- historical line of development – external forces
Instruction the lynch pin of cognitive development
Main aspects—
- Initial interaction with world is through actions
- Advent of language allows reflection on one’s thoughts
- Learning is achieved through co – operation with others in a variety of
social settings – capacity to learn
The role of language-
