Week 3- developmental psychology
Cognitive development-
Cognition – inner processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing
- Attending, remembering, planning
Aims of research-
- Chart typical pattern of development
- Examine individual differences
- Uncover mechanisms which drive development
Piaget’s theory-
- General theory of developmental change which aims to cover all aspects
of cognition
- Constructivist approach
- Qualitative changes to schema designate Piaget as a stage theorist-
stages invariant and universal
- Child as the naïve scientist- knowledge constructed through action
Principles of theory-
Functional invariants – mechanisms that drive developmental change
Schemas – knowledge representation or mental set organised according to
particular cognitive structure
- Organised in way to make sense of experience
- Change with age, action-based motor patterns at first then mental
thinking patterns later
Equilibration- fundamental motive to maintain balance between the cognitive
structure and the environment
Adaptation- assimilation: the selection and integration of information into current
schema – use current schema to interpret the external world
Accommodation- the adaptation of mental schemas to fit the environment-
adjusting old schemes and creating new ones to better fit the environment
Organisation- the internal process of rearranging and linking schemas combining
them into more complex systems
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development-
Stages of development-
Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
- Co-ordinating sensory perceptions with motor behaviours
Pre- operational stage (2-7 years)
- Ability to represent the world to themselves but not yet able to manipulate
these representations
, Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
- Thought becomes much more logical, flexible and organised
Formal operational (11+ years)
- The capacity for abstract, systematic, scientific thinking
Sensori- motor period- substages
Reflex activity (0-1 month)
- Infants practice innate reflexes
Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)
- Repeated actions centred on child’s own body
Secondary circular reactions (4- 10 months)
- Focus on external objects rather than their own body. Beginning to change
their world intentionally
Coordinaton of secondary circular reactions (10-12 months)
- Beginning to combine schemas to achieve goals
Tertiary circular reactions (12 – 18 months)
- Actively use trial and error methods to learn about the world
Internal representation (18-24 months)
- Beginning of mental action, objects and people can be represented
symbolically, imitating previously observed behaviours
Object permanence-
- Objects have a substance, stable identity and are external to us
- Piaget believed infants have to acquire the concept of object permanence
- Proposed object permanence is evidenced by active searching when object
is out of sight
Substages of the development of object permanence –
Substage 1 and 2 (0-4 months)
- infants do not search for hidden object
Substage 3 (4-8 months)
- Infants will search for an object that is partially but not fully obscured, until
about 5 months unconcerned by multiple images of object
Substage 4 (8-12 months)
- Infants will look for an object that is fully hidden but still make A not B
errors
Substage 5 (12- 18 months)
Cognitive development-
Cognition – inner processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing
- Attending, remembering, planning
Aims of research-
- Chart typical pattern of development
- Examine individual differences
- Uncover mechanisms which drive development
Piaget’s theory-
- General theory of developmental change which aims to cover all aspects
of cognition
- Constructivist approach
- Qualitative changes to schema designate Piaget as a stage theorist-
stages invariant and universal
- Child as the naïve scientist- knowledge constructed through action
Principles of theory-
Functional invariants – mechanisms that drive developmental change
Schemas – knowledge representation or mental set organised according to
particular cognitive structure
- Organised in way to make sense of experience
- Change with age, action-based motor patterns at first then mental
thinking patterns later
Equilibration- fundamental motive to maintain balance between the cognitive
structure and the environment
Adaptation- assimilation: the selection and integration of information into current
schema – use current schema to interpret the external world
Accommodation- the adaptation of mental schemas to fit the environment-
adjusting old schemes and creating new ones to better fit the environment
Organisation- the internal process of rearranging and linking schemas combining
them into more complex systems
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development-
Stages of development-
Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
- Co-ordinating sensory perceptions with motor behaviours
Pre- operational stage (2-7 years)
- Ability to represent the world to themselves but not yet able to manipulate
these representations
, Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
- Thought becomes much more logical, flexible and organised
Formal operational (11+ years)
- The capacity for abstract, systematic, scientific thinking
Sensori- motor period- substages
Reflex activity (0-1 month)
- Infants practice innate reflexes
Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)
- Repeated actions centred on child’s own body
Secondary circular reactions (4- 10 months)
- Focus on external objects rather than their own body. Beginning to change
their world intentionally
Coordinaton of secondary circular reactions (10-12 months)
- Beginning to combine schemas to achieve goals
Tertiary circular reactions (12 – 18 months)
- Actively use trial and error methods to learn about the world
Internal representation (18-24 months)
- Beginning of mental action, objects and people can be represented
symbolically, imitating previously observed behaviours
Object permanence-
- Objects have a substance, stable identity and are external to us
- Piaget believed infants have to acquire the concept of object permanence
- Proposed object permanence is evidenced by active searching when object
is out of sight
Substages of the development of object permanence –
Substage 1 and 2 (0-4 months)
- infants do not search for hidden object
Substage 3 (4-8 months)
- Infants will search for an object that is partially but not fully obscured, until
about 5 months unconcerned by multiple images of object
Substage 4 (8-12 months)
- Infants will look for an object that is fully hidden but still make A not B
errors
Substage 5 (12- 18 months)
