📙 Chapter 5: Thinking in Symbols
🧠 OVERVIEW
This chapter explores how children develop the ability to represent the
world mentally through symbols, such as language, gestures, pictures, and
pretend play. It focuses on Piaget’s theory, modern "theory theorists," and the
cultural importance of symbolic thinking.
🧩 LEARNING TO USE SYMBOLS
🪞 Representation & Symbols
● Representation: The mental use of one thing to stand for another.
● Symbol: Something that refers to something else (e.g., a word, picture, or
model).
● Representational insight: The realization that a symbol can stand for
something else while being distinct from it.
🖼️ Young Children’s Interpretation of Pictures and Models
● Judy DeLoache's research: Children have difficulty with dual
representation — seeing an object as both a thing and a symbol.
● Example: Trouble using a miniature model of a room to locate a hidden toy
in the real room.
● Scale errors: Children may treat pictures or tiny models as if they’re real.
🎭 Appearance/Reality Distinction
, ● Children struggle to distinguish between how things look and what they
are.
● Flavell’s research:
○ Young children often believe something is what it appears to be,
even when told otherwise (e.g., sponge painted like a rock).
○ Develops gradually with age.
● Concepts:
○ Generic identity: The idea that an object stays the same even if its
appearance changes.
○ Dual encoding: The ability to hold two mental representations of an
object (e.g., sponge vs. rock).
🔎 PIAGET’S THEORY
💭 Some Assumptions of Piaget’s Theory
● Children are active learners who construct knowledge.
● Cognitive development happens in stages.
● Learning involves:
○ Schemes (mental patterns)
● Assimilation (fitting new info into existing schemes)
● Accommodation (changing schemes for new info)
🧠 OVERVIEW
This chapter explores how children develop the ability to represent the
world mentally through symbols, such as language, gestures, pictures, and
pretend play. It focuses on Piaget’s theory, modern "theory theorists," and the
cultural importance of symbolic thinking.
🧩 LEARNING TO USE SYMBOLS
🪞 Representation & Symbols
● Representation: The mental use of one thing to stand for another.
● Symbol: Something that refers to something else (e.g., a word, picture, or
model).
● Representational insight: The realization that a symbol can stand for
something else while being distinct from it.
🖼️ Young Children’s Interpretation of Pictures and Models
● Judy DeLoache's research: Children have difficulty with dual
representation — seeing an object as both a thing and a symbol.
● Example: Trouble using a miniature model of a room to locate a hidden toy
in the real room.
● Scale errors: Children may treat pictures or tiny models as if they’re real.
🎭 Appearance/Reality Distinction
, ● Children struggle to distinguish between how things look and what they
are.
● Flavell’s research:
○ Young children often believe something is what it appears to be,
even when told otherwise (e.g., sponge painted like a rock).
○ Develops gradually with age.
● Concepts:
○ Generic identity: The idea that an object stays the same even if its
appearance changes.
○ Dual encoding: The ability to hold two mental representations of an
object (e.g., sponge vs. rock).
🔎 PIAGET’S THEORY
💭 Some Assumptions of Piaget’s Theory
● Children are active learners who construct knowledge.
● Cognitive development happens in stages.
● Learning involves:
○ Schemes (mental patterns)
● Assimilation (fitting new info into existing schemes)
● Accommodation (changing schemes for new info)
