Chap 5 - Cognitive Growth: Piaget & Vgotsky

Question 0

Assimilation

Answer 0

The process in which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive dev & way of thinking

Question 1

Scheme

Answer 1

An organized pattern of sensorimotor functioning that adapt & change w/mental dev

Question 2

Accommodation

Answer 2

Changes in existing ways of thinking that occur in response to encounters with new stimuli or events

Question 3

Sensorimotor stage (of cognitive development)

Answer 3

Piaget’s initial major stage of cognitive dev, which can be broken down into six substages; birth to 2 yrs

Question 4

Goal-directed behavior (substage 4)

Answer 4

Behavior in which several schemes are combined & coordinated to generate a single act to solve a problem; infants push one toy out of way to reach another toy that is partially exposed

Question 5

Object permanence

Answer 5

The realization that people & objects exist even when they cannot be seen; emerges in substage 4

Question 6

Deferred imitation

Answer 6

An act in which a person who is no longer present is imitated by children who have witnessed a similar act

Question 7

Preoperational stage

Answer 7

According Piaget, the stage from approx age 2 to 7 in which children’s use of symbolic thinking grows, mental reasoning emerges, & the use of concepts increases.

Question 8

Operations

Answer 8

Organized, formal, logical mental processes

Question 9

Symbolic function

Answer 9

The ability to use a mental symbol, a word, or an object to stand for or represent something that is not physically present

Question 10

Centration

Answer 10

The process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus & ignoring other aspects

Question 11

Conservation

Answer 11

The knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement & physical appearance of objects

Question 12

Transformation

Answer 12

The process in which one state is changed into another

Question 13

Egocentric thought

Answer 13

Thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others

Question 14

Intuitive thought

Answer 14

Thinking that reflects preschoolers’ use of primitive reasoning & their avid acquisition of knowledge about the world

Question 15

Postformal thought

Answer 15

Thinking that acknowledges that adult predicaments must sometimes be solved in relativistic terms; Labouvie-Vief says thinking goes beyond Piaget’s formal operations; encompasses dialectical thinking

Question 16

Acquisitive stage

Answer 16

According to Schaie, the first stage of cognitive dev, encompassing all of childhood & adolescence, in which the main developmental task is to acquire info

Question 17

Achieving stage

Answer 17

The point reached by young adults in which intelligence is applied to specific situations involving the attainment of long-term goals regarding careers, family, & societal contributions

Question 18

Responsible stage

Answer 18

The stage where the major concerns of middle-aged adults relate to their personal situations, including protecting & nourishing their spouses, families, & careers

Question 19

Executive stage

Answer 19

The period in middle adulthood when people take a broader perspective than earlier, including concerns about the world

Question 20

Reintegrative stage

Answer 20

The period of late adulthood during which the focus is on tasks that have personal meaning

Question 21

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 21

According to Vygotsky, the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, perform a task independently, but can do so with the assistance of someone more competent

Question 22

Scaffolding

Answer 22

The support of learning & problem solving that encourages independence & growth

Question 23

Mental representation

Answer 23

An internal image of a past event or object

Question 24

Key elements to Piaget’s theory

Answer 24

Piaget argues that infants do not acquire knowledge from facts communicated by others, nor thru sensation & perception. He believes that knowledge is the product of direct motor behavior.
Action = Knowledge
Based on stage approach dev

Question 25

4 universal stages of Piaget’s theory

Answer 25

1. Sensorimotor (birth to 2 yrs)
2. Preoperational (ages 2-7)
3. Concrete operational (ages 7-12)
4. Formal operational (ages 12-15)

Question 26

2 principles that underlie growth in children’s schemes

Answer 26

1. Assimilation

2. Accommodation

Question 27

Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years) - 6 substages

Answer 27

1. Simple reflexes (1st month)
2. First habits & primary circular reactions (1 - 4 months)
3. Secondary circular reactions (4 - 8 months)
4. Coordination of secondary circular reactions (8 - 12 months)
5. Tertiary circular reactions (12 - 18 months)
6. Beginnings of thought (18 months to 2 years)

Question 28

Primary Circular reactions

Answer 28

Schemes reflecting an infant’s repetition of interesting or enjoyable actions, just for the enjoyment of doing them

Question 29

Secondary circular reactions

Answer 29

Schemes regarding repeated actions that bring about a desirable consequence

Question 30

Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)

Answer 30

Infants appear to carry out miniature experiments to observe the consequences

Question 31

Piaget’s concrete operational thought stage (ages 7-12)

Answer 31

Characterized by active & appropriate use of logic; decentering; concept of reversibility; permits children to grasp such concepts as relationship between time & speed

Question 32

Decentering

Answer 32

Children can consider multiple aspects of a situation; occurs in Piaget’s concrete operational thought stage

Question 33

Critical thinking limitation in Piaget’s Concrete Operational Thought Stage

Answer 33

Children remain tied to concrete, physical reality. They cannot understand truly abstract or hypothetical questions, or questions involving formal logic, such as the concept as free will or determinism

Question 34

Piaget’s formal operational stage (ages 12-15)

Answer 34

People develop the ability to think abstractly; propositional thought

Question 35

Propositional thought (Piaget’s formal operational stage)

Answer 35

Reasoning that uses abstract logic in the absence of concrete examples;
I.e. all A’s are B (premise)
C is an A (premise)
Therefore, C is a B (conclusion)

Question 36

Dialectical thinking

Answer 36

An interest in & appreciation for argument, counterargument, & debate; accepts that issues are not always clear-cut & that answers must sometimes be negotiated

Question 37

Perry’s approach to postformal thought

Answer 37

Dualistic thinking - Students entering Harvard believed something is either right or wrong, people are bad or evil; as they encountered new ideas & points of views from other students, dualistic thinking declined

Question 38

Schaie’s perspective on postformal thought

Answer 38

Suggests that adult thinking follows a set pattern of stages; focuses on ways in which info is used during adulthood, rather than on changes in the acquisition & understanding of new info, as in Piaget’s approach

Question 39

Schaie’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Answer 39

1. Acquisitive stage - all of childhood & adolescence
2. Achieving stage - young adults
3. Responsible stage - middle-aged adults
4. Executive stage - further into middle adulthood
5. Reintegrative stage - late adulthood

Question 40

Vygotsky’s view of cognitive dev

Answer 40

Product of social interactions; children gradually grow intellectually & begin to function on their own bc of assistance that adult & peer partners provide