Cognition Theories and Core Concepts

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Questions and Answers

What hypothesis suggests that humans are born with specialized cognitive systems for reasoning about entities?

Core Cognition Hypothesis (correct)

Nativism Hypothesis

Empiricism Hypothesis

Behaviorism Hypothesis

Which cognitive ability is proposed to be innate, allowing infants to reason about discrete numbers?

Grasping social cues

Reasoning about language syntax

Concept of discrete numbers (correct)

Understanding cause and effect

Which of the following statements best reflects a nature versus nurture perspective in cognitive development?

Cognitive abilities are entirely shaped by environmental interactions.

All cognitive functions develop regardless of genetics.

Genetic factors alone determine cognitive similarities and differences.

Cognitive functions result from both genetic predispositions and environmental experiences. (correct)

What aspect of language learning is suggested to be innate according to cognitive development theories?

The innate mechanisms required for language learning Signup and view all the answers

What is a key focus of studying cognitive functions present in infancy?

Identifying abilities that require little to no environmental interaction Signup and view all the answers

What cognitive limitation is characterized by reasoning based on a single aspect of a situation in children?

Centration Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following processes suggests that children learn the specific language they speak from their environment?

Social interaction Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a child using grammatically incorrect forms, such as 'eated' instead of 'ate'?

Overregularization Signup and view all the answers

Which reasoning type suggests that if a person does not have perceptual access to information, they do not know about it?

Perceptual access reasoning Signup and view all the answers

At what age is complex Theory of Mind, such as maintaining a credible lie, typically believed to develop?

10 years old Signup and view all the answers

At what point do infants generally struggle to represent discrete numerical quantities?

About 4 items Signup and view all the answers

What concept regarding object understanding does research suggest infants possess?

Object permanence without occlusion experience Signup and view all the answers

What behavior is exhibited by infants when they view actions that seem irrational?

They overimitate the actions Signup and view all the answers

What cognitive function do infants show surprisingly good performance in?

Tracking small sets of discrete numerical quantities Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following hypotheses aligns with infants' basic social understanding of other agents?

Core cognition hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

According to the content, how does object permanence in infants relate to evolutionary adaptations?

It may not require any prior experience like occlusion Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of cognition do infants primarily excel in, as indicated by looking time studies?

Spatial and temporal object properties Signup and view all the answers

What do infants especially lack in terms of cognitive functions?

Forming abstract concepts Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Cognition

Cognition is the study of mental processes
There are three main theories of cognition:
- Nativism: Humans are born with a basic outline of cognitive abilities, which are refined through learning
- Empiricism: All knowledge comes from experience and is not innate
- Development: Some cognitive functions are present even in infancy, others develop later
The core cognition theory suggests that infants have multiple specialized cognitive systems
These systems allow humans to identify entities and reason about them in particular domains

Core Cognition: Numbers

Infants are born with an innate concept of small discrete numbers, which allows them to understand simple arithmetic
This system fails at around 4 items

Core Cognition: Objects

Infants understand basic object properties, such as object permanence
Object permanence does not require occlusion experience and may be an evolved capacity

Core Cognition: Agents

Children and chimpanzees rely on similar social cues to understand agents
Infants overimitate actions, especially irrational actions

Core Cognition: Summary

Infants exhibit surprisingly good performance on some tasks, with little or no learning:
- Track small sets of discrete numerical quantities
- Understand spatial/temporal object properties
- Have basic social understanding of agents

Children's Deficiencies

Despite early expertise in understanding agents, infants do not understand that different people have separate minds
Children are bad at most cognitive tasks that require reasoning, learning, and experience
Jean Piaget identified young children's tendency towards centration - focusing on only one aspect of a situation

Theory of Mind

Infants do not understand that different people have separate minds (tested through false-belief tasks)
Children younger than 4 report that others will act in accordance with their own beliefs, even when those beliefs are false
Children may use perceptual access reasoning to complete false-belief tasks, which suggests they may not have full theory of minds
Complex theory of minds may not develop until age 10 or later

Language

While language is learned from the environment, children seem to be naturally primed to learn language
Children exhibit overregularization, where they apply grammatical rules to irregular words, demonstrating a learned language system
The blocking and retrieval failure hypothesis suggests children struggle to consciously recall specific language rules and instead rely on general grammar rules.

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Description

Explore the fascinating field of cognition, focusing on the main theories such as nativism, empiricism, and development. This quiz delves into how infants understand numbers, objects, and agents through specialized cognitive systems. Test your knowledge on these critical aspects of cognitive development.