Cognitive Development: Past Paper PDF

Cognition =thinking ​ Processes by which information is acquired or manipulated ​ Mental (i.e., not observable) ​ Performed neurally ​ Infer from behavior/physiological measures Developmental encompasses ​ changes to structure and function ​ description (what) and exp...

Cognition =thinking ​ Processes by which information is acquired or manipulated ​ Mental (i.e., not observable) ​ Performed neurally ​ Infer from behavior/physiological measures Developmental encompasses ​ changes to structure and function ​ description (what) and explanation (how) questions ​ age-related differences and individual differences Development is influenced by the dynamic and reciprocal transaction of internal and external factors (messy) ​ Nature vs. nurture Development is influenced by an individual’s social context and evolutionary context How children represent information changes with development Knowledge influences children’s cognitive processes Strategies: deliberate, goal-directed mental operations aimed at solving a problem Executive function:cognitive ability that helps you control and coordinate your other cognitive abilities (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) Domain-general cognitive abilities: cognitive abilities that would support performance on a variety of tasks (e.g., working memory, processing speed) Domain-specific cognitive abilities: cognitive abilities that are specific to a particular type of task (e.g., language, face processing) Chp2 Natural selection ◼Traits that are adaptive are passed down ◼Traits that may have been adaptive for our ancestors may be maladaptive today (e.g., preference for sweets/fats) Deferred adaptations ◼Adaptation that prepares individuals for current and later environments ◼Example: Attachment, adolescent risk-taking Ontogenetic adaptations ◼Adaptations that benefit the individual for only a specific time in development and disappear when no longer needed ◼Example: Umbilical cord, sucking reflex in newborns Probabilistic learning refers to the ability to infer patterns and predict outcomes based on statistical evidence Core knowledge refers to the foundational cognitive structures that humans (and some animals) are believed to be born with. Biologically Primary Abilities These are innate, evolutionarily driven skills that humans are naturally predisposed to learn. They emerge universally across cultures and are acquired effortlessly through normal development. These are culturally developed skills that build on primary abilities but require explicit instruction and practice. Genotype: An individual’s genetic information ◼Db (Dark/blonde heterozygous) Phenotype: An individual’s directly observable characteristics ◼Brunette hair Biological determinism: “You are nothing but the product of your biology” Compares characteristics between family members Types of kinship studies ​ Adoption Studies: Compare adopted children to biological and adopted parents ○​ Compare identical twins that were separated ​ Twin-Studies: Compare monozygotic twins (i.e., genetically identical) and dizygotic twins (i.e. genetically different) Gene x Environment Interactions: People are more/less influenced by the environment based on their genes Developmental Systems Approach: Focuses on development occurring within a system of interacting levels over time ​ Individuals play an Active role in their own development (e.g., brain development influenced by piano playing) ​ Timing of experiences matter ○​ Critical/sensitive period: Period of time when a specific skill or ability is most easily learned/acquired ○​ Earlier experience is not always better  ​ Premature visual stimulation reduced preference for own-species (Bobwhite) call Epigenesis: The emergence of new structures and functions across development ​ Passive gene-environment correlation occurs when biological parents provide both genetic traits and an environment that naturally supports those traits. ​ Evocative gene-environment correlation happens when an individual’s genetic traits elicit specific responses from their environment, reinforcing those traits. ​ Active gene-environment correlation occurs when individuals actively seek environments that align with their genetic predispositions, further developing their abilities. Cephalocaudal development: Pattern of head developing prior to lower limbs Experience-expectant brain growth: Species-typical experiences needed (often during a sensitive period) to develop normally ◼Language ◼Interactions with caregivers ◼Sensory experiences Experience-dependent brain growth: Experiences beyond typical experiences influence brain development. No sensitive period, can occur any time ​ ERP: Measures electrical activity of neurons in response to a stimulus, providing high temporal resolution to track when processes occur. ​ MRI: Provides high spatial resolution to examine brain structures and anatomical differences. ​ fMRI: Measures brain activity by detecting blood flow changes, indicating where brain functions occur. ​ fNIRS: Uses infrared light to track blood flow, offering intermediate temporal and spatial resolution between ERPs and fMRI. What is a species-typical social environment? ​ Interactions with a consistent caregiver (or caregivers) ​ Exposure to faces ​ Language ​ Interactions with peers Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory ​ Development is guided by social interactions ​ Ontogenetic development: Development of individuals throughout their lifespan ​ Microgenetic Development: Change that occurs over a short period of time ​ Phylogenetic development: Change that occurs over evolutionary time ​ Sociohistorical development: Changes across generations in one’s culture, including values, norms and technologies Limitation of cognitive development as a field: most research focuses on children from WEIRD cultures ​ Western ​ European ​ Industrialized ​ Rich ​ Democratic Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory ◼Microsystem: direct contact ◼Mesosystem: interactions between microsystem (parent-teacher): ◼Exosystem: structures (school board) ◼Macrosystem: culture ◼Chronosystem: systems over time Chp4 Implicit measures: Measures that are not directly/verbally reported Explicit measures: Direct report of cognition ​ Sucking: Measures how often a baby sucks on a pacifier to determine interest in a stimulus (e.g., sucking faster when hearing a familiar sound). ​ Preferential Looking: Tracks where a baby looks longer to see which image or object they prefer. ​ Habituation: Repeatedly shows the same stimulus until the baby loses interest, then introduces something new to see if they notice the change. ​ Conditioned Head Turn: Teaches babies to turn their heads when they hear a change in sound by rewarding correct responses. ​ Preferential Looking Procedure: Similar to preferential looking but used in experiments to measure visual discrimination, like detecting differences between patterns or faces. Visual Perception ​ Newborn Stimulus Preference: Newborns prefer faces, black-and-white contrasts, and moving stimuli over stationary ones. ​ Basic Visual Abilities & Age of Adult Levels: Visual acuity develops gradually, reaching adult levels by around 6 years due to foveal development.  ​ Familiarity vs. Novelty Effects: 1- to 2-month-olds show a familiarity preference, while 2- to 6-month-olds prefer novelty. ​ Goldilocks Effect: Infants prefer stimuli that are neither too simple nor too complex. ​ Cortical vs. Subcortical Regions in Face Processing: Early face detection is driven by subcortical regions, while cortical regions become specialized for face recognition within the first year. Auditory Perception ​ Newborn Auditory Skills: Newborns prefer sounds heard in the womb, orient toward sound sources, and recognize their native language. ​ Phoneme Perception Decline: Infants can distinguish phonemes from all languages at 6 months but lose the ability to perceive non-native phonemes by 12 months. ​ Statistical Learning: The ability to detect patterns in sensory input, such as recognizing word boundaries in speech. Intersensory Integration ​ Definition & Example: The ability to combine information from multiple senses, such as 4-week-old infants looking longer at a pacifier they previously sucked on (Meltzoff & Borton, 1979). Infant Cognition ​ Violation-of-Expectation Method: Infants look longer at events that violate their expectations, indicating surprise and cognitive processing. ​ A-not-B Task & Age: Tests object permanence; 8- to 10-month-olds fail by searching in the wrong location, while 12-month-olds succeed. ​ Three Core Knowledge Domains & Examples: ○​ Object representation – Understanding that objects exist independently (e.g., looking longer at impossible object movements). ○​ Number sense – Recognizing small numerical differences (e.g., noticing a missing object in a set). ○​ Social cognition – Inferring intentions from actions (e.g., preferring helpful agents over unhelpful ones). ​ Cohesion, Contact, Continuity & Supporting Evidence: Infants expect objects to move as cohesive units, require contact for movement transfer, and expect objects to follow continuous paths. ​ Discrete vs. Approximate Number Systems: ○​ Discrete Number System: Precise counting of small numbers (e.g., knowing there are exactly three objects). ○​ Approximate Number System: Estimating larger quantities (e.g., recognizing a group of 20 is larger than a group of 10 without counting).