Cognitive and Linguistic Development in Childhood PDF

Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development in childhood Dr. Juan Pedro Martínez Ramón  Organization of contents 1. Oral language development 2. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 3. Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 4. The psychometric perspective of intellig...

Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development in childhood Dr. Juan Pedro Martínez Ramón  Organization of contents 1. Oral language development 2. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 3. Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 4. The psychometric perspective of intelligence 5. Contributions of Information-Processing research to cognitive development. Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Stages of oral language development Preverbal stage (0-12 months) First sounds One-word stage (12-18 months) The holophrase Two-word stage (18-24 months) Vocabulary explosion Telegraphic stage (24-30 months) Sentence structure Multiword stage (30 months and older) Follows grammar rules  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Phonetic level ▪ Phonetics: it is referred to the sounds of every language. These are vowels and consonants. ▪ This process of learning takes until children enter elementary school. ▪ In the meantime, children simplify the pronunciation of many words that are difficult for them. This phenomenon is called Developmental Dyslalia.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Semantic level Semantics: it is referred to the meaning of the message when we speak. Receptive language Expressive language Concepts or words a person Concepts or words a person uses. knows. Wechsler, D. (2007). WISC-IV: Escala de Inteligencia de Wechsler para Niños-IV (2a ed.). Madrid: TEA. Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. M., & Arribas, D. (2010). PPVT-III peabody: Test de vocabulario en imágenes (2a ed.). Madrid: TEA.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development In early childhood… Semantic level ▪ Children learn new words every day (at a rate of about 6 words a day). A strategy often used is fast-mapping: rapidly learning by hearing a new word and by contrasting it to a familiar one. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326138286_Investigating_Fast_Mapping_task_components_no_evidence_for_the_role_of _semantic_referent_nor_semantic_inference_in_healthy_adults/figures?lo=1 ▪ Strategies to apply if a word is unknow for a given meaning: 1) Logical extension: Use of a familiar word of the same category. 2) Code-switching: Bilingual children will switch their linguistic code.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development In middle childhood … Semantic level ▪When entering Primary School children already master the basic vocabulary of their native language. ▪ Children continue learning many words per day. *The school plays an important role in teaching new words, especially those related to the academic context. ▪ Complex words such as compound words are learned. ▪ Their meaning contain varied nuances.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Grammar level Grammar includes: (1) Syntaxs: order of words in the sentence. (2) Morphology: way to refer to gender, number, and verbal tenses. During early childhood … ▪ Use gender and plural and conjugate verbs. Children tend to apply the grammar rules even when exceptions occur, making their language more regular than actually is. This is called overregularization. Examples: mans, foots, braked.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Grammar level During early childhood … ▪ Use of the natural grammar: Subject + verb + Object * It appears when children combine 3 or more words in the same sentence. * The sentence length will increase gradually. ▪ Children show problems to understand passive voice. subject verb object object verb subject The man paints the house The house is painted by the man Mary hits Peter Peter is hit by Mary Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development During middle childhood … ▪ Children will begin to understand the passive voice. This is in part because: * Children find these type of sentences in written texts at school. * Improved executive functions: working memory and shifting. ▪ Children learn the correct use of grammar rules. *Again, the subject of language at school plays an important role. Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Pragmatic level Pragmatics. a) Functions of language (1) Give information (2) Ask for information (3) Give an order b) The use of language in different social contexts. Image: https://www.insider.com/playing-with-dolls- teaches-children-empathy-and-social-skills-2020-10 In early childhood … ▪ In pretending play, children try to adjust their language to the social roles they perform. ▪ However, their simulations are poorly elaborated. ▪ Additionally, they show difficulties to tell jokes and stories.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 1: Oral language development Pragmatic level In middle childhood … Children show big improvements in pragmatics by: * Complex imitations of social situations. * Understanding and using ironies * Telling jokes: organized structure, proper intonation. * Use of language in lyrics: metaphors and other devices. *Use of linguistic codes: ability to adjust vocabulary to the context. It includes tone, pronunciation, gestures, sentence length, idioms, etc. Ex., formal versus informal code. Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development in childhood Organization of contents 1. Oral language development 2. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 3. Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 4. The psychometric perspective of intelligence 5. Contributions of Information-Processing research to cognitive development. Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Jean Piaget w Studies in zoology, philosophy, and psychology. w Early work with Binet and Simon to construct a test on intelligence. w He created the Constructivism. w He created the Genetic Epistemology (1896-1980) Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Mechanisms of Cognitive Development What kind of Need for Equilibrium engine drives development ? New Idea Dissonance Disequilibrium Confusion Adaptation Assimilation Accomodation Reinterpretation of Restructuring old ideas new experiences to fit to include new New equilibrium into old ideas experiences  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Intelligence (0-2 years of age) Babies use their senses and motor abilities to interact with the environment and learn. Preoperational Stage (2-6 years) Use of symbols but not logical thought Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) Application of logical operations to concrete situations Formal Operational Stage (12 and beyond) Management of abstract concepts, application of hypothetical- deductive reasoning Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Preoperational stage (2-6 years old) Symbolic thought Ability to think using symbols It is exhibited in: The use of language Pretending play Animism The belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive. Attribution of psychological characteristics to objects and animals.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Preoperational stage (2-6 years old) Egocentrism: the child's inability to see a situation from another person's point of view. According to Piaget, the egocentric child assumes that other people see, hear, and feel exactly the same as the child does. Three mountains task: It is a problem that involves spatial reasoning, which was designed by Piaget to ascertain if a given child is able to take in mind another person’s perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Preoperational stage (2-6 years old) Conservation and logic Conservation Tasks: tasks designed to ascertain whether a child has acquired the principle that the amount of a substance remains the same even when its appearance changes.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Concrete Operational stage (7-12 years old) Logical thought: Children are able to apply logical principal in their reasoning when solving problems. ✓ Identity Principle: An object remains the same across changes. ✓ Reversibility principle: Something that has changed can return to its original state. ✓ Reciprocity (or compensation): a change in an aspect can be compensated by a change in another aspect of the same object or situation. By applying these principles, children are able to solve the conservation tasks.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Concrete Operational stage (7-12 years old) ✓ Classification: The logical principle that things can be organized (into groups for categories or classes) according to some characteristic they have in common. Are there more daisies or more flowers? Daisies and flowers By the age of 8 years most children are able to accurately answer this question.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Concrete Operational stage (7-12 years old) ✓ Seriation: the concept that things can be arranged in a logical series, such as the number sequence or the alphabet. The number line: understanding that numbers are arranged in logical sequence is necessary for learning mathematics. Source: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-number-line.html  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Logical thought and mathematics Classification: numbers can be understood as a set of classes that can be classified in different ways: evens and odds, in positive and negative, in integers and fractions. Seriation: numbers represent quantities that can be ordered from less to more or from more to less. Identity: a specific quantity can be reached through different operations: 5 = 4 + 1; 5 = 2 + 2+ 1; 5 = 3 + 2. Reversibility: a given quantity that has been modified can return to its initial state by applying the opposite operation: Adding versus subtracting; multiplying versus dividing. Compensation: some mathematical problems require to consider two or more aspects of the situation. i.e., proportional reasoning.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Limitations of the Concrete Operational Stage 4-year-olds 10-year-olds Balance task: Problem designed by Piaget to determine the operational stage of individuals. Concrete Operational Stage children are able to solve the task but they are not systematic nor manage well in mind abstract concepts. 7-year-olds 14-year-olds Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 2: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Formal Operational stage (from 12 years and beyond) Hypothetical-deductive reasoning allows for: Managing in mind abstract concepts. Analyzing problems taking in mind different possibilities. Using a systematic strategy when solving problems. Observing the results using the above mentioned procedure and therefore drawing certain conclusions. Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development in childhood Organization of contents 1. Oral language development 2. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 3. Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 4. The psychometric perspective of intelligence 5. Contributions of Information-Processing research to cognitive development. Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective Lev Vygotsky w Studies of law, linguistics philosophy, sociology, and psychology. w His work was continued by Leontiev and Luria. w Main contribution: the role of culture on cognitive development; learning through social interaction. 1896-1934 w Applications to the teaching practice. Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective Lines of human development Natural line of development Cultural line of development Biological in origin, it It involves higher mental undergoes spontaneously functions that are mediated by the interaction of the by social interaction, such individual with the as language, environment. consciousness, and self- regulation. Higher-order functions develop through a process of Internalization  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective The influence of culture The objective of development is to integrate the individual in a given socio-cultural context. If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants (Isaac Newton)  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective Children as apprentices Apprenticeship in thinking: children are apprentices, whose cognitive ability is encouraged and supervised by other members of the society who are older and more experienced (mentors). * Children are provided with curiosity and motivation. * Adults and more experienced children promote cognitive development by: Presenting challenges. Offering assistance. Providing instruction, giving crucial information. Encouraging motivation.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective Instruments for development and learning 1) Guided participation Children learn to think with the help of other people more skilled. 2) Language, with emphasis on two functions: Social mediation: communication function, which works to improve a person’s cognitive abilities through informal conversation or formal instruction. Private speech: inner dialogue of a person with himself or herself. Self-instructions: guide and control own’s behavior. Image: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/activities-guide-enhancing-and-practicing-executive-function-skills-with-children-from-infancy-to-adolescence/  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective How does this learning process happen? Humans have the ability to establish intersubjectivity, a mutual understanding that people share during communication. A common focus of attention is necessary to make learning happen. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based- living/201804/when-parents-read-kids-everyone-wins  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective How does this learning process happen? Humans have the ability to establish intersubjectivity, a mutual understanding that people share during communication. A common focus of attention is necessary to make learning happen. The mentor should place in the zone of proximal development: an area of learning where a person can complete a given skill with the mentor’s assistance. Potential development (knowledge and skills that a person could achieve) Zone of Proximal Development Current development (skills that a person can perform without assistance)  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective How does this learning process happen? Scaffolding: the support given during the learning process, which is tailored to the needs of the student with the intention of helping the student achieve his/her learning goals (concept developed by Bruner). "Scaffolding in Glasgow" by Anthony Shemmans is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective Forms of scaffolding 1) Direct observation: children imitate their parents’ behaviors. Overimitation: when a person imitates an action that is not relevant of the behavior to be learned. Children from 2 to 6 years imitate adults’ actions that are irrelevant or inefficient. https://www.thecreativeorganization.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/imitating-e1349325309984.jpeg  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 2) Explicit guidance Forms of scaffolding 1. Attract the person’s attention. 2. Simplify the task, making clear the different steps or stages. 3. Maintain enthusiasm in moments of loss of interest or distractions. 4. Indicate the mistakes committed and the way to correct them. https://pathways.org/kids-learn-play-6-stages-play-development/ 5. Show correct ways to solve the task. Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development in childhood Organization of contents 1. Oral language development 2. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 3. Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 4. The psychometric perspective of intelligence 5. Contributions of Information-Processing research to cognitive development. Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective He was interested in the study of David Wechsler individual differences. Defined Intelligence as a person’s ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment. Considered Intelligence as composed of several skills that grouped together represent a unique construct. Created an instrument to measure 1896-1981 intelligence at all ages, which is being used in many countries.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective Steps in the development of the scale for the measurement of intelligence: 1. Determine which skills are representative of intelligence. 2. For every skill, design a set of tasks that should be ordered in increasing difficulty. Example: Working memory capacity Please, say the digits I say in opposite order 1, 5 3, 1, 7 5, 2, 8, 4 2, 5, 7, 5, 1  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 3. Administer the tasks to a large group of children to know their mean level of performance depending on their age. Normative group: group of children that vary in age, which serves as a group of comparison. 4. Attribute a mental age (expressed in years) to the person based on the performance of the normative group of children.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 5. Obtain the Intelligence Quotient (IQ): measure of a child’s intelligence in comparison with a group of children of same age. The score is obtained using the following formula: IQ = (Mental age/Chronological age) x 100.  Unit 3: Cognitive and linguistic development Part 3: Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective. In the 20th century and over decades, researchers have found a rise in average IQ scores in many countries. This has been called Flynn effect. Some explanations for this effect: More people had access to education People became familiarized with the test People enjoyed a more cognitively stimulating environment Nutrition was of a better quality Health programs controlled better for infection diseases.. In the 21th century, a decrease in the IQ scores have been found. Could you think of an explanation for for Flynn effect being reversed? Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development in childhood Organization of contents 1. Oral language development 2. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 3. Vygotsky: Socio-cultural perspective 4. The psychometric perspective of intelligence 5. Contributions of Information-Processing research to cognitive development Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Processing stages Decoding Retention Retreive To mentally To maintain Information saved in represent information in mind is retrieved information memory  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research The computer metaphor Hardware: Memory capacity and efficiency in executing basic operations. Software: strategies and information available for performing particular tasks. Executive Control Processes External stimuli Sensory Short-term Long-term register or working memory memory Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Main structures of Information Processing Sensory register Set of sensory receptors that save sensory information briefly. How long? What purpose? About 1 to 2 seconds To analize and process information Perception Limited Attention Selective Process through which Mechanism that selects the we attribute meaning to information which is going sensory information to be analyzed by the brain. Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research How does perception work? 十四 14 Meaning to new information is given attending to: 1. Stimuli characteristics. 2. Previous knowledge.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Main structures of Information Processing Short-term or Working Memory It saves a limited amount of information for a short period of time. How long? How much information? 20 seconds approx. From 5 to 9 independent items Other characteristics It is not affected by the size of the items to be memorized Meaningful items will be remembered better compared to those without meaning. Memory functioning can be improved using memorization strategies.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Main structures of Information Processing Long-Term Memory It can permanently maintain an unlimited amount of knowledge. Characteristics Recovering pieces of information from LTM takes longer and involves more effort compared to short-term Memory. Knowledge items are classified based on their nature. Information is saved in structures that differ in complexity. Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Main structures of Information Processing: Long term memory Classification of Contents (from Tulving’s perspective) Episodic Memory Semantic Memory Information associated with a General concepts not linked to given moment and place. time or space. Personal experiences Academic knowledge.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Types of mental representations in long-term memory 1) Mental imagery: representation of perceptual information in the mind. * Although visual images are more frequent, they could take any sensorial form. 2) Propositional networks: Interconnected ideas. Proposition: minimum unit of information that can be juzged as true or false.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Types of mental representations in long-term memory 3) Schemas: Basic structures that organize a large amount of information in a meaningful framework. Suppose you are in a job interview with your Characteristics: future boss. How do you imagine this person? ▪ Guide the comprehension of new information. ▪ A special kind of schemas, social stereotypes, help us understand or misunderstand new people or social situations. https://jofibo.com/blog/interview-questions  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Main structures of Information Processing Executive control processes Executive functions (Barkley) Updating or working memory Executive functions are mechanisms of control which Inhibitory control enable metacognitive skills. Shifting or cognitive flexibility Metacognition, or “Thinking about thinking”. It involves, among other processes, the following: * Evaluate a cognitive task (easy/difficult). * Decide the best way/strategy to accomplish the task. * Monitor and adjust one’s performance on task.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Contributions to Developmental Psychology Own perceptions and conceptions influence people’s development. Children are viewed as “problem solvers”. They are actively involved in obtaining their goals, perceiving obstacles, developing strategies to overcome the obstacles, and attaining their goals. Cognitive development undergoes gradually, continuously, rather than in qualitative stages. Piaget’s view Information-Processing’s view  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Contributions to Developmental Psychology Own perceptions and conceptions influence people’s development. Children are viewed as “problem solvers”. They are actively involved in obtaining their goals, perceiving obstacles, developing strategies to overcome the obstacles, and attaining their goals. Cognitive development undergoes gradually, continuously, rather than in qualitative stages. There are large differences in the cognitive abilities among same- age individuals.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research Factors that determine cognitive development in childhood ▪ Cognitive development arises from gradual improvement in the following aspects: 1. Brain maturation 2. Improvements in the knowledge base 3. Automation of an increasing number of processes 4. Better performance of cognitive processes.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research 1. Brain maturation: Changes in Prefrontal Cortex facilitate improvements in memory and control mechanisms. All cognitive processes will be executed faster and more efficiently due to increased myelination and connectivity among brain regions. ▪ Sensory Register will progressively be more efficient until the age of 10 years. ▪ Working memory will increase its capacity throughout childhood and adolescence. ▪ The capacity of Long-Term Memory will be huge by the end of middle childhood, which in turn will permit the comprehension and organization in mind of new ideas and experiences.. Executive functions will improve until adolescence, permitting a better control of cognitive processes and behavior.  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research 2. Improvements in the knowledge base ▪ Knowledge base: a body of knowledge in a particular area that makes it easier to master new information in that area.. Comparison of children expert in chess with adults with no experience in chess.. Variable studied: number of objects remembered (Study by Chi, 1977).  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research 2. Improvements in the knowledge base ▪ Three factors influence the amount and the type of knowledge stored: 1. Past experience 2. Current opportunity 3. Personal motivation 3. Automation of processes thanks to training ▪ When processes are automatized, working memory is not so loaded and then can better process new information. Upper image: Image by donnierayjones is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Down image"Mali: Child Reads" by Global Partnership for Education - GPE is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0  Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Part 5: Contributions of Information-Processing research 4. Better performance of cognitive processes Thanks to a better performance of executive functions, children will progressively be more efficient in using mechanisms of control over learning processes such as:. Sustained and Selective Attention (intentionally focusing on the information).. Strategies when storing and recalling information (between ages 5 and 8 learn useful strategies, such as rehearsal).. Planning in solving problems or addressing school projects. Although improvements can be seen, children generally will have a strong tendency to undertake tasks impulsively.. Metacognitive skills, which involve planning and monitoring own learning, will improve throughout school years. Unit 3. Cognitive and linguistic development Thank you very much for you attention