Early Final Exam PDF

What is cognition? The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Piaget Most widely known theory of cognitive development. He called children ‘scientists’: they test and explore hypotheses about the world by reflecti...

What is cognition? The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Piaget Most widely known theory of cognitive development. He called children ‘scientists’: they test and explore hypotheses about the world by reflecting on their experiences. Three Basic Components of Piaget's Cognitive Theory 1. Schemas: how knowledge is organized and represented The basic building blocks of cognitive models enable us to form a mental representation. 2. Adaptation processes: Processes that enable learning and the transition from one stage to another 7 3. Stages of development Adaptation processes enable the transition from one stage to another o Equilibrium vs disequilibrium Equilibrium: existing schemas can explain what has been perceived Disequilibrium: happens when there’s an inconsistency between a learner’s cognitive structure & the thing being learned Assimilation (when Equilibrium): Process of adding new experience or information to an existing cognitive structure. Accommodation (when disequilibrium): Process of reorganizing thoughts when new information does not fit the schema Egocentrism: inability to take another person’s perspective (1) Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to about 2 years) Explore the world through senses & motor activity Early on, babies can’t tell the difference between themselves & the environment. If they cannot see something, then they think it does not exist Begin to understand cause & effect Can later follow something with their eyes (2) Preoperational Stage (2 to about 7 years old) The word "operational" can be loosely translated as possessing logical thought. Thus, preoperational children are pre-logical. Rapidly developing language & communication Can imagine the future & reflect on the past Develop basic numerical abilities Has difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality ▪ (ex: cartoon characters are real people) (3) Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years old) Abstract reasoning ability & ability to generalize from the concrete increases Understand conservation of matter Understand hierarchic categories Ability in seriation Children who have concrete operational thought can see more than one aspect of a problem at a time, see things as reversible and changeable, see and describe transformations, and based on that can make inferences about reality (4) Formal Operations (12 to about 15 ) Adult thinking Able to think about hypothetical situations Form & test hypotheses Organize information Reason scientifically Criticisms of Piaget Tasks were methodologically flawed. Underestimated the impact of CULTURE Lev Vygotsky The social constructivist theory of cognitive development highlights the role of social and cultural interactions Importance of language Language: Learning happens through interactions with others. Allows us to represent reality and to distance the individual in relation to here and now Allows users to communicate with each other; Language is the ultimate social tool. ZPD - Zone of Proximal Development lower limit - child working independently (also referred to as the child’s actual developmental level). Upper limit- the level of potential skill that the child can reach with the assistance Scaffolding: an instructional technique in which a teacher provides individualized support by gradually improving a learner’s ability to the next level based on prior knowledge. Introduced by Jerome Bruner. Self: All the Characteristics of the Person Self-concept: perception about oneself everything the person believes to be true about him/herself Including traits, preferences, social roles, values, beliefs, interests, self-categorization Self-understanding develops throughout the lifespan Children Recognize themselves in the mirror at 15-18 months The infants learn their physical selves are different from their environment, the shopping cart example  Infants have a basic sense of self in the first few months of life, Their sense of self becomes more distinct at about 8 months By 18 to 20 months of age, many children can look into a mirror and realize that the image they see there is themselves.– By 30 months of age, almost all children recognize their own photograph. By 2 years old, children’s exhibition of embarrassment and shame, their self-assertive behavior, and their use of language also indicate their self-awareness Self in Early Childhood: Confusion of self, mind, and body Concrete descriptions Physical descriptions Behavior/Activities – what they do Overestimation of abilities Self – Middle & Late Childhood: Shift to internal traits and abilities Social role descriptions Real and ideal selves More realistic about abilities Perspective Taking -- Middle & Late Childhood: Opposite of egocentrism – the ability to assume another’s perspective Children who are good at this are popular Development progresses through stages (Selman) Self-Concept (Bandura, Erikson,Rogers): 1. SELF-WORTH 2. IDEAL SELF: The ideal self is the kind of person you would like to be, Intellectual Self- deals with your intelligence and your ability to make good decisions-  Emotional Self- deals with your emotions and how you deal with them and also your self-esteem- Bodily Self- has to do with your body and how well you take care of it 3. SELF-EFFICACY: Self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation, behavior, and social environment. It is situation-specific What is morality? Our understanding of the difference between right and wrong, or good and bad behavior Morality can be thought of as a force that motivates our behavior Moral dilemma: An ambiguous situation that requires a person to make a moral decision. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development It describes: how one’s sense of right and wrong changes with age. How do we develop a sense of justice? How do we learn to make moral judgments? Level 1: Pre-conventional Morality STAGE 1 (2/3 – 5/6 years old): Punishment Obedience Orientation: Consequences of acts determine whether they’re good or bad. STAGE 2 (5-7 years old, or up to age 9): Instrumental Relativist Orientation: The ethics of self-interests (“What’s in it for me?) obeying rules Level 2: Conventional Morality STAGE 3 (7- about 12 years old): Good Boy – Nice Girl Orientation: Ethical decisions are based on concern for or the opinions of others. STAGE 4 (can start as early as 10 years old): Law and Order Orientation: Right behavior consists in doing one’s duty, showing respect for authority Level 3: Post-Conventional Morality STAGE 5 (can start as early as 12 years old): Social Contract Orientation Rules and laws represent agreements among people about behavior that benefits society. Rules can be changed when they no longer meet society’s needs. STAGE 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation: Individuals’ judgments of good and bad become influenced by universal moral principles. Kohlberg estimated that only 20 to 25% of the adult population attains the post- conventional level of morality