Chapter 6: Cognition in Infants and Toddlers6.1 Piaget’s Theory
6.2 Information Processing
6.3 Language
6.1 Piaget’s Theory
Basic Principles of Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage
Evaluating Piaget’s Account of Sensorimotor Thought
The Child as Theorist
Basic Principles of Piaget’s Theory
Schemes: organize experienceAssimilation: incorporate new experiences into existing schemesAccommodation: change schemes based on experienceEquilibration: reorganize schemes to return to state of equilibrium
6.1 Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage
From birth to 2 yearsBegins with reflex action and ends with use of symbolsPrimary, Secondary, and Tertiary Circular Reactions are repetitive acts that help the infant learn about the world
6.1 Piaget’s Theory
Evaluating Piaget’s Account of Sensorimotor Thought
Other researchers have found alternative explanations for performance on Piagetian tasks
Object permanence may occur at a younger age than Piaget thought
6.1 Piaget’s Theory
“Impossible” Event
The Child as TheoristYoung children develop theories that organize knowledge about properties of objects and living thingsBy 6 months, know that 1st object striking 2nd object will cause 2nd to move Toddlers understand different properties of animate and inanimate objects
6.1 Piaget’s Theory
Colliding Cylinders
Familiarization:Medium cylinder collides with bug
Test with Large Cylinder:Large cylinder collides with bug
Test with Small Cylinder:Small cylinder collides with bug
Results of Colliding Cylinder Experiment
6.2 Information Processing
Basic Features of the Information-Processing ApproachLearningMemoryUnderstanding the WorldIndividual Differences in Ability
Basic Features of the Information-Processing….
People and computers are both symbol processors
Hardware: sensory, working, and long-term memory
Software is task specific
6.2 Information Processing
Components of Mental Hardware
LearningHabituation: diminished responding to a stimulus as it becomes familiar Classical conditioning: neutral stimulus elicits a response that was originally produced by another stimulusOperant conditioning: focus on consequences and reoccurrence of behavior
6.2 Information Processing
Memory
Babies remember, forget, and can be prompted to recall forgotten material
Infantile amnesia: inability to remember events from early in life (can be explained by development of language and sense of self)
6.2 Memory
Understanding the World
Infants distinguish quantities because small quantities may be perceptually obvious Infants have an egocentric frame of reference but will develop and objective frame of reference later
6.2 Information Processing
Test of Quantity
Individual Differences in Ability
Individual differences are measured in mental tests for infants and toddlersScores from infant intelligence tests are not related to later IQ scores Habituation in infants is a better predictor of later IQ
6.2 Information Processing
6.3 Language
Perceiving SpeechFirst Steps to SpeakingFirst WordsFast Mapping Meanings to WordsStyles of Learning Language
Perceiving Speech
Phonemes are sounds that are the building blocks of language.Young babies can hear phonemes, even those not in their language.Infant directed speech may help children learn language.
6.3 Language
Infant Listening to Phonemes
First Steps to Speaking
2 months--cooing5 or 6 months--babbling7 or 8 months--babbling includes intonationDeaf children “babble” in sign language
6.3 Language
First Words
Infants understand that words are symbolsFirst words include people, animals, food, and toysGestures are symbols that children start to use around the time they begin to talk
6.3 Language
Fast Mapping Meaning to Words
Children learn words too rapidly to be starting from scratch on each oneJoint attention, simple rules, and sentence cues help children learn word meaningsUnderextensions and overextensions are 2 common errors
6.3 Language
Boz Blocks
Styles of Learning Language
Referential style: vocabularies consist mainly of words that name objects, persons, or actionsExpressive style: vocabularies include many social phrases that are used as a single word (e.g., “go-away,” “I-want-it”)
6.3 Language