Cognitive
Development in
Infancy and
Toddlerhood

 Psychological structures
 Organized ways of making sense of experience
 Change with age
 Action-based (motor patterns) at first
 Later move to a mental (thinking) level

 Adaptation
 Building schemes
 Assimilation
 Using current schemes to interpret external world
 Accommodation
 Adjusting old schemes and creating new ones to better fit environment

 Equilibrium and
Disequilibrium
 Use assimilation during equilibrium
 Disequilibrium prompts accommodation
 Organization
 Internal rearranging and linking schemes

Sensorimotor Stage
 Birth to 2 years
 Building schemes through sensory and motor exploration
 Circular reactions

Reflexive Schemes Birth –1 month
Primary Circular
Reactions
1 – 4 months
Secondary Circular
Reactions
Coordination of
Secondary Circular
Reactions
4 – 8 months
8 – 12 months
Tertiary Circular
Reactions
12 – 18 months
Mental
Representations
12 months
– 2 years
Newborn reflexes
Simple motor habits centered around own body
Repeat interesting effects in soundings
Intentional, goal-directed behavior; object permanence
Explore properties of objects through novel actions
Internal depictions of objects or events; deferred imitation

感知运动时期的各个阶段
 Substage 1 (0-1m)
Reflexive Schemes
 反射练习 (Exercising
Reflexes)

 Substage 2
Primary
Circular Reactions
基本习惯动作阶段
(Developing
Schemes)(1-4ms)

 Substage 3 (4-
10ms)
Secondary
Circular Reactions

有目的的动作初步
形成 ( 智慧动作开
始萌芽 )
(Discovering
Procedures)
条件：

视觉和抓握开始协调

 Substage 4 (9-11ms)
Coordination of Secondary
Circular Reactions

目的与手段已经分化
(Intentional Behavior)

 Substage 5 (11-12
个月至 1.5
岁 )
Tertiary Circular Reactions
 用 [ 尝试与错误 ] 解决
问题 ( 第三级循环阶段 )
(Novelty and
Exploration)

 Substage 6
Mental
Representations

有目的的动作形成
(Intentional, or goaldirected behavior)
 开始运用表象思维

 Understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight
 According to Piaget, develops in
Substage 4.

客体概念
 客体永久性 (object permanent)
客体永久性作业

 目的手段的分化
智慧成就
因果关系的形成

Mental Representations211
 Internal, mental depictions of objects, people, events, information
 Can manipulate with mind
 Allow deferred imitation and make-believe play

Follow-up research 1:
Violation of Expectations Method

Follow-up research 2:
Deferred Imitation214
 Piaget : Develops about 18 months
 Newer research:
 Present at 6 weeks – facial imitation
 6 – 9 months – copy actions with objects
 12 – 14 months – imitate rationally
 18 months – imitate intended, but not completed, actions

 Some developments happen at time Piaget described:
 Object search, A-not-B, make-believe play
 Many appear to happen soon than Piaget thought:
 Object permanence, deferred imitation, problem solving by analogy
 Some have suggested that infants are born with core knowledge(217) in several domains of thought

Store Model of Information
Processing System220

Attention
Memory
Categorization
 Efficiency, ability to shift focus improve.
 Less attraction to novelty, better sustained attention after first year.
 Retention intervals lengthen.
 recognition
 Recall appears by 1 year; excellent in second year.
 Impressive perceptual categorization in first year.
 Conceptual categorization in second year

Categorization1

Categorization2

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
 Social contexts (other people) contribute to cognitive development
 Zone of Proximal
Development – tasks child cannot do alone but can learn to do with help227

Individual differences in early mental development229
 Infant intelligence tests
 Intelligence quotient,
IQ
 Developmental quotients, DQs
Meaning of
Different IQ
Scores

Early environment and mental dev. :
High Quality HOME Environment231
 Parent emotional and verbal responsiveness
 Parental acceptance
 Safe physical environment
 Appropriate play materials
 Parental involvement
 Variety, daily stimulation

Early environment and mental dev. :
Elements of Developmentally Appropriate
Child Care232
 Responsive, interactive, well-trained caregivers
 Clean, safe, uncrowded indoor spaces
 Appropriate toys, stored within reach
 Safe equipment
 Low teacher-child ratios
 Flexible daily schedule
 Warm atmosphere
 Parents welcome anytime
 Accredited

Early intervention for at-risk infants and toddlers-----IQ Improvement from
Early Intervention Programs

Behaviorist
Nativist
Interactionist
Learned through operant conditioning (reinforcement) and imitation
Inborn Language Acquisition
Device (LAD) biologically prepares infants to learn rules of language.(broca’s area,
Wernicke’s area236)
Inner capacities and environment work together;
Social context is important.

 First speech sounds
 Cooing
 Babbling
 Becoming a communicator
 Joint attention239
 Give- and-take
 Preverbal gestures

 First Words
 Underextension
 Overextension
 Two-Word Utterances
 Telegraphic Speech
 Comprehension versus production

 Environment
 Child Directed Speech (CDS)
 Gender
 Personality
 Language Style
 Referential
 Expressive
 Language Delay

Infants
 Respond to coos and babbles
 Establish and respond to joint attention
 Play social games
Toddlers
 Play make-believe together
 Have frequent conversations
 Read to toddlers often. Talk about the books