Chapter 9: Cognitive
Development in
Preschool Children
9.1 Cognitive Processes
9.2 Language
9.3 Communicating with Others
9.4 Early Childhood Education
9.1 Cognitive Processes
Piaget’s Account
Information-Processing
Perspectives on Preschool
Thinking
Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive
Development
Piaget’s Account
Preschoolers are in Piaget’s
preoperational stage
Children can use symbols but are many
weaknesses in their thinking:
egocentrism, centration, and
appearance as reality
Improved biological theories and
theory of mind
9.1 Cognitive Processes
Three-Mountains Task
Conservation Tasks
Theory of Mind Task
Information-Processing
Perspectives…
During the preschool years, children
become better at regulating their
attention
Autobiographical memory originates in
the preschool years
Preschoolers’ counting follows 3 basic
principles
9.1 Cognitive Processes
Vygotsky’s Theory of
Cognitive Development
Zone of proximal development: difference
between what one can do alone or with
assistance
Scaffolding: matching the amount of
assistance to the learner’s needs
Private speech: comments intended to
regulate own behavior
9.1 Cognitive Processes
9.2 Language
Encouraging Word Learning
From Two-Word Speech to
Complex Sentences
How Children Acquire Grammar
Encouraging Word
Learning
Talk more, but with not at children
Ask children questions
Sesame Street helps (because it’s
interactive)
Bilingual children learn language as
rapidly as monolinguals
9.2 Language
The Effect of Asking Children
Questions
From Two-Word Speech
to Complex Sentences
Speech is often telegraphic in 2-yearolds
Gradually add grammatical morphemes
Easiest morphemes mastered first
Rule-based so errors of
overregularization occur
9.2 Language
“Wug” Stimuli
How Children Acquire
Grammar
Language input is important but more than just
imitation because children’s speech has its own
grammar
Neural mechanisms that help children find
regularities (specific brain regions, critical
period for learning language)
Semantic bootstrapping hypothesis: children
rely upon word meaning to discover grammar
9.2 Language
9.3 Communicating with
Others
Taking Turns
Speaking Effectively
Listening Well
Taking Turns
Even before children speak,
parents model turn-taking
By 3 years, children know this
is a key rule
9.3 Communicating with Others
Speaking Effectively
Toddlers’ first conversations about
themselves
Preschoolers adjust their speech based
on the age of the listener and context
Understand that when listeners
misunderstand, speakers need to do
something
9.3 Communicating with Others
Listening Well
Preschoolers often don’t detect
ambiguities in messages or assume
they understood the speaker’s intent.
Preschoolers are more likely to believe
confusing statements or statements
that contradict their beliefs when told
by a parent instead of a classmate
9.3 Communicating with Others
9.4 Early Childhood
Education
Varieties of Early Childhood
Education
Preschool Programs for Economically
Disadvantaged Children
Using TV to Educate Preschool
Children
Varieties of Early
Childhood Education
Preschools and day-care centers are not
the same
Goal of child-centered programs is to
educate the whole child
Academic programs follow an explicit
curriculum to achieve academic goals
Many programs based on Piagetian ideas
9.4 Early Childhood Education
Preschool Programs for
Economically Disadvantaged
Head Start fosters development of
children from low-income families
In general, children in Head Start
are healthier, less likely to repeat a
grade, less likely to be in special
education
9.4 Early Childhood Education
Using TV to Educate
Preschool Children
3-year-olds who watch Sesame Street
regularly have larger vocabularies later
Viewers of shows that stress prosocial
behavior are more likely to act prosocially
TV watching does not lead to decreased
attention span, mixed findings regarding
creativity
9.4 Early Childhood Education