CHAPTER 5: Cognitive and Intellectual Development
Chapter Preview
This chapter discusses cognitive and intellectual development of infants. It includes
theories of cognitive development, issues related to assessing intelligence, and delayed
cognitive development.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Discuss the concepts of cognition and intelligence and define them.

Understand the basic principles of Piaget’s, Vygotsky’s, Behavioral, Social Learning,
and Information Processing theories of cognitive development.

Address the issues involved in assessing infant intelligence.

Discuss the patterns and concerns associated with delays in cognitive development.
Key Terms and Concepts
Accommodation is the process of changing a schema or concept based on new
information.
Adaptation is the infant’s new level of understanding based on enriched concepts or
schemata.
Assimilation is the process of taking in information for a schema or concept.
Behavioral theory supports the idea that children learn by systematically interacting
with a structured environment and being rewarded for their successful accomplishment
of tasks.
Cognition is the ability to process information and apply knowledge.
Criterion-referenced measures look at whether or not infants and toddlers can perform
specific skills.
Delayed cognitive development is intellectual growth that does not follow the expected
rate of cognitive development. Most children with delayed cognitive development will not
reach a higher level of abstract thinking skills.
Developmental theories are developed to explain the commonalities in human
development, to guide research, and to provide the basis for social policy.
Information-processing models see cognition as a matter of organizing information to
solve problems, with a focus on how information is selected, represented, stored, and
retrieved.
Intelligence is the use of knowledge and is measurable.
Norm-referenced measures compare assessment scores to all those who have taken
the test.
Piaget’s theory focuses on the basis of knowing, or cognition, which he sees as a
dynamic constructive process that evolves as children interact with their environment
and are influenced by it.
Preoperational stage is the second stage of development in Piaget’s theory and goes
from about two to seven years of age. During this stage, the child can think using mental
representations, or use symbols to represent the environment. The most obvious
transition to this period is the rapid acquisition of language, with words taking on the
form of signifiers of objects and events.
Referencing is the act of a child using a trusted caregiver to determine how he should
feel about a new event (emotional referencing) and what to do in a new situation
(instrumental referencing).
Scaffolding is a dynamic system of providing support for learning.
Schema is a mental concept or category that refers to a particular behavioral sequence.
The plural of schema is schemata.
Sensorimotor stage is the first stage of development in Piaget’s theory from birth until
about two years, characterized by infants’ exploration of their world with their senses and
motor activity.
Social learning theory, represented by Bandura, emphasizes the impact that the
physical and human environment has on a child’s cognitive development.
Stage-based development assumes that there is a predictable sequence or stage that
is a prerequisite to the next. Qualitative changes occur as the child progresses through
these developmental stages.
Vygotsky and neo-Vygotsky theory is the developmental theory of Vygotsky and his
followers. Vygotsky believed that a child’s cognitive development is dependent upon the
environment and the culture. His emphasis was on the development of self-regulation,
with language as a multifunctional medium.
Zone of proximal development is the gap between what a child can do independently
and what he can do with adult guidance.
Chapter Outline
Cognition
Piaget’s Theory
Vygotsky and Neo-Vygotsky Theory
Behavioral Theory
Social Learning Theory
Information-Processing Models
Intellectual Development
Delayed Intellectual Development
Recommended Reading
Bronson, M. B. (2000). Self-regulation in early childhood: Nature and nurture. New York:
Guilford.
Cryer, D., Harms, T., & Bourland, B. (1987). Active learning for infants. Menlo Park, CA:
Addison-Wesley.
Cryer, D., Harms, T., & Bourland, B. (1988). Active learning for twos. Menlo Park, CA:
Addison-Wesley.
Flavell, J. H. (1999). Cognitive development: Children’s knowledge about the mind.
Annual Review of Psychology 50, 21–45.
Karpov, Y. V. (2005). The neo-Vygotskian approach to child development. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Ostrosky, M. M., & Horn, E. (2002). Assessment; gathering meaningful information.
Exceptional Children Monograph Series Number 4. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
Pawl, J., & Dombro, A. 2001. Learning and growing together with families: Partnering
with parents to support young children’s development. Washington, DC: Zero to
Three.
Peterson, S. 2005. Early learning guidelines for infants and toddlers. Washington, DC:
Zero to Three.
Sandall, S., Hemmeter, M. L., Smith, B. J., & McLean, M. E. (Eds.). (2005). DEC
recommended practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application in early
intervention/early childhood special education. Missoula, MT: Division for Early
Childhood.
Relevant Web Sites
Cognitive Development, the official journal of the Jean Piaget Society, contains the
very best empirical and theoretical work on the development of perception, memory,
language, concepts, thinking, problem solving, metacognition, and social cognition.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620192/description#desc
ription
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation promotes the development of children
and youth worldwide and supports educators and families as they help children learn.
High/Scope develops curricula, trains teachers, conducts and publishes research, and
publishes educational books, many related to infant and toddler growth and
development. www.highscope.org
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. collaborates in high-quality, objective research to
support decisions about the nation’s most pressing social policy problems. Some of
these include information about Early Head Start and other programs and policies that
support infants and toddlers. Then have one section devoted to early childhood.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/
Mind in the Making shares the science of early learning with those who care about
children’s learning and development. http://mindinthemaking.org/index.htm
Parenting: Babies and Toddlers is one of a series of sites supported by the New York
Times Company (About.com). It provides information on a variety of aspects of parenting
including ways of supporting cognitive development.
http://babyparenting.about.com/od/childdevelopment/
The Jean Piaget Society: Society for the Study of Knowledge and Development
has an international, interdisciplinary membership of scholars, teachers, and researchers
interested in exploring the nature of the developmental construction of human
knowledge. Its aim is to provide an open forum, through symposia, books, a journal, and
other publications, for the presentation and discussion of scholarly work on issues
related to human knowledge and its development. http://www.piaget.org/
WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency that promotes
learning for infants, toddlers, youth, and adults. The organization offers many resources
and materials for those working with infants and toddlers. www.wested.org