Warm Up
 Define the 2 reflexes of babies
 Looking at Nature VS. Nurture debate..
 A childs home life would fall under which side?
 A childs genetic makeup?
 What did the case study on Genie help researchers
decide?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 “The principle goal of education in the schools should
be creating men and women who are capable of
doing new things, not simply repeating what other
generations have done.”
 Jean Piaget
Language
 Reflect on the outlines you created yesterday…
 1. How can animals use language? How can they not?
 2. What are the steps for children to acquire
language?
 3. What does a baby do before they can actually talk?
 4. What type of speech do babies first use?
SCHEMA
 Mental representations of the world
 How we understand the world
ASSIMILATION
 Fitting objects and experiences into ones schema
ACCOMMODATION
 Adjusting ones schemas to fit new object
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
 1. A child seeing a zebra for the first time and
calling it a horse. The child assimilates this
information into her schema for a horse. When the
child accommodates information, she takes into
consideration the different properties of a zebra
compared to a horse, perhaps calling a zebra a horse
with stripes. When she eventually learns the name of
zebra, she has accommodated this information.
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
 2. When a child learns the word for dog, they start
to call all four-legged animals dogs. This is
assimilation. People around them will say, no, that's
not a dog, it's a cat. The schema for dog then gets
modified to restrict it to only certain four-legged
animals. That is accommodation.
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
 3. If you come to my house for the weekend, I
could assimilate you into my household by having you
follow my routine--you'll get up at 6, watch Parks and
Recreation on Netflix, and have oatmeal for
breakfast. If I accommodate to you instead, I will get
up at noon, watch Oprah, and have cold pizza for
breakfast (assuming that's your usual routine).
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
 Create your own scenario of Assimilation vs.
Accommodation 
PIAGET
 Four Stages of Cognitive Development




1. Sensorimotor- birth to 1 ½ yrs
2. Preoperational 2-7 yrs
3. Concrete Operations
7-11
4. Formal Operations
11 into adulthood
Sensorimotor
 Infant Scientist!
 6 Stages
 Video
Pre-Operational
Basic mental operations begin
Egocentric- seeing the world only from
their viewpoint, inability to see from
another's perspective
Imaginary Friends created
Lack conservation- given quantity does
not change when its appearance is
changed
Pre-Operational
 Use feelings, rather than logic to solve problems
I DON’T
WANT A NAP,
I AM NOT
TIRED OR
CRANKY!!!!
Video
Concrete Operational
 Begin using basic logic
 Understand Conservation (which was.. What?)
 Understand reversibility, and classifications
Video
Formal Operational
 Can understand abstract ideas
 Use reasoning
 Video
Divide paper into 4 sections- one for
each stage
 Read through handout with partner
 Jot down main ideas
 Make sure to describe all 6 stages within stage 1!!
Create a story
 Create a story about a baby (please name him or her)
 Walk through the babies life from birth until 12 years old.
Make sure to provide specific examples of each stage
which the baby would have gone through. Do not use
unrealistic behaviors throughout the different stages..
Remember maturation readiness!!!
 You may do this in essay form, or through an annotated
timeline. (For timeline-include pictures  )
And for baby animals…
Page 75 in textbook
 Define imprinting and critical period
 What significance does the critical period play?
 What findings did Harlow make using surrogate
mothers?
 What is the difference between stranger anxiety and
separation anxiety?
 How would a child with avoidant attachment handle
being left alone?