Cognitive Development - Piaget

Schemas – action plans based on past
experience

Assimilation – new experiences/objects/events
are incorporated into existing schemas

Accommodation – existing schemas are
modified, new schemas created
Cognitive Development - Piaget
Stage
Age
Characteristics and Achievements
Range
Sensorimotor
0–2 years
Differentiates self from objects and other people, seeks
interesting sights, develops object permanence, and basic
understanding of causality; begins to imitate and engage
in imaginative play
Preoperational
2–7 years
Begins to use symbols and language; problem solving is
intuitive, and thinking is egocentric, irreversible, centered
Concrete operations 7–12 years Can reason logically about present objects, grasps
concept of conservation, can take the perspective of
another person, can organize objects into classes and
series
Formal operations
> 12 years Thinking is flexible and complex; can think about abstract
ideas and hypotheses
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Cognitive Development - Piaget

Sensorimotor – Object permanence
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Preoperational – egocentrism, incapable of
conservation, compensation

Concrete Operations – conservation,
reversibility

Formal Operations – hypothetico-deductive
thinking, imaginary audience, personal fable
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory
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Strengths

Links between cognition and social reactions

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Object permanence, Egocentrism
Weaknesses



Not enough acknowledgement of how children’s interactions
with others (vs. objects in the environment) contributes to
development
Neglect of social, emotional, and cultural influences on
development
Stage theory criticized
Consider Piaget’s Cognitive
Development Theory

Nature, Nurture, or Both?

Active or Passive?
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Continuous or Discontinuous?

Situation, Personality, or Both?

Universal, Cultural, or Both?
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Cognitive Developmental –Vygotsky’s
Sociocultural Theory

Development emerges from interactions with
more skilled people and the institutions and
tools provided by the culture

Principles of cultural influence

Zone of Proximal Development
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Evaluation of Vygotsky’s Theory
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Strengths

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Focused on assessing child potential via the ZPD
Offered new perspective on ways to teach children
Increased focus on cultural variation and historical
influence
Weaknesses



Not clear how interactions between partners shift over the
course of development
Not clear how other areas of development contribute to the
types of contexts that are made available to children
Measurement of ZPD is difficult
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Consider Vygotsky

Nature, Nurture, or Both?

Active or Passive?

Continuous or Discontinuous?

Situation, Personality, or Both?

Universal, Cultural, or Both?
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Systems Theory Perspective

Systems approach - describes how children’s
development is affected by the interacting
components that form one of these systems
as well as by single factors within the system

Recall Levels of Analyses

Dyadic → triadic → long-term → social groups → social
networks → society/culture
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Microsystem - the context in which
children live and interact with the people
and institutions closest to them

Mesosystem - interrelations among the
components of the microsystem

Exosystem - the collection of settings
that influence a child’s development but
in which the child does not play a direct
role

Macrosystem - the system representing
the values, ideologies, and laws of the
society or culture

Chronosystem - the time-based
dimension
What is the system?

Prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated
with ADHD in children
13
What is the system?

Parents and teachers punish children
diagnosed with ADHD, leading these children
to develop academic problems and poor peer
relationships
14
What is the system?

Low-weight children are less likely to develop
ADHD when their mother express warmth
toward them.
What is the system?

70% of children with ADHD who took a
stimulant showed improvement in academic
performance and peer relationships.
What is the system?

The prevalence of ADHD is increasing.
Some suggest that this rise in ADHD is due
to the compulsory schooling requirement set
forth by the government.
What is the system?

Section 504 of the American Disabilities Act
was passed in 1973. This act provides
reasonable accommodations for students and
employees diagnosed with ADHD.
Evaluation of Bronfenbrenner’s Theory
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Strengths

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Attention to broad range of influential contexts
Provides a bridge to other disciplines
Weaknesses

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
Useful descriptive guide but does not explain
processes
Does not explain how different contexts have
different influences across development
Can be difficult to categorize variables within one
system
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Consider Bronfenbrenner

Nature, Nurture, or Both?

Active or Passive?

Continuous or Discontinuous?

Situation, Personality, or Both?

Universal, Cultural, or Both?
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Biological Perspectives

Ethological theory - theory that behavior must
be viewed in a particular context and as
having adaptive or survival value

Critical Period vs. Sensitive Period
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Critical vs. Sensitive Periods
Critical


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Begins/ends
abruptly
Period beyond
which a
phenomenon will
not appear
Lorenz = viewed as
completely fixed
Sensitive



Begins/ends
gradually
Period of maximal
sensitivity
Greater flexibility in
boundaries of time
Evidence for Critical Period

Konrad Lorenz goslings

Case Studies of children living in deprived
environments (e.g., Victor the Wild Child,
Genie)

The earlier children learn a second (or ALS)
language, the better their performance on a
language test as adults

Somewhere around age 7 or earlier
Evidence against a critical period

Previously, time b/w birth and age 3 was
most important critical period

Poor diet before 3 years can be corrected
after age 3

If most important period was before age 3,
we would solved many problems within
developmental psychology!
Evaluation of Ethological Theory

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Strengths

Discoveries regarding social development based
on animal research

Combo of Biology and Environ: Instincts need the
right environment to develop properly
Weaknesses


Largely descriptive
Narrowly defined “critical” period with regard to
human development
Biological Perspectives –
Evolutionary Developmental Thy

Focus on behaviors that ensured past
survival of the species

Central principle: parents give their children
attention and resources to ensure the
passage of their genes through the next
generation
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Evaluation of Evolutionary
Developmental Theory

Strengths

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Brings attention to adaptive value of several
behaviors observed in childhood
Weaknesses


Limited relevance for addressing issues
associated with rapid changes, such as new
technological advances or sudden social shifts
Post hoc explanations
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
Biological Perspectives – Human
Behavior Genetics


Focuses on the relative contributions of
heredity and environment to individual
differences
Strengths


Emphasis on environmental causes of behavior
Weaknesses

Need more specific measure of environment
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood
A Variety of Theoretical Perspectives
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No single theory adequately addresses social
development
Contemporary theories focus on specified
domains
Some theories are better at explaining some
aspects of social behavior than others
All theories are needed to address the broad
nature of social development
Copyright © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood