PSYC1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Anthropomorphism, Object Permanence
2 Jul 2018
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15/05/2018 Constructivist Theories of Cognitive Development
Cognition – all mental activities such as: thinking, problem solving learning, remembering,
paying attention
Cognitive development – the processes by which humans come to think and understand
Piaget’s and the field of cognitive development’s most fundamental questions:
oWhat is the origin of knowledge?
oHow is knowledge acquired, how is it used to reason, and how does this change with
development?
oTheory of development – can classify as Nature (biological factors) or Nurture
(environment); or Continuous (butterfly’s wings getting bigger over generations) or
Discontinuous (patterns of thought are qualitatively different over time)
development
Nature (biological factors) or Nurture (environment)
oPredeterminists – environment plays a minor role; maturation has the major role
oEnvironmentalists (behaviourists) – environment has pre-eminent role (behaviour
in an environment)
oInteractionists - both nature and nurture play a part
Piaget’s theory is a particular form of interactionism called “Constructivism”
oBirth: no knowledge; by adolescence they gain knowledge and use it in sophisticated
ways
oProgression occurs because infants construct knowledge from their perception of
the world and their actions on the world
oPure-nurture/pure-nature based theories: suggest the child is passive in its own
development
oChild is active and self-driven in their learning, constructs their own mental life
oStage Theories – discontinuity in development. Stages represent periods when
there is a qualitative change – children advanced to next stage only when both
mature enough and when learned enough
oInformation on Stages:
1. Development involves changing underlying structures;
2. The sequence of stage progression is invariant (all individuals go through stages in
same order)
3. The stages are universal
4. Both nature and nurture contribute
oMain features: children’s thought qualitatively different from adults; children are
active constructors of knowledge, NOT passive recipients
oSchemes/Schemata: are “mental structures” that capture the common properties of
behaviours (e.g. grasping), objects (e.g. chair), experiences (e.g. bath time)
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Document Summary
Cognition all mental activities such as: thinking, problem solving learning, remembering, paying attention. Cognitive development the processes by which humans come to think and understand. Discontinuous (patterns of thought are qualitatively different over time) development. Constructivist theories of cognitive development: progression through the stages involves adapting! (assimilation and accommodation) 2-7 years) development of symbolic thought (mental action). 7 11 years) child has mastered mental operations such as decentring and reversible thinking: formal operations stage (approx. 11 years +) logical operations on abstract entities are now possible; capacity for abstract thought, concepts; ability to perform mental operations on hypothetical and abstract things; ability to reason in a systematic way; reflective thinking. Overestimated adult"s abilities and underestimated young children"s abilities. As children develop they get better at directing their attention and self-regulating their behaviour to enact complex plans to achieve goals. Knowledge of the world help you make and enact plans.
