PSY BEH 101D Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Metacognition, Logical Reasoning, Social Constructivism
Document Summary
Received his doctorate in natural history and philosophy at the age of 21. Arguably one of the most important figures in the history of developmental psychology. Active construction of mental structures that help us adapt to the world. Systematic changes in thinking: four stages of development: progressively advanced and qualitatively different, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations. Believed six processes used in constructing knowledge: schemes and organization, assimilation and accommodation, equilibrium and equilibration. Actions or mental representations that organize knowledge: behavioral schemes: physical activities characterizing infancy. E. g. , sucking, looking, grasping: mental schemes: cognitive activities develop in childhood. E. g. , problem solving strategies, plans, classifying objects. Through organization, children systematically group isolated schemes into a higher-order cognitive system. E. g. , group items (apples, grapes) into categories (fruit) Process through which schemes are altered as a result of experience: assimilation and accommodation. Both operate even in very young infants.