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- 1. Life-Span Development Twelfth Edition Chapter 5: Cognitive Development in Infancy 1
- 2. Cognitive Processes Piaget proposed that we build mental structures that help us adapt to the world Adaptation involves adjusting to new environmental demands Piaget stressed that children actively construct their own cognitive worlds through interaction with the environment Systematic changes in children’s thinking occur at different points in their development 2
- 3. Cognitive Processes Schemes: actions or mental representations that organize knowledge Behavioral schemes (physical activities) characterize infancy Consist of simple actions that can be performed on objects Mental schemes (cognitive activities) develop in childhood Include strategies and plans for solving problems 3
- 4. Cognitive Processes Assimilation: occurs when children use their existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences Accommodation: occurs when children adjust their schemes to take new information and experiences into account Organization: the grouping of isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system 4
- 5. Cognitive Processes Equilibration: the mechanism by which children shift from one stage of thought to the next Disequilibrium: child’s inevitable experience of cognitive conflict Brought about by inconsistencies in his or her existing schemes Internal search for equilibrium creates motivation for change Assimilation and accommodation are used to resolve conflict and bring about a new way of thinking 5
- 6. Cognitive Processes According to Piaget, individuals go through four stages of development Cognition is qualitatively different from one stage to another Sensorimotor Stage: infant cognitive development lasting from birth to 2 years Infants understand the world through their sensory experiences 6
- 7. Sensorimotor Substages • Tertiary Circular Reactions: marks the beginning of human curiosity and novelty 7
- 8. Cognitive Processes Object Permanence: the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched Developed by the end of the sensorimotor period Studied by watching infant’s reaction when an interesting object disappears Violation of Expectations method suggests that infants understand object permanence earlier than Piaget proposed 8
- 9. Object Permanence 9
- 10. Conditioning and Attention Conditioning: Infants can learn through classical and operant conditioning Rovee-Collier (1997) demonstrated that infants can retain conditioning experiences Attention: the focusing of mental resources on select information Newborns can detect and fix their attention on contours 4-month-olds can scan more thoroughly and show selective attention 10
- 11. Conditioning and Attention Infants’ attention is strongly governed by novelty and habituation Habituation: decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations Dishabituation: increased responsiveness after a change in stimulation Habituation is studied to determine the extent to which infants can see, hear, smell, taste, and experience touch Joint Attention: individuals focus on the same object or event 11
- 12. Memory Memory: retention of information over time Encoding: the process by which information gets into memory Implicit memory: memory without conscious recollection Skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically Explicit memory: conscious memory of facts and experiences Occurs in infants after 6 months Maturation of hippocampus and surrounding cerebral cortex 12
- 13. Memory Imitation: Meltzoff: infants’ imitative abilities are biologically based and are characterized by flexibility and adaptability Deferred Imitation: imitation that occurs after a time delay of hours or days Piaget: deferred imitation does not occur until about 18 months Meltzoff: research suggests it can occur as 13 early as 9 months
- 14. Concept Formation and Categorization Categories: groups of objects, events, and characteristics on the basis of common properties Concepts: ideas about what categories represent Perceptual categorization: 3-month-olds can group together objects with similar appearances Conceptual categorization: by 7–9 months, infants form categories that are global in nature By age two, general concepts become more differentiated Intense, passionate interest in particular categories is more common in boys than girls 14
- 15. Predicting Intelligence Scores on infant tests are not highly correlated with IQ scores in childhood Components of tests are very different Exception: Fagan test Measures of habituation and dishabituation are linked to intelligence in childhood and adolescence Many important changes in cognitive development take place after infancy 15
- 16. Language Development Wild or feral children are raised in isolation and are unable to recapture normal language development despite intensive intervention later Victor, Wild Boy of Aveyron Genie: 13-year-old found in 1970 in Los Angeles Both cases raise questions about biological and environmental determinants of language Language: a form of communication – whether spoken, written, or signed – that is based on a system of symbols Infinite Generativity: the ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words and rules 16
- 17. The Rule Systems of Language • Syntax:combining of words to form acceptable phrases and sentences 17
- 18. Language Development Language develops in infants throughout the world along a similar path and sequence Recognizing language sounds With age, infants get better at perceiving the sounds in their own language and worse at distinguishing sounds in other languages Detecting boundaries between words Occurs by about 8 months 18
- 19. Language Development Babbling and other vocalizations Crying Cooing Babbling Gestures are used by about 8 to 12 months Pointing, waving “bye-bye” First words: Children understand first words earlier than they speak them On average, a child understands about 50 words at age 13 months but can’t speak 50 words until 18 months Children typically speak their first word at 10–15 months 19
- 20. Language Development Vocabulary spurt begins at approximately 18 months of age Overextension and underextension of words are common Overextension: tendency to apply a word to objects that are inappropriate for the word’s meaning Underextension: tendency to apply a word too narrowly Two-word utterances occur at about 18–24 months Telegraphic speech: use of short and precise words without grammatical markers (ie: “Want ice cream,” “fall down,” and “Mommy give drink” ) 20
- 21. Language Milestones in Infancy 21
- 22. Language Development Biological Influences: Evolution of nervous system and vocal apparatus Similarities in language development across the world suggest a biological basis Particular brain regions used for language: Broca’s area: language production Wernicke’s area: language comprehension 22
- 23. Language Development Biological Influences (continued): Language Acquisition Device (LAD; Noam Chomsky): theory that a biological endowment enables children to detect certain features and rules of language Theoretical concept only Critics argue that the LAD cannot explain all of language development 23
- 24. Language Development Environmental Influences: Behaviorists claim language is a complex learned skill acquired through reinforcements Interaction view (Tomasello): children learn language in specific contexts Children’s vocabulary is linked to family socioeconomic status and the type of talk parents direct toward their children 24
- 25. Language Development Child-Directed Speech: . unique way that parents (and others) talk to babies Captures infant’s attention and maintains communication language spoken in a higher pitch than normal with simple words and sentences Three strategies to enhance child’s acquisition of language: Recasting: rephrasing something the child has said Expanding state: repeating what the child has said but in correct structure Labeling: identifying the names of objects Children vary in their ability to acquire language 25