This document summarizes cognitive development in early childhood according to several theories and perspectives. It discusses Piaget's view of the preoperational stage from ages 2 to 7. It also covers Vygotsky's social constructivist perspective, including the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Additionally, it examines the information processing approach to attention, memory, executive function, and theory of mind in early childhood. Finally, it evaluates language development in areas such as phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics from ages 1 to 6.

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CHILDREN
Fifteenth Edition
JOHN W. SANTROCK
JENNIFER E. LANSFORD
KIRBY DEATER-DECKARD
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2. Because learning changes everything.®
Chapter 9
Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Copyright 2022 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

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Learning Goals
Describe three views of the cognitive changes
that occur in early childhood.
Summarize how language develops in early
childhood.
Evaluate different approaches to early childhood
education.
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Cognitive Changes in Early
Childhood: Piaget’s Preoperational
Stage 1
Preoperational stage: Piaget’s second stage of
development, lasting from 2 to 7 years of age,
during which time children begin to represent the
world with words, images, and drawings.
• In this stage, children do not yet perform operations—
reversible mental actions that allow them to do mentally
what they formerly did physically.
Preoperational thought is the beginning of the ability
to reconstruct in thought what has been established
in behavior.
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Cognitive Changes in Early
Childhood: Piaget’s Preoperational
Stage 2
Preoperational stage is divided into two
substages.
First substage is the symbolic function
substage.
Occurs roughly between the ages of 2 and 4.
Child gains the ability to mentally represent an object
that is not present.
Thoughts are limited by beliefs.
• Egocentrism: the inability to distinguish one’s own perspectives
from those of others.
• Animism: inanimate objects are life-like; for example, “The side
walk made me mad; it made me fall down.”
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Cognitive Changes in Early
Childhood: Piaget’s Preoperational
Stage 3
Second substage is the intuitive thought
substage.
• Child uses primitive reasoning and seeks answers to all
sorts of questions.
• Occurs at about 4 to 7 years of age.
• Children are unaware of how they know what they know.
One limitation of preoperational thought is
centration—focusing attention on one
characteristic to the exclusion of all others.
• Young children lack conservation, the awareness that
altering an object’s substance does not change it
quantitatively. 6

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Cognitive Changes in Early
Childhood: Vygotsky’s Theory 1
According to Vygotsky, children develop their ways
of thinking and understanding primarily through
social interaction.
• Cognitive development depends on the tools society
provides.
• Children’s minds are shaped by the cultural context.
• Language also has a role in cognitive development.
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Cognitive Changes in Early
Childhood: Vygotsky’s Theory 2
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) refers to
the range of tasks that are too difficult for children
alone but that can be achieved with guidance and
assistance.
• Lower limit of ZPD: what the child achieves
independently.
• Upper limit of ZPD: what can be achieved with the
assistance of an able instructor.
• Child’s cognitive skills are in the process of maturing.
Scaffolding: changing the level of support over
the course of the teaching session to fit the child’s
current performance level. 8

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Cognitive Changes in Early
Childhood: Vygotsky’s Theory 3
Children use speech for solving tasks and for social
communication.
• To plans, monitor, and guide behavior using private
speech.
All mental functions have external, or social, origins.
Between 3 and 7 years of age, children transition
from external to internal speech, or inner speech—
their thoughts.
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Vygotsky’s Theory: Teaching
Strategies
Assess the child’s ZPD.
Use the child’s ZPD in teaching.
Use more-skilled peers as teachers.
Monitor and encourage children’s use of
private speech.
Place instruction in a meaningful context.
Transform the classroom with Vygotskian
ideas.
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Evaluating Vygotsky’s Theory
Vygotsky’s is a social constructivist approach
emphasizing the social contexts of learning and
the construction of knowledge through social
interaction.
• Endpoint of cognitive development for Piaget is formal
operational thought; for Vygotsky, the endpoint differs
depending on which skills are considered important.
• For both Piaget and Vygotsky, teachers serve as
facilitators.
Critics argue that Vygotsky was not specific
enough about age-related changes and that he
over-emphasized the role of language.
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The Information-Processing
Approach: Attention
Visual attention dramatically increases during the
preschool years.
• Executive attention: involves planning actions,
allocating attention to goals, detecting and compensating
for errors, and dealing with novel or difficult
circumstances.
• Sustained attention: focused and extended
engagement with an object, task, event, or other aspect
of the environment.
In at least two ways, however, the preschool
child’s control of attention is still deficient.
• Salient versus relevant dimensions.
• Planfulness. 12

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The Information-Processing
Approach: Memory 1
Retention of information over time is a central
process in children’s cognitive development.
Implicit memory is memory without conscious
recollection.
Explicit memory refers to the conscious
recollection of facts and experiences.
• Short-term memory: retained up to 30 seconds.
• Long-term memory: unlimited.
Memory span varies.
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The Information-Processing
Approach: Memory 2
Accuracy of children’s long-term memories
usually increases with age.
Memory improves with appropriate cues and prompts.
There are age differences in susceptibility to suggestion.
There are individual differences in susceptibility y.
Interviewing techniques can distort reports even in the
absence of a motivation to falsify.
• Many factors affect the reliability of eyewitness testimony.
During preschool, children’s autobiographical
memory—of significant events and
experiences—also increases.
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The Information-Processing
Approach: Executive Function
Executive function: an umbrella-like concept of a
number of higher-level cognitive processes linked
to the development of the brain’s prefrontal cortex.
• In early childhood, especially, it involves advances in
cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, goal setting, and
delay of gratification.
Advances in executive function are linked with
math skills, language development, and school
readiness.
• Development is affected by parenting practices,
socioeconomic status, some aspects of language,
imagination, cultural background, and sleep quality.
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The Information-Processing
Approach: The Child’s Theory of
Mind 1
Theory of mind: awareness of the mental
processes of the self and others.
Some developmental changes:
• At ages 18 months to 3 years, understanding three
mental states related to behavior: perceptions, emotions,
and desires.
• At ages 3 to 5, realization that there are false beliefs.
• At ages 5 to 7, a deeper appreciation of the mind itself.
• Age 7: understanding the beliefs and thoughts of others.
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The Information-Processing
Approach: The Child’s Theory of
Mind 2
There are individual differences in the ages at
which children reach certain milestones in their
theory of mind.
Young children’s symbolic skills also contribute to the
development of a theory of mind.
Language development also likely plays a prominent
role.
Other factors that influence development of a theory of
mind:
• Advances in prefrontal cortex functioning.
• Engaging in make-believe play.
• Engaging in mental state talk though social interaction.
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The Information-Processing
Approach: The Child’s Theory of
Mind 3
Another individual difference involves autism.
Approximately 1 in 59 children have some type of
autism.
• Can be diagnosed by age 3, sometimes earlier.
Children and adults with autism have difficulty in
social interactions, often described as deficits in
theory of mind.
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Language Development:
Phonology and Morphology
During the preschool years, most children become
more sensitive to spoken sounds and better able to
produce the sounds of their language.
• Vowels, consonants (simple and complex).
• Notice rhymes, enjoy poems, and make up silly names
using sound substitution.
By the time they move beyond two-word
utterances, children are aware of morphology
rules.
• Plural and possessive forms of nouns; appropriate
endings on verbs; prepositions, articles, etc.
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Figure 13 Stimuli in Berko’s Study of
Young Children’s Understanding of
Morphological Rules
In Jean Berko’s (1958) study, young children were presented with cards, such
as this one with a “wug” on it. Then the children were asked to supply the
missing word, the plural form of “wug”; in supplying the missing word, they had
to say it correctly, too. “Wugs” is the correct response here.
Gleason, Jean Berko, “The Child’s Learning of English Morphology,” Word, Vol. 14, 1958, p. 154. Copyright ©1958 by Jean Berko Gleason. All rights reserved. 20

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Language Development:
Changes in Syntax and
Semantics 1
Between 18 months and 6 years of age, young
children learn approximately one new word every
waking hour.
• Fast mapping helps to explain how young children learn
the connection between a word and its referent so quickly.
By the time they enter first grade, it is estimated that
children know about 14,000 words.
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Language Development:
Changes in Syntax and
Semantics 2
Six key principles in vocabulary development:
• Children learn the words they hear most often.
• Children learn words for things and events that interest
them.
• Children learn words best in responsive and interactive
contexts rather than passive contexts.
• Children learn best in contexts that are meaningful.
• Children learn best when they access clear information
about the word meaning.
• Children learn best when grammar and vocabulary are
considered.
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Language
Development:
Advances in
Pragmatics
Age and maturity bring improved language
skills.
Older children are better conversationalists.
Children begin to engage in extended discourse.
• Learn culturally-specific rules and behaviors.
• Talk more about events in time, and about absent objects and
persons.
Around 4 to 5 years of age, children learn to
change their speech style to suit the situation.
• For example, using more polite and formal language
with adults than with younger children.
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Language Development:
Young Children’s Literacy
Concerns about U.S. children’s ability to read and
write has led to a careful examination of preschool
and kindergarten.
Supportive environment is needed earlier.
Children should be active participants and be immersed in
a wide range of listening, talking, writing, and reading
experiences.
Strategies for using books with preschool children:
• Use books to initiate conversation with young children.
• Use what and why questions.
• Encourage children to ask questions about stories.
• Choose some books that play with language.
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Variations in Early
Childhood Education 1
Forty-two states plus the District of Columbia
have publicly funded preschool programs.
Nurturing is a key aspect of the child-centered
kindergarten.
• Involves the whole child by considering the child’s
physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development
and addressing the child’s needs, interests, and
learning styles.
• Stresses the process of learning, rather than what is
learned.
• Play is important.
• Variety of activities are used.
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Variations in Early
Childhood Education 2
Montessori approach is a philosophy in which
children are given considerable freedom and
spontaneity in choosing activities.
• Teacher acts as a facilitator rather than a director.
• Encourages children to make decisions from an early
age, which helps them engage in self-regulated,
independent problem solving and manage time
effectively.
• Criticisms are that it neglects social development,
deemphasizes verbal interaction, restricts imaginative
play and relies too heavily on self-corrective materials.
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Variations in Early
Childhood Education 3
Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP):
education that focuses on the developmental
patterns of children as well as the uniqueness of
each child.
• Children learn best from active, hands-on teaching
methods such as games and dramatic play.
• Children need their individual differences considered.
• Schools should focus on socioemotional development as
well as cognitive development.
Developmentally inappropriate education relies on
abstract paper-and-pencil activities.
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Educating Young
Children Who Are
Disadvantaged
Project Head Start (1965) was designed to
provide the opportunity for children from low-
income families to acquire the skills and
experience that are important for school success.
• Not all programs are created equal.
• Most provide quality childhood education.
Early Head Start (1995) was established for
children from birth to 3 years of age.
• Had a protective effect on the risks young children might
experience in relation to parenting stress, language
development, and self-control.
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Controversies in
Early Childhood
Education 1
What should the curriculum emphasize?
• Child centered, constructivist approach versus the
academic, direct instruction approach.
• Many high-quality early childhood education programs
include both.
Should preschool education be universal?
• Some argue universal preschool reduces the dropout
rate.
• Others believe the gains are being overstated.
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Controversies in
Early Childhood
Education 2
What is required for school readiness?
Craig and Sharon Ramey concluded that the
following caregiver activities are necessary:
• Encourage exploration.
• Mentor in basic skills.
• Celebrate developmental advances.
• Research and extend new skills.
• Protect from inappropriate disapproval, teasing, and
punishment.
• Guide and limit behavior.
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Review
Describe three views of the cognitive changes
that occur in early childhood.
Summarize how language develops in early
childhood.
Evaluate different approaches to early childhood
education.
31

32. Because learning changes everything.®
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Copyright 2022 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.