Dev_Psych_Module_2_2

Chapter 2: Infancy : 

Chapter 2: Infancy Module 2.2 Cognitive Development in Infancy

Looking Ahead : 

Looking Ahead What are the fundamental features of Piaget’s theories of cognitive development? How do infants process information? How is infant intelligence measured? By what processes do children learn to use language? How do children influence adults’ language? 106

PIAGET’S APPROACH TO COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT : 

PIAGET’S APPROACH TO COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Key Elements of Piaget’s Theory : 

Key Elements of Piaget’s Theory Action = Knowledge Four universal stages in fixed order Development = physical maturation and exposure to relevant experiences Schemes adapt and change 107

What principles underlie this cognitive growth? : 

What principles underlie this cognitive growth? Assimilation Accommodation 108

Earliest Stage of Cognitive Growth : 

Earliest Stage of Cognitive Growth Sensorimotor Period Invariant order of stages Individual differences in rate Transitions include characteristics of both stages 108

A Closer Look : 

A Closer Look Substage 1: Simple Reflexes First month of life Various various inborn reflexes At center of a baby’s physical and cognitive life Determine nature of infant’s interactions with world At the same time, some of reflexes begin to accommodate the infant’s experiences 109

A Closer Look : 

A Closer Look Substage 2: First Habits and Primary Circular Reactions 1 to 4 months of age Beginning of coordination of what were separate actions into single, integrated activities. Activities that engage baby’s interests are repeated simply for sake of continuing to experience it Circular reaction Primary circular reaction 109

A Closer Look : 

Substage 3: Secondary Circular Reactions 4 to 8 months of age Child begins to act upon outside world Infants now seek to repeat enjoyable events in their environments that are produced through chance activities Secondary circular reactions A Closer Look 110

A Closer Look : 

A Closer Look Substage 4: Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions  8 months to 12 months Beginning of goal-directed behavior Several schemes are combined and coordinated to generate single act to solve problem Means to attain particular ends and skill in anticipating future circumstances due in part to object permanence 110

Come out, come out, wherever you are! : 

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

What do you see? : 

What do you see?

Object Permanence : 

Object Permanence 111

A Closer Look : 

A Closer Look Substage 5: Tertiary Circular Reactions  12 to 18 months Development of schemes regarding deliberate variation of actions that bring desirable consequences Carrying out miniature experiments to observe consequences 110

A Closer Look : 

A Closer Look Substage 6: Beginnings of Thought 18 months to 2 years Capacity for mental representation or symbolic thought Mental representation Understanding causality Ability to pretend Deferred imitation 111

Assessing Piagetian Theory : 

Assessing Piagetian Theory PROS Descriptions of child cognitive development accurate in many ways Piaget was pioneering figure in field of development Children learn by acting on environment Broad outlines of sequence of cognitive development and increasing cognitive accomplishments are generally accurate CONS Substantial disagreement over validity of theory and many of its specific predictions Stage conception questioned Connection between motor development and cognitive development exaggerated Object permanence can occur earlier under certain conditions Onset of age of imitation questioned Cultural variations not considered 111

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Piaget’s theory of human cognitive development involves a succession of stages through which children progress from birth to adolescence. As infants move from one stage to another, the way they understand the world changes. 113

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW The sensorimotor stage, from birth to about 2 years, involves a gradual progression through simple reflexes, single coordinated activities, interest in the outside world, purposeful combinations of activities, manipulation of actions to produce desired outcomes, and symbolic thought. The sensorimotor stage has six substages. 113

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply APPLY Think of a common young children’s toy with which you are familiar. How might its use be affected by the principles of assimilation and accommodation? 113

INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACHES TO COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT : 

INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACHES TO COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

What is information-processing? : 

What is information-processing? Identifies the way that individuals take in, store, and use information Involves quantitative changes in ability to organize and manipulate information Increases sophistication, speed, and capacity in information processing characterizes cognitive growth Focuses on types of “mental programs” used when seeking to solve problems 113

What are the foundations of the IP approach? : 

What are the foundations of the IP approach? Encoding—storage—retrieval 114

How does cognition compute? : 

How does cognition compute? Encoding Storage Retrieval 114

What automatic processes are being engaged as you listen to this lecture? : 

What automatic processes are being engaged as you listen to this lecture?

Automatization : 

Automatization Degree to which activity requires attention Helps with initial encounters with stimuli through easy and automatic information processing 114

What do you think? : 

What do you think? Infants cannot remember

Memory Capabilities in Infancy : 

Memory Capabilities in Infancy Getting a kick out of that! Kicking research demonstrates increase with age in memory capacities 115

Does your family have a special story about your early childhood? : 

Does your family have a special story about your early childhood?

How long do memories last? : 

How long do memories last? Researchers disagree on the age from which memories can be retrieved Early studies infantile amnesia Myers clear evidence of early memory Physical trace of a memory in brain appears to be relatively permanent Memories may not be easily, or accurately, retrieved 115

What role does language play in determining the way early memories are recalled? : 

What role does language play in determining the way early memories are recalled?

So…do infants remember? : 

So…do infants remember? Theoretical possibility for interfered memories to remain intact from a very young Most cases memories of personal experiences in infancy do not last into adulthood Memories of personal experience seem not to become accurate before age 18 to 24 months 115

Individual Differences in Intelligence : 

Individual Differences in Intelligence Information-Processing Approaches Infant information-processing speed may correlate most strongly with later intelligence 116

What is infant intelligence? : 

What is infant intelligence? 117

Do, Re, Me…..Intelligence! : 

Do, Re, Me…..Intelligence! Developmental Scales Gesell: Developmental quotient Performance compared at different ages for significant variation from norms of given age Four domains: motor skills, language use, adaptive behavior, personal-social 117

Do, Re, Me…..Intelligence! : 

Do, Re, Me…..Intelligence! Developmental Scales Bayley: Bayley Scales of Infant Development Developmental Quotient 2 to 42 months Two areas (See Table 2-7) 117

Table 2-7 : 

Table 2-7

Are developmental scales useful? : 

Are developmental scales useful? YES Provide a good snapshot of current developmental level Provide objective assessment of behavior relative to norms NO Do not provide good prediction for future development 117

What characterizes a “fast” baby? : 

What characterizes a “fast” baby?

And so…what does IP research reveal? : 

And so…what does IP research reveal? Relationship between information processing efficiency and cognitive abilities Correlate moderately well with later measures of intelligence More efficient information processing during the 6 months following birth is related to higher intelligence scores between 2 and 12 years of age and other measures of cognitive competence 118

Assessing the IP Approach : 

Assessing the IP Approach PROS Often uses more precise measures of cognitive ability Critical in providing information about infant cognition CONS Precision makes it more difficult to get overall sense of cognitive development 118

From Research to Practice : 

From Research to Practice Taking the Einstein Out of Baby Einstein Kaiser Family Foundation Report Marketing of educational media for infants is far outpaced by research on its effectiveness Correlational studies Company reluctance to test claims 119

Beyond (or creating) Teletubbies! : 

Beyond (or creating) Teletubbies! What does the research reveal? Effect on language learning Infants do not learn language from rote repetition; social interaction and context needed 119

What constitutes appropriate use of educational media for infants? : 

What constitutes appropriate use of educational media for infants?

Questions to Consider : 

Questions to Consider Do you think that educational media for infants is worth a try, despite the lack of scientific research supporting its use? Why? Under what conditions might its use actually have undesirable consequences? Why do you think parents generally do not seem to be concerned about the lack of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of educational media for infants? 119

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Information processing approaches consider quantitative changes in children’s abilities to organize and use information. Cognitive growth is regarded as the increasing sophistication of encoding, storage, and retrieval. Infants clearly have memory capabilities from a very early age, although the duration and accuracy of such memories are unresolved questions. Traditional measures of infant intelligence focus on behavioral attainments, which can help identify developmental delays or advances. 120

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply APPLY What information from this module could you use to refute the claims of books or educational programs that promise to help parents increase their babies’ intelligence or instill advanced intellectual skills in infants? Based on valid research, what approaches would you use for intellectual development of infants? 120

THE ROOTS OF LANGUAGE : 

THE ROOTS OF LANGUAGE

From Sounds to Symbols : 

From Sounds to Symbols Fundamentals of Language Phonology Morphemes Semantics Comprehension and production 120

Another Look – Comprehension Precedes Production : 

Another Look – Comprehension Precedes Production 122

Early Sounds and CommunicationPrelinguistic Communication : 

Early Sounds and CommunicationPrelinguistic Communication Babbling Universal Repetition of sounds 121

See what I say… : 

See what I say… Infants with hearing impairments Babble with hands instead of voices Gestural and verbal babbling activate same neural centers 121

What comes after “ba-ba-ba-ba”? : 

What comes after “ba-ba-ba-ba”? Progression from Simple to Complex Exposure to speech sounds of particular language initially do not influence babbling At 6 months babbling reflects of language of culture Distinguishable from other language babbling Combinations of sounds and gestures used to communicate 121

First Words : 

First Words Increase at rapid rate 10 to 14 months = first word 15 months = 10 words 18 months = one-word stage ends 16 to 24 months = language explosion equally 50 to 400 words 122

First Sentences : 

First Sentences First sentences created around 8 to 12 months after first words Indicate understanding of labels and relationships between these Often observations rather than demands Use order similar to adult speech with missing words Telegraphic speech 123

Telegraphic Speech Revealed : 

Telegraphic Speech Revealed 124

Other Early Language Characteristics : 

Other Early Language Characteristics Underextensions Overextensions 123

Speaking in style and stylish speaking : 

Speaking in style and stylish speaking Referential style Expressive style Can you think of an example of each? 124

How does proficiency in language occur? : 

How does proficiency in language occur?

Origins of Language Development : 

Origins of Language Development Learning Theory Approaches: Language as a Learned Skill Language acquisition follows the basic laws of reinforcement and conditioning Through the process of shaping, language becomes more and more similar to adult speech 124

Counter-Arguments to Learning Theory Approach : 

Counter-Arguments to Learning Theory Approach Does not adequately explain how children readily learn rules of language Does not account for how children move beyond specific heard utterances to produce novel phrases, sentences and constructions Does not explain how young children can apply linguistic rules to nonsense words 124

Origins of Language Development : 

Origins of Language Development Nativist Approaches: Language as an Innate Skill Genetically determined, innate mechanism that directs the development of language Children are born with innate capacity to use language, which emerges, more or less automatically, due to maturation. Chomsky’s universal grammar and LAD 125

Assessing Chomsky’s Approach : 

Assessing Chomsky’s Approach PRO Specific gene related to speech production identified Language processing in infant brain structures similar to those in adult speech processing 125

Assessing Chomsky’s Approach : 

Assessing Chomsky’s Approach CON Uniqueness of speech countered by primate researchers Even with genetic priming, language use still requires significant social experience to be used effectively 125

Origins of Language Development : 

Origins of Language Development Interactionist Approaches: Language as a Social Device Specific course of language development is determined by the language to which children are exposed and reinforcement they receive for using language in particular ways Social factors are key to development 125

Infant-Directed Speech : 

Infant-Directed Speech Style of verbal communication directed toward infants Short, simple sentences Higher pitch, increased range, varied intonation Repetition of words and restricted topics Sometimes amusing sounds that are not even words, Little formal structure, similar to telegraphic speech 126

Let’s PretendTurn to a classmate. One of you is a 8-month-old infant; the other is a parent.As the parent, ask your “infant” classmate:“Would you like a cookie?” : 

Let’s PretendTurn to a classmate. One of you is a 8-month-old infant; the other is a parent.As the parent, ask your “infant” classmate:“Would you like a cookie?”

How does this speech change? : 

How does this speech change? Infant-directed speech changes as children become older Around the end of the first year, takes on more adult-like qualities Sentences become longer and more complex, although individual words are still spoken slowly and deliberately Pitch used to focus attention on important words 126

Does Cootsy-Coo Work? : 

Does Cootsy-Coo Work? Infant-directed speech plays an important role in infants’ acquisition of language Occurs all over the world, though there are cultural variations Preferred by newborns Babies who are exposed to a infant-directed speech early in life seem to begin to use words and exhibit other forms of linguistic competence earlier 126

Developmental Diversity : 

Developmental Diversity Do people everywhere say “ba-ba-boo” to their infants? Words differ but ways spoken are similar Basic similarities across cultures and in some facets of language specific to particular types of interactions Quantity of speech differ by cultures 127

What then do these similarities in infant-directed speech mean? : 

What then do these similarities in infant-directed speech mean?

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development : 

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development Based upon findings of developmental researchers, infant cognitive development may be promoted by: Providing infants the opportunity to explore the world Being responsive to infants on both a verbal and a nonverbal level Asking questions, listening to their responses, and providing further communication Reading to infants Keeping in mind that you don’t have to be with an infant 24 hours a day Not pushing infants and don’t expect too much too soon 127

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Before they speak, infants understand many adult utterances and engage in several forms of prelinguistic communication. Children typically produce their first words between 10 and 14 months, and rapidly increase their vocabularies from that point on, especially during a spurt at about 18 months. 128

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Learning theorists believe that basic learning processes account for language development, whereas nativists like Noam Chomsky and his followers argue that humans have an innate language capacity. The interactionists suggest that language is a consequence of both environmental and innate factors. 128

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply APPLY What are some ways in which children’s linguistic development reflects their acquisition of new ways of interpreting and dealing with their world? 128