dev. pysch 2 – Flashcards
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Observations: behaviors • Naturalistic (Laurent getting hand into mouth) • Experimental (Laurent's reaction when hand is removed from mou
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Novel ways to study children
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2. Concentric clinical method: thinking • Flexible and structured interview method • Future questions are based on past answers (conservation of liquid)
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Novel ways to study children
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• Children construct knowledge for themselves ("construct reality" = make sense of the world) • Children as "little scientists:" Active, motivated, and able to obtain knowledge on their own (active learners)
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Constructivist approach
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• Developmental changes are: - Qualitative (crawling walking) - Abrupt and discontinuous (caterpillar butterfly) - Domain general (conservation problems) - Invariant and hierarchical (zygote embryo fetus)
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Characteristics of stage theories
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• What develops? - Structure: How children think about something - Not content: What children know about something - How to solve addition problem, not answer to 2+2 • Why does development occur? - To bring about equilibration (stability) - When old ways of thinking are no longer sufficient - When addition is not enough, learn multiplication
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Characteristics of stage theories
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• Goal: Construct reality (make sense of the world) • Start with: A scheme (a fact/rule) (Pre-K) • Use one of 2 mechanisms with new information: - 1. Assimilation: Integrate it with existing information (fit old into new) (Kindergarten: also wash hands) - 2. Accommodation: If fail, then update current knowledge to include new information (change old to fit new) (1st grade: put away bag and sit at desk) • Make sense of information: Reach a new stable understanding of the world (equilibration)
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2 mechanisms of development
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• Newborns ("bundle of reflexes") construct reality • Goal: Acquire a mental representation, which is measured with object permanence - Knowing something exists without direct perceptual connection - Showing object permanence = evidence for mental representation
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What happens during sensorimotor stage?
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• Interact with world through reflexes - Suck when something is placed in mouth • Begin to modify reflexes - Suck differently on a nipple vs. finger • Limitation: "Out of sight, out of mind" - No sensory contact = cease to exist
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Sensorimotor substage 1 (0-1 mos): Modification of reflexes
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• Circular = repetitive cycle of events - Grasp anything that falls into hand • Coordinate simple reflexes - Coordinate sucking and grasping • Limitations: Circular and egocentric - Circular: Repeat behavior in same way - Egocentic: Everything centered around own body
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Sensorimotor substage 2 (1-4 mos): Primary circular reactions
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• Increasing interest in external consequences - Bat a ball with a hand and watch it roll away - Actions are still circular = keep repeating - Secondary = more than just about own body
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Sensorimotor substage 3 (4-8 mos): Secondary circular reactions
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• Means/ends behavior: Coordinate 2+ secondary circular reactions - When pillow is placed in front of toy, (1) push pillow aside, and (2) grab toy - Use old methods/behaviors (means) to achieve new goal (end) - Understand cause and effect relationship between actions and consequences
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Sensorimotor substage 4 (8-12 mos): Means/ends behavior
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• Substages 1-3: out of sight = out of mind • Substage 4: out of sight ≠ completely out of mind - Pursue toy even when it is covered by pillow - Shows beginnings of mental representations
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Sensorimotor substage 4 (8-12 mos): Means/ends behavior
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• Actively search for new ways of doing same thing (new means for old ends) • Actively search for new ways of doing same thing (new means for old ends) • Discovery of new means: "Baby scientist" • Actions are still circular = repetitive behaviors - New arm position, repeat dropping behavior
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Sensorimotor substage 5 (12-18 mos): Tertiary circular reactions
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• True mental representations - Don't need direct sensory contact to think about something - Look for a hidden ball without seeing hiding • Invent new means via combinations of mental representations - Don't need motor practice - Figure out how to find ball using a new way
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Sensorimotor substage 6 (18-24 mos): Beginnings of representational thought
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• True mental representations - Don't need direct sensory contact to think about something - Look for a hidden ball without seeing hiding • Invent new means via combinations of mental representations - Don't need motor practice - Figure out how to find ball using a new way
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Sensorimotor substage 6 (18-24 mos): Beginnings of representational thought
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1 (Birth-1 mo) Modification of reflexes World exists only through physical contact 2 (1-4 mos) Primary circular reactions Coordinate simple reflexes; egocentric 3 (4-8 mos) Secondary circular reactions Repeat actions with external consequences 4 (8-12 mos) Coordination of secondary circular reactions Use (existing) means/ends; cause & effect 5 (12-18 mos) Tertiary circular reactions Discover new means for old ends; baby scientist 6 (18-24 mos) True mental representation Invent new means without sensorimotor info
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Substage Sensorimotor development summary
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1 (0-1 mo) Modification of reflexes (if can't see object, behave as if it does not exist) 2 (1-4 mos) Primary circular reactions (if can't see object, behave as if it does not exist) 3 (4-8 mos) Secondary circular reactions (search if object is partially showing, but not if completely hidden) 4 (8-12 mos) Coordination of secondary reactions (search for hidden objects, but still commit A-not-B error) 5 (12-18 mos) Tertiary circular reactions (search if see the object move to new location; pass A-not-B task) 6 (18-24 mos) True mental representation (search invisible displacement)
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Substage Sensorimotor development (A-not-B)
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• Developmental changes are: - Qualitative - Abrupt and discontinuous - Domain general - Invariant hierarchical
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Characteristics of stage theories
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1. Very young infants may show object permanence
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Threat to Piaget's stage theory:
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• Conceptual vs. perceptual distinction - Possible = perceptually different, conceptually same - Impossible = perceptually same, conceptually different • Is "out of sight, out of mind" really driven by perceptual knowledge? - If so, then infants should dishabituate to possible because it was perceptually different
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What do these results suggest? (drawbridge test)
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• Problems for theory: - Stages are invariant and hierarchical skipped stages? How to go through 4 stages in 3 months? • Problems for task and results: - Is A-not-B task measuring something other than object permanence? - Are the results dependent on other cognitive skills?
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Why is it a problem for Piaget if very young infants have object permanence?
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2. Depending on the task, A-not-B error can appear or disappear
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Threat to Piaget's stage theory:
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• Reliable, in Piagetian tradition - 8-month-olds show error; 12-month-olds do not • Why? - Piaget: Incomplete mental representations - Other possibilities?
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Revisiting the A-not-B error
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• Noticed: Hand-eye mismatch - On test trials, infants search at A, but look to B • Noticed: Error is not limited to 8-month-olds - 12-month-olds err with delays before B trial
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A-not-B is about neural maturation Diamond (1990s)
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• A-not-B task without hidden objects • Infants still make error... even when mental representations are not needed! • Also found reaching movements are same each time
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A-not-B is about motor memory Smith, Thelen, Titzer, & McLin (1999)
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• Proposed: Infants build motor habits, not mental reps • Evidence: No error if motor habits are interrupted - A, A, A, A, B error - A, A, A, A, stand up, B no error • Validity problem for A-not-B task: It is a test of motor memory, not object permanence
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A-not-B is about motor memory Smith, Thelen, Titzer, & McLin (1999)
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• Limits on cognitive capacity • Capacity related to task difficulty • Expertise changes task difficulty
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A-not-B is about cognitive capacity Berger (2004)
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• Locomotor A-not-B task - No need for mental representations: Goal is always in view - No need for brain-based explanation: Infants old enough to avoid A-not-B errors in search tasks (13-month-olds) - No possibility of motor habits: Infants could use any action they wanted to use
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A-not-B is about cognitive capacity Berger (2004)
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• Décalage = uneven performance (lag in development) across domains of knowledge - Err on stairs (difficult), but not on floor (easy) • Why décalage it a problem for Piaget? - Because changes are domain general—they should occur across domains • Validity problem for A-not-B task: It is a test of cognitive capacity, not object permanence
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Errors in difficult condition, but not in easy condition
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• Depends on: - Time delay before B trial (Diamond) - Whether DV = reaching or looking (Diamond) - Interruption in motor habit (Thelen) - Task difficulty (Berger)
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A-not-B error appears and disappears
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• Piaget: Incomplete mental representations • Diamond: Immature prefrontal cortex • Thelen: Formation of motor habits • Berger: Limitations on cognitive capacity
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Summary: Why do infants make the A-not-B error?
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• Major goal: Acquire mental representation - Key construct (definition): Object permanence - Key index (measurement): A-not-B search task - The goal is reached through 6 substages • How valid are the Piagetian substages? The answer depends on who you ask
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Summary of Piaget's sensorimotor stage .
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• Defined by deficits (pre = before being able to do something) • Still heavily influenced by perceptual information
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Pre-operations stage:
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• Magical thinking: Believing that thoughts have magical powers - "Rain, rain, go away" • Animism: Believing that inanimate things are animate and giving them human qualities - "My best friend is Thomas the Train"
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Characteristics of the preoperations stage
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• Dominance of perceptual cues: The way something looks, feels, sounds, etc. determines what it is - A cat wearing a dog mask becomes a dog • Failure of class inclusion: One thing cannot belong to multiple categories at same time - Dad = dad, can't also be president
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Characteristics of the preoperations stage
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• Permanence of states and traits: Do not realize that certain traits cannot change - Fudge: "When I grow up, I want to be a bird like Uncle Feather!" • Egocentrism: Cannot take another person's point of view - Flavell's "Can you see me" task
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Characteristics of the preoperations stage
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• Because kids can't manipulate multiple mental reps and are dominated by perceptual cues - Can't see dad as dad and president - Can't think of cat wearing dog mask as really a cat - Can't understand that two people can have different points of view
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Why such failures in preoperations?
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• Because kids can't manipulate multiple mental reps and are dominated by perceptual cues - Can't see dad as dad and president - Can't think of cat wearing dog mask as really a cat - Can't understand that two people can have different points of view End of sensorimotor: Acquire ability to hold 1 mental rep at a time During preoperations: If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... End of preoperations: Acquire ability to hold (manipulate) 2+ mental reps at a time
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Why such failures in preoperations?
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Piaget named the second stage of his theory "Preoperations" because children are not yet able to do mental operations
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End of sensorimotor: Acquire ability to hold 1 mental rep at a time During preoperations: If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... End of preoperations: Acquire ability to hold (manipulate) 2+ mental reps at a time
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• = distinguishing between temporary appearance and permanent identity
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Because of those failures, children can't make appearance/reality distinction
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• Understanding that an object's properties stay same even if they change superficially - E.g., water poured from a tall, thin glass to a short, wide one
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Conservation
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• Reversibility: If you reverse the operation, the object will go back to what it was • Identity: Nothing was taken away or added so the object stays the same • Compensation: Changes in one dimension compensates for changes in another one
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Criteria for being a "conserver"
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Why are there so many tasks? - Because Piaget believed that development (change in structure) should occur across domains (domain-general theory) • Why do preoperations children fail? - Because they can't manipulate multiple mental reps and are dominated by perceptual cues
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conservation
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• Language deficit (not a cognitive deficit) • Cold-blooded tasks: Children do not understand the task (Tyler) • Cultural bias in tasks: Not all children are asked rhetorical questions • Children are not compliant
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Why children fail: Alternative explanations
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• = logical thinking about hierarchical inclusion Q: Are there more dogs or more animals? Your answer? Preoperations answer according to Piaget?
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Class inclusion
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• Preschoolers: more dogs - Piaget: Unable to think about dogs as belonging to a larger category (animals) • Not because they don't understand numbers or the concept of "more/less" - Children begin the session by counting each kind - They know that there are more dogs than cats
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Class inclusion
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• Questioning the validity of class inclusion with candy (Siegel, et al., 1978): - Show children Smarties and jelly beans and have them count each type - "Do you want to eat the candies or the Smarties?" 50% of 4-year-olds choose "eat candy" - "Is there more candy or more Smarties?" 26% of 4-year-olds choose "more candy"
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Class inclusion
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Child Doll Q: Which mountain does the doll see? Your answer? Preoperations answer according to Piaget?
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Egocentrism: Piaget's 3 mountains task
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• Preschoolers choose their own point of view • Problem is not due to perception or memory - Children can walk around and look at the model • Piaget: Problem is due to simultaneous manipulation of two points of view - Their own, and the other person's
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Egocentrism: Piaget's 3 mountains task
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• Questioning the validity of egocentrism with police (Donaldson): - Ask preschoolers to imagine a little boy hiding from the police - "Where should he hide to make sure the police does not find him?" 90% of 3.5- to 5-year-olds give correct responses
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Egocentrism: Piaget's 3 mountains task
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• Cognitive development is: - Thought organized by domain-specific theories - Not changes in domain-general structures • Theories can be learned or innate (core knowledge) • So this is a theory about children's theories theory theory
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Theory theory (Karmiloff-Smith & Carey)
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• Children's theories sound odd because they are incommensurate with adult's theory • 2 developmental periods of theory: - Time 1: can't understand time 2 theory - Time 2: can't understand time 1 theory
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Children are not wrong: They have different theories for organizing the world
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• Children's theories sound odd because they are incommensurate with adult's theory • 2 developmental periods of theory: - Time 1: can't understand time 2 theory - Time 2: can't understand time 1 theory • Domain specificity: Children acquire a theory for each domain
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Children are not wrong: They have different theories for organizing the world
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• Agree: Knowledge is constructed by the child • Disagree: Specificity of knowledge - Piaget: Domain-general knowledge - Theory theorists: Domain-specific knowledge • Disagree: What changes with development - Piaget: Structure of thought - Theory theorists: Content of knowledge
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Piaget vs. Theory theorists' beliefs about cognitive development
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Possible threat to Piaget's preoperations stage: Theory of Mind (ToM) (A type of theory theory)
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• Piaget: Can't manipulate multiple mental representations - ToM = representational problem • Theory theorists (TT): No theory about others' beliefs and desires in particular domains - ToM = knowledge problem
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Why do children fail ToM tasks?
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• OK for Piaget and TT: Preschoolers failing ToM - Piaget: Preschoolers can't solve representational problem - TT: Preschoolers don't have knowledge of problem • Not OK for Piaget: Young infants passing ToM - Piaget: Doesn't fit stage theory - TT: Could be core knowledge
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Why do children fail ToM tasks?
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• Reasoning: Perception vs. intention - Looking at new toy = change in intention - Looking at old toy = change in location • Results: - 7-m-o: dishabituate to old toy event (perception) - 9-m-o: dishabituate to new toy event (intention) - 9-m-o understand people's intentions...?
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9-month-olds can understand intentions (Amanda Woodward, 2003)
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• Same visual habituation task, but: - Habituation: Adult looks at and grasps 1 of 2 toys - Test: Adult looks at and grasps new or old toy • 7 months = 9 months = intention...
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With a little help, younger infants can understand intentions (Amanda Woodward, 2003)
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• Piaget: Can't manipulate multiple mental reps (no ToM until end of preoperations stage) • ...But, with help, infants may understand intentions by 7 to 9 months • Theory theory: Different theories of mind develop in different domains
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Summary of ToM: Why do children fail?
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• Children can manipulate multiple mental representations about concrete things - Still cannot manipulate abstract concepts • Criteria for being a concrete conserver - Reversibility, identity, compensation • Same tasks as preoperations, but pass all of them!
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Concrete operations = Opposite of preoperations
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• To succeed, must order objects along 2 dimensions (similar to 2 mental reps) • 4- to 6-year-olds: Select object correct in 1 dimension • 9- to 10-year-olds: Select object correct in both dimensions • can manipulate multiple mental representations (of concrete properties)
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Multiple classification problem ``
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• No belief in magical thinking • No belief in animism • Not completely dominated by perceptual cues • Understands class inclusion • Understands permanence of states and traits • No (less) egocentrism
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Characteristics of the concrete stage
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• Central hallmark: Hypothetical-deductive reasoning (scientific method for thinking) • When working on mental operations: - Come up with hypotheses - Systematically test hypotheses - Think of explanations that includes all facts
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Formal operations: Dawn of abstract logical thinking
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• Task: Figure out how different configurations will affect trajectory • Factors: ramp height, surface roughness, ramp length, and rigidity of the ball • How can you solve it?
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Ramp task: How far will the ball roll?
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• Concrete: Experiment with different solutions, but not in a systematic way - Change ramp height, surface, and ball simultaneously • Formal: Test hypotheses by systematically varying and testing each variable by itself (hypothetical-deductive reasoning) - Change height only, keep others constant
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Ramp task: How far will the ball roll?
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• Getting to formal stage may depend on schooling (no HS = no formal ops) • Only 40-60% of US college students reach formal operations • Participants in non-western countries rarely pass formal ops tasks • Skipped stages???
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Problems with formal operations stage: Not everyone makes it there
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• Under-rates infants' and young children's thinking • Over-rates older children's thinking • Vague about processes and mechanisms of development • No room for accelerated development or social contributions
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Summary: General critiques of Piaget's theory
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• Created a scientific tradition for studying children's cognitive development • Showed that with appropriate methods, even young infants can be studied • Recognized the intelligence of infants' early activities (e.g., exploration, object permanence) • Still generating developmental research
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Summary: Piaget's contribution to developmental research
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• Started publishing in Russian in the 1920s • Translated into English in the 1960s • Took a sociocultural approach to the study of development
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Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
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• Focus: Others and culture (guided participation) • Social interactions occur in a broader sociocultural context that includes cultural tools • Development is continuous, changes are quantitative
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Characteristics of sociocultural approaches to development
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• Focus on others • Guided participation • Cultural context and cultural tools • Development is continuous
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Example of sociocultural approach
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• Because they can act as teachers 1. Intersubjectivity 2. Social scaffolding 3. Zone of proximal development
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Why are others important?
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• What we share during communication ("foundation" of cognitive development) - Joint attention = focusing on a common thing together (pointing) - Social referencing = relying on others for how to respond to unfamiliar or threatening situations (what do babies do after falling?)
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1. Intersubjectivity
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• Help ("scaffolding") that allows less skilled children to become more competent • It is temporary; decreases as children's skills increase
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2. Social scaffolding
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• Provided by older/more skilled children or adults • Quality of scaffolding increases with age
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2. Social scaffolding
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• Where you can get with some support - Just beyond children's ability range • Where learning occurs (between child & teacher) - "...not how children came to be what they are, but how they can become what they not yet are... (Bronfenbrenner)"
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3. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
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• Imitative learning: reproduce another person's behaviors (telephone) • Instructed learning: direct, intentional transmission of information from one person to another (pedestals) • Collaborative learning: multiple people engage in cooperative, goal-directed problem-solving (study group)
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Different types of sociocultural learning
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• Teacher = teachers, parents, siblings, anyone with more expertise, in a greater socio-cultural context • Learners benefit from teachers who are sensitive to their abilities - Instruction is most helpful when just it's just a step or two beyond learner's current ability
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The "teacher" is important for learning
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• What develops? The child's potential to learn (ZPD) • Knowledge is not in the child; it is what exists between the child and others • Sociocultural context is crucial for cognitive development
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Summary: Vygotsky
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1. Listen: Speech perception and comprehension 2. Talk: Sound and speech production Nature and nurture provide many tools for infants to acquire language
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How do infants acquire language?
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• To understand speech, infants get help from - Categorical speech perception - Infant-directed speech
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What happens during listening?
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• Categorizing speech sounds that are meaningful in your own language - "Category = cat-ah-go-ree - "Meaningful" = mee-ning-full
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Categorical speech perception
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• Perceptual narrowing ("Use it or lose it") - Initially, hear and discriminate speech sounds from any spoken language - Later, only hear sounds from their own language - Japanese: r = l
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Categorical speech perception
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• SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) correlated with prone sleeping and breathing • "Safe to Sleep" ("Back to Sleep") campaign since the 1990s decreased SIDS by ~50% • Consequence: Infants rarely spend time on their stomachs ("tummy time"), even when awake - 22% of 6-month-olds score below typical cut-off for motor delay (more like Caribbean peers!)
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Crawling is also changing in the U.S.
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• Each posture = unique perceptual-motor system • Does experience in one posture help motor knowledge in another posture? - If it does (sitting helps crawling), then experience isn't very important - If it does not (sitting doesn't help crawling), then experience is very important
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How flexible is motor knowledge? Follow-up with real cliffs and slopes (Adolph, 1990s-2000s)
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• Perceptual skills support the development of motor skills • Motor development is influenced by both nature and nurture • Experience is necessary to integrate perception and motor actions
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Summary: Perception and motor development
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• Explanation of how something works • Guides research on the topic of study • Theories of cognitive development: - Provide explanations for development of thinking and reasoning - Motivate new research on cognitive development
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What is a theory?
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• Information-processing theories - Processes • Core knowledge theories - Innate abilities • Piaget's theory - Stages of child's thinking • Vygotsky's theory - Sociocultural influences
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Major theories of cognitive development
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• To understand speech, infants get help from - Categorical speech perception - Infant-directed speech
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First, listen... What happens during listening?
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• Categorizing speech sounds that are meaningful in your own language - "Category = cat-ah-go-ree - "Meaningful" = mee-ning-full
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Categorical speech perception
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• Perceptual narrowing ("Use it or lose it") - Initially, hear and discriminate speech sounds from any spoken language - Later, only hear sounds from their own language - Japanese: r = l
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Categorical speech perception
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• Occurs across many cultures (but not all) - Adults use it with kids and pets - Children use it with babies and dolls • Suggests IDL helps infants acquire language, but is not crucial for it • Nature & nurture multiple, redundant tools
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Infant-directed speech
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• 4-month-olds in head-turning paradigm • Turn to left = IDL • Turn to right = normal speech
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Babies prefer infant-directed speech Fernald (1985)
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• Before learning to talk, learn to listen • Many tools for breaking into language - Categorical speech perception: Figure out speech sounds - Infant-directed speech: Baby-friendly way to deliver language
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Summary: Prelinguistic development
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• Typically, between 10-15 months (8-18 mos) • Important people, objects, food, or animals - Mama, Dada, car, ball, juice, cookie, doggie • Can be short phrases - Bye-bye, uh oh, all gone • Often, incomplete words - "Os" (cheerios), "nanas" (bananas), "da" (dad)
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Baby's first words
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• Consider words to represent categories - Animals dogs Retrievers Fido • Undergeneralization - Doggie = only the family dog, other dogs are not doggies • Overgeneralization - Doggie = all animals, including cats, cows, etc
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Baby's first words
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• Holophrasic - One word represents entire phrase/sentence - "Milk!": "That's right, that is milk" "Oh, you're thirsty and you want milk?" "Yes, your brother was drinking milk earlier" - Adults interpret the meaning behind holophrases - Difficult to determine what infants really mean
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Baby's first words
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• Holophrasic speech develops into telegraphic speech - Longer, but like a telegram (omit "a", "the") - Noun + verb or adj + verb - Cookie more cookie want more cookie
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After first words
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• Word explosion - 18 months: ~50 words, 6 years: > 14,000 words - Approximately 9 new words a day! - But significant individual differences • Slowly learn the subtlety of language - Lily (4;3): "Probably I'm going to probably have my eggs now probably"
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After first words
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• Nature & nurture provide multiple, redundant tools - Whole object bias - Pragmatic cues - Mutual exclusivity - Syntactic bootstrapping
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How to go from one to many words?
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• Quine's "gavagai" problem - What does "gavagai" mean? • Solution: Assume that a new word refers to the whole, not its parts
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Whole object bias
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• Cues from social interactions and contexts - Adult looks at one of two objects and call is "modi" - Then asks, "Can I have the modi?
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Pragmatic cues
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• Assume there is only one label for one object - Where is the blicket? (the bear) - Multiple choice questions
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Mutual exclusivity
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• Use grammatical structure of a sentence (syntax) to determine word meaning - This is a dax - This is a dax one
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Syntactic bootstrapping
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• Infants are born equipped with the ability to communicate • Communication begins early • It includes perception (listening) and production (talking) • Nature and nurture provide many redundant tools for infants to acquire language
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Summary: Language development, nature, and nurture
