chapter 8 cognitive development: information-processing perspectives

1. Chapter 8 Cognitive Development: Information-Processing Perspectives

3. Developmental Differences in Information-Processing Capacity Development of the short-term store Span of apprehension (number of items that people can keep in mind at any one time) First graders: 2.5 digits Fourth graders: 3 digits Adults: 3.5 digits Influenced by prior knowledge Changes in processing speed Past experiences influence processing speed within particular domain. Biological maturation is primarily responsible for age-related differences. Increased myelination in the associative areas of brain

4. Developmental Differences in "Software":Strategies and Knowledge of "Thinking" The development of strategies (deliberately implemented, goal-directed operations used to aid task performance) Young children display production deficiencies (the failure to spontaneously generate and use known strategies to improve learning and memory) even though they are capable of using memory strategies. Young children display utilization deficiencies (the failure to benefit from effective strategies that one has spontaneously produced) more than older children. Multiple- and variable-strategy use is evident in children of all ages. What children know about thinking develops gradually during childhood. Young children mostly use implicit cognition, or thought without awareness, as well as implicit learning.

5. Developmental Differences in "Software":Strategies and Knowledge of "Thinking” (cont.) Figure 8.5 Incomplete drawings similar to these are used in studies of implicit memory. From E.S. Gollin, 1962.

6. Fuzzy-Trace Theory: An Alternative Viewpoint People encode experiences on a continuum from literal, verbatim traces, to fuzzy, gist-like traces. Gist: A fuzzy representation of information that preserves the central content but few precise details

7. The Development of Attention Attention span increases with age. Reticular formation is not fully myelinated until puberty. Older children use more effective strategies to regulate their attention. Development of planful attentional strategies increases with age over middle childhood. Selective attention: Ignoring information that is clearly irrelevant is very difficult for young children. What do children know about attention? Preschoolers understand what distractions are, but do not realize what is involved in selective attention.

8. The Development of Memory Strategies Rehearsal (repeating something over and over until we think we will remember it) 3- to 4-year old children rarely rehearse. 7- to 10-year olds rehearse more efficiently than younger children. 12-year-olds rehearse clusters. Organization: 9- to 10-year-olds begin semantic organization. Elaboration as a strategy is rarely seen prior to adolescence. Retrieval processes can be enhanced through cued-recall questions. Metamemory increases dramatically between ages 4 and 12, but this may not necessarily increase memory performance.

9. The Development of Memory Strategies (cont.) Knowledge base increases memory development. Culture and memory strategies Western, industrialized nations: Rehearsal, organization, elaboration especially helpful

10. The Development of Memory Strategies (cont.) Figure 8.7 An example of an elaborative image that one might create to associate pato (pronounced “pot-O”), the Spanish word “duck,” with its English translation.

11. The Development of Memory Strategies (cont.)

12. The Development of Event and Autobiographical Memory Origins of event memory shown with deferred imitation Development of scripted memory begins by age 2. Young children organize and interpret their experiences through scripts. The social construction of autobiographical memories Autobiographical memory begins as a joint activity between children and adults.

13. Children as Eyewitnesses Age differences in eyewitness testimony Typical developmental differences in event memory Free recall is generally accurate. Prompted recall leads to additional memories, some correct and some incorrect. How suggestible are child witnesses? Children younger than 8 or 9 are highly susceptible to false memories. Implications for legal testimony Nonleading questions need to be asked. Caution children that "I don't remember" answers are better than guessing.

14. Problem Solving and Reasoning Learning to use rules Even 2- to 3-year-old children can induce rules much earlier when provided with verbal information. Selecting appropriate rules is difficult for 3-year-olds, but not for 4- and 5-year olds, showing the importance of inhibitory and cognitive controls. Analogical reasoning (involves using something you know to help you understand something you don't know yet) Simple analogical reasoning is demonstrated by 1-year-olds; relational analogies can be solved increasingly better as children age. The role of knowledge in children's analogical reasoning allows for transitive inferences much earlier than Piaget had thought. Metacognition improves children's analogical reasoning.

15. Counting and Arithmetic Strategies Counting normally begins shortly after children begin to talk. Cardinality developed by age 4.5 to 5 years Early arithmetic strategies are based on counting. Development of mental arithmetic begins during the early grade school years. Early strategies still based on counting Later strategies include fact retrieval. Complex computations are difficult for some children to learn Educators can help a child when they infer what the child is doing wrong from the kinds of errors the child makes.

16. Cultural Influences on Mathematics Performance Arithmetic competencies of unschooled children are typically good when problems involve real-life situations. Cultural variations in arithmetic among schooled children Linguistic supports: Number-naming systems accelerate or inhibit development of basic arithmetic skills. Instructional supports (such as practice) increase the development of arithmetic skills

17. Evaluating the Information-Processing Perspective Dominant approach to the study of children's intellectual development Detailed description of how cognitive processes (e.g., attention, memory, and metacognitive processes) change with age Cognitive neuroscience is a newer field, interested in identifying the neural correlates to intellectual growth. Little attention is paid to important social and cultural influences on cognition.