Chapter Six

1. Chapter Six The First Two Years: Cognitive Development PowerPoints prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont College

2. Sensorimotor Intelligence Sensoritmotor intelligence—active intelligence causing babies to think while using senses and motor skills

3. Stages 1 and 2: Primary Circular Reactions The feedback loop involving the infants own body; infant senses motion and tries to make sense of it Stage 1 = Reflexes Stage 2 = First Acquired Adaptations adaptations of reflexes, i.e., sucking—new information taken in by senses and responded to

4. Assimilation and Accommodation assimilation—taking in new information by incorporating it into previous knowledge accommodation— intake of new data to re-adjust, refine, expand prior schema or actions babies eagerly adapt their reflexes and senses to whatever experiences they have Stages 1 and 2: Primary Circular Reactions, cont.

5. Sucking as a Stage-Two Adaptation begin adapting at about one month reflexive assimilation Stages 1 and 2: Primary Circular Reactions, cont.

6. Stages 3 and 4: Secondary Circular Reactions feedback loop involving people and objects Stage 3 = Making Interesting Events Last repetition awareness Stage 4 = New Adaptation and Anticipation goal-directed behavior object permanence

7. Feedback loop that involves active experimentation and exploration involves creativity, action, and ideas Stage 5 = New Means Through Active Experimentation little scientist Stages 5 and 6: Tertiary Circular Reactions

8. Stage 6 = New Means Through Mental Combinations mental combinations—sequence of mental actions tried out before actual performance deferred imitation—perception of something someone else does (modeling), then performing action at a later time Stages 5 and 6: Tertiary Circular Reactions, cont.

9. Piaget and Modern Research Habituation—process of getting used to an object or event through repeated exposure to it fMRI—functional magnetic resonance imaging measuring technique for brain activity and neurological responses First three years are prime time for cognitive development

10. Information-processing theory— perspective that compares human thinking processes to computer analysis of data, including sensory input, stored memories, and output Information Processing

11. Affordances Affordances—opportunities for perception and interaction offered by environment How something is perceived and acted upon depends on past experiences current developmental level sensory awareness of opportunities immediate needs and motivation

12. Sudden Drops Visual cliff measures depth perception, which is based not on maturity level but affordance depends on prior experience Object Constancy things remain what they are, despite changes in perception or appearance boundaries of three-dimensional objects

13. Movement and People Dynamic perception—1 of the 2 principles explaining infant perception; namely, that from birth perception is primed to focus on movement and change 2nd principle explaining infant perception is that babies are fascinated by people Infants most interested in emotional affordances of their caregivers

14. Certain amount of experience and maturation in order to process and remember experiences In first year infants have great difficulty storing new memories Older children often unable to describe events that occurred when they were younger Memory

15. Very early memories possible if situation similar to real life motivation high special measures aid retrieval by acting as reminders Memory, cont.

16. Reminders and Repetition Reminder session—any perceptual experience that helps a person recall an idea or experience

17. A Little Older, A Little More Memory After 6 months infants capable of retaining information for longer periods of time with less reminding Deferred imitation apparent after end of first year By middle of the 2nd year, children capable of remembering and reenacting complex sequences

18. A Little Older, A Little More Memory, cont. Memory is not just single entity; distinct brain regions for particular aspects of memory; humans have a memory for words images actions smells experiences “memorized” facts

19. Language: What Develops in Two Years? Most impressive intellectual achievement of young child and also of all humans

20. Children around the world have the same sequence of early language development but timing and depth of linguistic ability vary The Universal Sequence of Language Development

21. First Noises and Gestures Baby talk—high-pitched, simplified, and repetitive ways adults talk to babies Vocalization crying cooing Babbling deaf babies do it later and less frequently, but are more advanced in use of gestures

22. First word and sentences at age of 1 year First Words

23. The Language Explosion and Early Grammar Naming explosion—sudden increase in infant vocabulary, especially nouns, beginning at 18 months Holophrase—single word that expresses a complete, meaningful thought Grammar—all the methods that languages use to communicate meaning

24. Theories of Language Learning Even the very young use language well Three schools of thought infants are taught language infants teach themselves social impulses foster infant language

25. Theory 1: Infants are Taught Skinner’s reinforcement theory: quantity and quality of talking to child affects rate of language development (learned) parents are good instructors baby talk characterized by high pitch simpler vocabulary shorter sentence length more questions and commands repetition

26. Chomsky and LAD (Language Acquisition Device)—hypothesized neurological (inborn) structure that prewires all children for language, including basic aspects of intonation, grammar, and vocabulary infants innately ready to use their minds to understand and speak whatever language offered to them they are experience expectant Theory 2: Infants Teach Themselves

27. Social-pragmatic—social reason for language: to communicate Infants seek to respond, which shows their being social in nature— and thus mutually dependent—by vocalizing babbling gesturing listening pointing Theory Three: Social Impulses Foster Language

28. A Hybrid Theory • Emergentist coalition—combination of valid aspects of several theories • cortex contains many language centers • nature provides several paths to learning language