Cognitive Development in Infancy

1. Chapter 5: Cognitive Development in Infancy

2. In This Chapter

3. Cognitive ChangesPiaget’s Views A quick review • Assimilation • Accommodation • Sensorimotor intelligence

4. Cognitive ChangesPiaget’s Sensorimotor Stage Sensorimotor stage Basic reflexes Primary circular reaction Secondary circular reaction Coordination of secondary schemas (means-end behavior) Tertiary circular reaction Transition to symbolic thought

5. Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage by Age

6. Cognitive Changes Piaget: Object Permanence Object permanence: Realization that objects still exist when hidden from sight 2 months: surprise when an object disappears 6–8 months: looking for missing object 8–12 months: reaching for or searching for completely hidden toy

7. Piaget’s Sensorimotor StagePiaget: Imitation Imitation: Performance of act whose stimulus is observation of act performed by another person

8. Cognitive ChangesChallenges to Piaget’s Views Underestimation of infant cognitive capacity Inaccurate equation of infant’s lack of physical ability with lack of cognitive understanding Underestimation of object permanence appearance beginning

9. Cognitive ChangesModern Studies of Object Permanence Recent theories • Developing object permanence a process of elaboration rather than discovery Baillargeon • Babies as young as 4 months show signs of object permanence but may be tied to experimental situations • Around 1 year can use sufficiently across situations

10. Cognitive ChangesSummary of Differences Piaget’s early research Baby comes with repertoire of sensorimotor scheme by construction—world understanding via experiences. Recent research Newborns have considerable awareness of objects as separate entities that follow certain rules.

11. Figure 5.1 Facial Gesture Imitation in Newborns

12. Cognitive ChangesSpelke’s Alternative Approach Assumption: Babies have inborn assumptions about objects and their movement. Method: Violation of expectations method • Researchers move an object the opposite way from that which the infant comes to expect. Let’s look at the next slide for an example.

13. Figure 5.2 Spelke’s Classic Study of Object Perception Figure 5.2

14. Cognitive ChangesBaillargeon’s Alternative Approach Assumption: Knowledge about objects is not built in, but strategies for learning are innate. Method: Study of object stability perception • Researchers stack smiling-face blocks in stable and unstable positions. Let’s look at the next slide for an example.

15. Figure 5.3 Baillergeon’s Study of Object Stability Perception

16. Stop and Think! After reviewing the information we have just covered, how would you explain an infant’s habit of throwing things out of her crib to a parent who viewed it as a misbehavior that needed to be corrected?

17. Learning, Categorizing, and RememberingConditioning and Modeling Learning: Permanent changes in behavior that result from experience

18. Learning, Categorizing, and RememberingSchematic Learning Schematic learning: Organization of experiences into expectancies or “known” combinations (schemas) 7 months: Infants actively use categories, but not levels, to process information. 2 years: Hierarchical or superordinate categories appear.

19. What do data from sequential learning studies suggest? Infancy: respond to superordinate before basic level categories 12 months: understand basic and superordinate categories 2 years: partially understand smaller categories nested in larger categories 5 years: fully understand categories

20. Learning, Categorizing, and RememberingMemory Carolyn Rovee-Collier’s research Babies as young as 3 months old can remember specific objects and their own actions for as long as a week. Young infants are more cognitively sophisticated than was previously assumed.

21. Figure 5.5 Rovee-Collier’s Study of Infant Memory

22. Learning, Categorizing, and Remembering What else have we learned about memory?

23. The Beginnings of LanguageTheoretical Perspectives Let’s consider each!

24. The Beginnings of LanguageThe Behaviorist View: B. F. Skinner Parent-reinforced babbling and grammar use Correct grammar reinforced, becomes more frequent Non-grammatical words not reinforced Is this what you observe when parents interact with very young children?

25. The Beginnings of LanguageThe Nativist View Noam Chomsky Grammar rules acquired before exception mastery Rule-governed errors made (overregulation) Comprehension and production guided by Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

26. The Beginnings of LanguageMore about the LAD Language Acquisition Device Basic grammatical structure for all human language Tells babies there are 2 types of sounds (consonants and vowels) Enables infants to divide, analyze, and learn sounds of the specific language they are learning

27. The Beginnings of LanguageSlobin Importance of “soundness” Infants are preprogrammed to attend to beginnings and endings of sounds and to stressed sounds. Programming is not attached to verbs or nouns, but to attention to sounds.

28. The Beginnings of LanguageThe Interactionist View Four key ideas Language follows rules as part of cognition. Language includes internal and external factors. Infants are born with biological preparedness to pay more attention to language than other information. The infant brain has generalized tools used across all cognitive domains—NOT language-specific neurological model.

29. The Beginnings of LanguageBowerman and Bloom Language does not initially introduce new meaning, but expresses meaning already formulated, independent of language. Children attempt to communicate and learn new words when these aid in the communication of thoughts and ideas.

30. The Beginnings of LanguageInfluences on Language Development Infant-directed speech Higher pitch Repetitions with variations Infant preferred

31. ? ? Questions To Ponder Which language theory appears to be right to you? Why? What are 3 effective strategies parents may use to help stimulate language development in their children?

32. The Beginnings of LanguageEarly Milestones of Language Development

33. Word RecognitionReceptive Language Receptive language: Ability to understand words • 8 months: begin to store words in memory • 9–10 months: understands 20–30 words • 13 months: 100 words

34. The Beginnings of LanguageExpressive Language Expressive language: Ability to produce words • 12-13 months: Babies begin to say first words. • Words learned slowly in context with specific situations and cues

35. The Beginnings of LanguageFirst Words Now let’s take a look at vocabulary growth during the toddler years.

36. Figure 5.6 Vocabulary Growth in the Second Year

37. The Beginnings of LanguageFirst Sentences Short, simple sentences appear at 18–24 months. Threshold vocabulary reaches around 100–200 words. Sentences: Following rules created

38. The Beginning of LanguageIndividual Differences in Language Development: Rate Differences in rate of language development A wide range of normal variations exists in sentence structures. Most children catch up. Those who don’t catch up have poor receptive language.

39. The Beginning of LanguageIndividual Differences in Language Development: Style Differences in style Expressive style • Early vocabulary linked to social relationships rather than objects Referential style • Early vocabulary made up of names of things or people

40. Figure 5.7 Variations in the Rate of Language Acquisition

41. The Beginning of Language Language Development across Cultures Cooing, babbling, holophrases, and telegraphic speech typically found in all languages Use of specific word order in early sentences is not the same. Particular inflections are learned in highly varying and specific orders.

42. Measuring Intelligence in InfancyWhat Is Intelligence? Intelligence: Ability to take in information and use it to adapt to environment Although each infant develops at a different pace, both genetic and environmental factors influence infant intelligence. So how can infant intelligence be measured?

43. Measuring Intelligence in Infancy Bailey Scales of Infant Development Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence

44. True or False? Measures of habituation are related to later measures of intelligence.