Sensorimotor intelligence
Piaget's term for the way infants think-by using their senses and motor skills- during the first period of cognitive development
Stages of sensorimotor intelligence
- Primary Circular Reactions
- Secondary Circular Reactions
- Tertiary Circular Reactions
Primary Circular Reactions
reactions involving the infant's own body
- Stage One [birth to 1 month]
reflex stage. e.g. sucking, grasping, staring, listening; the babies awareness to its reflexes and sensations provides information about what the body can do
- Stage Two [1-4 months]
Assimilation
occurs when a new experience is simply incorporated into old concepts and perceptions
Accomodation
requires changing one's perceptions and assumptions to adjust to new experiences
Secondary Circular Reactions
interactions between the baby and something else; mirror neurons begin to function
- Stage Three [4-8 months]
infants seek to make exciting or interesting events last and do so by responding to people and objects {ex. waving their arms and laughing when s
Object permanence
the awareness that objects or people continue to exist even when they are no longer in sight
Object permanence typically develops between _____ of age
4-7 months
Tertiary Circular Reactions
Involved active exploration and experimentation; exploration of range of new activities and variations in responses as way of learning
- Stage Five [a year to 18 months]
new means through active experimentation and creativity; builds on the goal orientati
Little scientist
a toddler who experiments in order to see
Deferred imitation
requires the toddler to combine what they witnessed before with a new opportunity to repeat what they saw
Preoperational Intelligence Vocabulary
- centration
- egocentrism
- focus on appearance
- static reasoning
- irreversibility
- conservation
- animism
Concrete Operational Vocabulary
- classification
- concrete operational thought
- transitive inference
- seriation
Centration
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child focuses on one idea, excluding all others [ex. child insists that lions and tigers at the zoo cannot be cats because the child centers on the house pet aspect of cats they know]
Egocentrism
a characteristic of preoperational thought where young children's tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective
Focus on Appearance
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child ignores attributes that are not apparent [ex. a girl who is given a short hair cut looks into a mirror starts crying because she thinks that she is a boy]
Static reasoning
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child thinks that nothing changes [ex. children look at a photo of their parents in disbelief that this was them back in the day]
Irreversibility
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child thinks that nothing can be undone
Conservation
the principle that the amount of a substance remains the same when its appearance changes [ex. the equal amount of milk is poured into a short fat glass and a tall skinny glass; when the child is asked which has more they say the tall one]
Animism
the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive
Classification
the logical principle that things can be organized into groups for categories or classes according to some similar characteristics [ex. a child's parents and siblings are classified as belonging to a group called family]
Concrete Operational Thought
Piaget's term for the ability to reason logically about direct experiences and perceptions
Transitive Influence
the ability to figure out the unspoken link between one fact and and another
Seriation
the idea that things can be arranged into a series
PIaget Reevaluated
many infants reach the stages of sensorimotor intelligence earlier than Piaget predicted
due to small sample size, simplistic methods, and unseen brain activity
Information processing theory
- modeled on computer functioning
- involved incremental details and step-by-step description of the mechanisms of though
- adds insight to understanding cognition at every age
Techniques Used by Neuroscientists to Understand Brain Function
- EEG
- ERP
- fMRI
- PET
- fNIRS
EEG [electroencephalogram]
Use: Measures electrical activity in the top layers of the brain, where the cortex is.
Limitations: Especially in infancy, much brain activity of interest occurs below the cortex.
ERP [event-related potential]
Use: Notes the amplitude and frequency of electrical activity (as shown by brain waves) in specific parts of the cortex in reaction to various stimuli.
Limitations: Reaction within the cortex signifies perception, but interpretation of the amplitude and t
fMRI [functional magnetic resonance imaging]
Use: Measures changes in blood flow anywhere in the brain (not just the outer layers).
Limitations: Signifies brain activity, but infants are notoriously active, which can make fMRIs useless
PET [positron emission tomography]
Use: PET (like fMRI) reveals activity in various parts of the brain. Locations can be pinpointed with precision, but PET requires injection of radioactive dye to light up the active parts of the brain.
Limitations: Many parents and researchers hesitate to
fNIRS [functional near-infrared spectroscopy]
Use: Via light waves that indicate blood flow, the fNIRS measures activity in the cortex and beyond. The device is portable and non-invasive: no need for expensive equipment, electrodes, or special dye. This is especially useful for infants who do not sta
Selection of which affordance is perceived and acted upon is related to what four factors?
- sensory awareness
- immediate motivation
- current development
- past experience
Perception requires ________
selectivity
Affordances provide what?
opportunities for perception and interaction that is offered by a person, place, or object in the environment
All babies are attracted to what kinds of affordances?
- things that move [dynamic perception: focus on movement and change]
- people [people preference: universal principle of infant perception; tied to evolution]
Visual cliff
experimental apparatus that gives the illusion of a sudden drop-off between one horizontal surface and another
infant performance depends on past experience including social context
Childhood amnesia
according to classic developmental theory, infants store no memories in their first year
Developmentalists current stance on Childhood Amnesia
they now agree that very young infants can remember if the following conditions are met:
- experimental conditions are similar to real life
- motivation is high
- special measures are used in memory retrieval
Rovee-Collier's experiment
a young infant immediately remembers how to make a familiar mobile move
- 3 month old infants could remember two weeks if they had a brief reminder session before being retested
- 6-month-olds retain information longer with less training or reminding
Listening and Responding
- before birth: language via brain organization and hearing, may be innate
- newborn: preference for speech sounds and mother's language, gradual selective listening
- around 6 months: ability to distinguish sounds and gestures in own language
Timing of language development ______ but sequence is ___________
varies, universal
Babbling
involved repetition of certain syllables, that begins when babies are between 6 and 9 months
begins to sound like native language around 12 months
Concepts in ________ are expressed sooner than speech
gesture
Pointing emerges in human babies around ____ months
10
Naming explosion
once spoken vocabulary reaches about 50 words, it builds up quickly, at a rate of 50 to 100 words per month
Development of Spoken Language in the First Two Years
- Newborn [reflexive communication: cries, facial expressions}
- 2 months [a range of meaningful noises: cooing, fussing]
- 3-6 months [new sounds, including squeals and growls]
- 10-12 months [Comprehension of simple words; speech-like intonations; speci
Theories of Language Learning: Infants need to be Taught
- by B.F. Skinner who noticed that spontaneous babbling is usually reinforced
- well-taught infants become well spoken children
- frequent repetitions of words is instructive, especially when the words are linked to the pleasures of daily life
- if adults
Theories of Language Learning: Social Impulses foster Infant Language [social-pragmatic]
- infants communicate because humans have evolved as social beings
- the emotional messages of speech, not the words are the focus of early communication
- each culture has practices that further social interaction
- the social content of speech is univer
Theories of Language Learning: Infants teach Themselves
- language learning is innate; adults need not teach it, nor is it a by-product of social interaction
- language itself is experience expectant, although obviously the specific language is experience dependant
- variations in children's language ability c
Chomsky's view on language learning
- language is too complex to be mastered through step by step learning
- all babies are considered eager learners, and language may be considered one more aspect of neurological maturation
- language acquisition device `
Language acquisition device
a hypothesized mental structure that enables grammar, vocabulary, and intonation
Theories of Language Learning: Hybrid Theory
- some aspects of language may be best explained by one theory at one age and other aspects by another theory at another age
- multiple attentional, social, and linguistic cues contribute to early language
- different elements of the language apparatus ma
Sensorimotor intelligence
Piaget's term for the way infants think-by using their senses and motor skills- during the first period of cognitive development
Stages of sensorimotor intelligence
#NAME?
Primary Circular Reactions
reactions involving the infant's own body
- Stage One [birth to 1 month]
reflex stage. e.g. sucking, grasping, staring, listening; the babies awareness to its reflexes and sensations provides information about what the body can do
- Stage Two [1-4 months]
Assimilation
occurs when a new experience is simply incorporated into old concepts and perceptions
Accomodation
requires changing one's perceptions and assumptions to adjust to new experiences
Secondary Circular Reactions
interactions between the baby and something else; mirror neurons begin to function
- Stage Three [4-8 months]
infants seek to make exciting or interesting events last and do so by responding to people and objects {ex. waving their arms and laughing when s
Object permanence
the awareness that objects or people continue to exist even when they are no longer in sight
Object permanence typically develops between _____ of age
4-7 months
Tertiary Circular Reactions
Involved active exploration and experimentation; exploration of range of new activities and variations in responses as way of learning
- Stage Five [a year to 18 months]
new means through active experimentation and creativity; builds on the goal orientati
Little scientist
a toddler who experiments in order to see
Deferred imitation
requires the toddler to combine what they witnessed before with a new opportunity to repeat what they saw
Preoperational Intelligence Vocabulary
#NAME?
Concrete Operational Vocabulary
#NAME?
Centration
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child focuses on one idea, excluding all others [ex. child insists that lions and tigers at the zoo cannot be cats because the child centers on the house pet aspect of cats they know]
Egocentrism
a characteristic of preoperational thought where young children's tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective
Focus on Appearance
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child ignores attributes that are not apparent [ex. a girl who is given a short hair cut looks into a mirror starts crying because she thinks that she is a boy]
Static reasoning
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child thinks that nothing changes [ex. children look at a photo of their parents in disbelief that this was them back in the day]
Irreversibility
a characteristic of preoperational thought where a young child thinks that nothing can be undone
Conservation
the principle that the amount of a substance remains the same when its appearance changes [ex. the equal amount of milk is poured into a short fat glass and a tall skinny glass; when the child is asked which has more they say the tall one]
Animism
the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive
Classification
the logical principle that things can be organized into groups for categories or classes according to some similar characteristics [ex. a child's parents and siblings are classified as belonging to a group called family]
Concrete Operational Thought
Piaget's term for the ability to reason logically about direct experiences and perceptions
Transitive Influence
the ability to figure out the unspoken link between one fact and and another
Seriation
the idea that things can be arranged into a series
PIaget Reevaluated
many infants reach the stages of sensorimotor intelligence earlier than Piaget predicted
due to small sample size, simplistic methods, and unseen brain activity
Information processing theory
#NAME?
Techniques Used by Neuroscientists to Understand Brain Function
#NAME?
EEG [electroencephalogram]
Use: Measures electrical activity in the top layers of the brain, where the cortex is.
Limitations: Especially in infancy, much brain activity of interest occurs below the cortex.
ERP [event-related potential]
Use: Notes the amplitude and frequency of electrical activity (as shown by brain waves) in specific parts of the cortex in reaction to various stimuli.
Limitations: Reaction within the cortex signifies perception, but interpretation of the amplitude and t
fMRI [functional magnetic resonance imaging]
Use: Measures changes in blood flow anywhere in the brain (not just the outer layers).
Limitations: Signifies brain activity, but infants are notoriously active, which can make fMRIs useless
PET [positron emission tomography]
Use: PET (like fMRI) reveals activity in various parts of the brain. Locations can be pinpointed with precision, but PET requires injection of radioactive dye to light up the active parts of the brain.
Limitations: Many parents and researchers hesitate to
fNIRS [functional near-infrared spectroscopy]
Use: Via light waves that indicate blood flow, the fNIRS measures activity in the cortex and beyond. The device is portable and non-invasive: no need for expensive equipment, electrodes, or special dye. This is especially useful for infants who do not sta
Selection of which affordance is perceived and acted upon is related to what four factors?
#NAME?
Perception requires ________
selectivity
Affordances provide what?
opportunities for perception and interaction that is offered by a person, place, or object in the environment
All babies are attracted to what kinds of affordances?
- things that move [dynamic perception: focus on movement and change]
- people [people preference: universal principle of infant perception; tied to evolution]
Visual cliff
experimental apparatus that gives the illusion of a sudden drop-off between one horizontal surface and another
infant performance depends on past experience including social context
Childhood amnesia
according to classic developmental theory, infants store no memories in their first year
Developmentalists current stance on Childhood Amnesia
they now agree that very young infants can remember if the following conditions are met:
- experimental conditions are similar to real life
- motivation is high
- special measures are used in memory retrieval
Rovee-Collier's experiment
a young infant immediately remembers how to make a familiar mobile move
- 3 month old infants could remember two weeks if they had a brief reminder session before being retested
- 6-month-olds retain information longer with less training or reminding
Listening and Responding
- before birth: language via brain organization and hearing, may be innate
- newborn: preference for speech sounds and mother's language, gradual selective listening
- around 6 months: ability to distinguish sounds and gestures in own language
Timing of language development ______ but sequence is ___________
varies, universal
Babbling
involved repetition of certain syllables, that begins when babies are between 6 and 9 months
begins to sound like native language around 12 months
Concepts in ________ are expressed sooner than speech
gesture
Pointing emerges in human babies around ____ months
10
Naming explosion
once spoken vocabulary reaches about 50 words, it builds up quickly, at a rate of 50 to 100 words per month
Development of Spoken Language in the First Two Years
- Newborn [reflexive communication: cries, facial expressions}
- 2 months [a range of meaningful noises: cooing, fussing]
- 3-6 months [new sounds, including squeals and growls]
- 10-12 months [Comprehension of simple words; speech-like intonations; speci
Theories of Language Learning: Infants need to be Taught
#NAME?
Theories of Language Learning: Social Impulses foster Infant Language [social-pragmatic]
#NAME?
Theories of Language Learning: Infants teach Themselves
- language learning is innate; adults need not teach it, nor is it a by-product of social interaction
- language itself is experience expectant, although obviously the specific language is experience dependant
- variations in children's language ability c
Chomsky's view on language learning
- language is too complex to be mastered through step by step learning
- all babies are considered eager learners, and language may be considered one more aspect of neurological maturation
- language acquisition device `
Language acquisition device
a hypothesized mental structure that enables grammar, vocabulary, and intonation
Theories of Language Learning: Hybrid Theory
#NAME?