PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

Chapter 6 Cognitive Development: Piagetian and Vygotskian Perspectives

Introduction to Chapter 6 This chapter covers two theories of cognitive development that were introduced in Chapter 1. You do not need to review the material covering cognitive development during infancy. Except for the concept of mental representation, sensorimotor cognition is not covered in this course. Cognitive development during early childhood would not be covered except that the preoperational thinking typical of preschoolers occurs frequently in older children and adolescents. There are many useful examples and discussions of the concepts in this chapter. Reading the examples and discussions in addition to studying the material on the specific pages listed for each concept will help you understand each concept much better. This material will also help you understand how childrens thinking processes operate in everyday situations. There are many terms in both Piaget's theory and in Vygotsky's theory that are not part of everyday vocabulary. If it looks like too many foreign-sounding terms, maybe it will help to think of this as something like learning a foreign language. Because this is the second or third course in which you have studied these terms and concepts, I will be asking you to think about how they relate to each other and what they tell us about how to understand and communicate with children. Theoretical Concepts in Piaget's Theory 1. Define scheme. (p. 226) The textbook defines schemes as psychological structures and explains that they are initially in the form of structured physical actions, such as grasping an object. Later, schemes develop that are mental structures, such as images and concepts. 2. Define mental representation. How does mental representation relate to schemes? (p. 227) Note that mental representation develops in the last substage of the sensorimotor stage. It is the cognitive achievement that marks the transition to preoperational thought. (Table 6.1) 3. Define adaptation in terms of assimilation and accommodation. (p. 227) Note that adaptation is designed to result in a more effective interaction between the organism and its environment. One way we can become more effective is to change our ideas (accommodate to the environment, p. 227). The other option is to change the environment (assimilation, p. 227). Everything you do that leads to a better relationship between you and your environment, whether it involves changing yourself or changing your environment, is adaptive. 4. Define assimilation. (p. 227)

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

5. Define accommodation. (p. 227) 6. Define operations. (pp. 243-245) Note how the limitations of preoperational thought, including centration and irreversibility, are related to the lack of operational (logical) schemes. 7. Define egocentrism. (p. 244 and Figure 6.8) Note that egocentrism as defined in cognitive-developmental theories is different than egotism. An egocentric person is unaware that other people have different viewpoints or feelings. An egotistical person is aware that other people have different viewpoints or feelings, but thinks theyre wrong. This is important to keep in mind when studying egocentrism in cognitive development. When a childs thinking is described as egocentric, there is no implication that the child is choosing his or her viewpoint over the views of others. Concrete Operational Thought 8. Define conservation. (p. 244) Conservation depends on the ability to understand quantity as a higher order concept comprised of two sub-concepts. Look at the example of conservation of number in Figure 6.9. Notice that length of a row of pennies depends on two things: the number of pennies and the density of their placement. In the conservation of liquid example, notice that volume is determined by height and width. The ability to organize concepts into hierarchies is a major characteristic of operational thought. 9. Define centration. (p. 245) If you had a birthday party for a child with friends, balloons, presents, cake, ice creamthe whole enchiladaand the child was upset because the cake didn't have enough frosting, can you see centration as one part of this situation? 10. Define reversibility. (p. 245) An example of reversible operations in mathematics is addition. After adding two quantities, you can apply the reverse operation (subtraction) to get back to your starting point. 11. Describe what is meant by "lack of hierarchical classification." (p. 245) 12. Explain how the lack of hierarchical classification leads to failure in class inclusion problems. (p. 245 and Figure 6.10) 13. Explain what is meant by concrete operational thought. (p.249) In effect, concrete operations are logical mental operations (p. 243) that can only be applied to actual "concrete" objects or events, as opposed to hypothetical or abstract ideas.

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

14. Note the role of decentration in conservation. (p. 249) Formal Operational Thought 15. How does formal operational thought differ from concrete operational thought? (p. 253) When operational thought is freed from its dependency on concrete things that are physically present, new formal operational skills become possible. For example, applying operations to abstract concepts results in hypothetico-deductive reasoning and propositional thought. 16. Describe hypothetico-deductive reasoning. (pp. 253-254) 17. Describe what is meant by two cognitive distortions related to the onset of formal operational thought: (1) imaginary audience and (2) personal fable. (p.255) 18. Note that Berk refers to advances in perspective taking as contributing to adolescents imaginary audience and personal fable beliefs. (p. 256) What Berk is referring to is the achievement of recursive thought (also known as self-reflective perspective taking), which includes the ability to step into another persons shoes and look back at the self. When we focus our attention on ourselves from the perspective of other people, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that other people are also focusing their attention on us. As an example, think about how you feel in an embarrassing situation. (Recursive thought is defined and discussed on page 453.) Applications of Piaget's Theory to Education 19. Explain how the concept of discovery learning fits with Piaget's concept of adaptation as the fundamental process of development. (p. 259) 20. Explain how the concept of readiness relates to Piaget's theory. (p. 259) 21. Explain how Piaget's theory supports the need for teachers to accommodate individual differences between children. (p. 259) Theoretical Concepts in Vygotsky's Theory 22. A fundamental idea Vygotsky emphasized that was not emphasized by Piaget is the role of social interaction in cognitive development. (p. 266) 23. Define the zone of proximal development. (p. 267) Applications of Vygotsky's Theory to Education 24. How does Vygotsky's idea of the zone of proximal development support the educational strategies called (1) assisted discovery and (2) peer collaboration? (p. 269)

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

25. Describe reciprocal teaching and explain why it makes sense from Vygotsky's perspective. (p. 271) 26. Describe cooperative learning and explain why it makes sense from Vygotsky's perspective. (p.271) 27. How do collectivistic and individualistic cultural values relate to cooperative learning? (p. 271)

Chapter 7 - Cognitive Development: An Information Processing Perspective

Introduction to Chapter 7 The information processing perspective on cognitive development describes and explains how information is acquired, retained, and used. Information is acquired through the sensory register, attentional strategies, and perceptual strategies. Information is retained through short-term and long-term memory. Information is used by retrieving it from long term memory and using it in problem-solving, decision-making, and in reconstructing memories of prior events. A full developmental model of cognitive development can be created by combining Piagets theory with the information processing approach. Piagets qualitative stages in the structure of knowledge add a developmental component to long-term memory. As you study long-term memory, you will learn that it is the repository of all our accumulated knowledge. Piaget explained that our knowledge changes in structure as we mature. Initially, all our knowledge is in the form of associations between sensations and motor movements. In early childhood, we store much information in the form of simple symbols or images. In middle childhood, we begin to store information in hierarchies of concepts. As I selected the most important material from this chapter, my goal was to avoid overwhelming you with details about developmental changes in individual parts of the information processing system. To the extent possible, I would like you to learn developmental principles and patterns that are characteristic of the whole information processing system. Information Processing Theories Theories or models? Did you notice that Berk uses the term "model" when discussing information processing? I chose to use the term "theory." What's the difference between a model and a theory and why would anyone care? First, the difference is models are more limited than theories. Atkinson and Shiffrin's "model" doesn't attempt to explain the whole range of human behavior. It has nothing at all to say about emotions, for example. On the other hand, Piaget's

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

theory doesn't explain emotions either, but it is called a theory. So, guess what? You can use the terms interchangeably until you run into someone who cares to make a distinction between them. 1. List the components of Atkinson and Shiffrin's store model of the information processing system. (pp. 278-280 and Figure 7.1) 2. Describe the functions of the sensory register, short-term memory (working memory), and long-term memory. (pp. 278-280 and Figure 7.1) 3. Note the 3 key developmental improvements in cognitive processing. (pp. 280-282) increased capacity of working memory increased speed of processing increased executive function (e.g., attention, strategy use, self-regulation) 4. In Case's theory, what process leads to automatization of schemes (mental strategies and concepts)? (p. 283) 5. What are the consequences of automatization in terms of information processing? (p. 283) Explaining the consequences of automatization is Case's most valuable addition to Piaget's theory. On a practical level, this explanation makes clear the role of drill or rote practice, or what some psychologists might call overlearning. As noted on p. 283, this process has also been shown to apply to a wide range of cognitive tasks, including problem solving, understanding stories, reading music, handling money, and interpreting social situations. Attention 6. Berk describes selectivity of attention in terms of tasks requiring that attention be focused on central elements of the task while ignoring irrelevant elements. She goes on to point out that selective attention improves dramatically between ages 6 and 10. One implication of this is that the typical, normal child's ability to focus on relevant stimuli and ignore irrelevant stimuli is not strong until about age 10 or older. (p. 287 and Figure 7.4) 7. Define cognitive inhibition. Note that cognitive inhibition is a key component of selective attention. Similar to selective attention, there are large gains in the ability to inhibit thoughts during the early elementary years, roughly ages 6-10. (p. 287) 8. After studying selective attention and cognitive inhibition, you won't be surprised to learn that children need support in developing and using attentional strategies. Read the sections entitled Attentional Strategies and Planning and think of several ways you could help a child with tasks that require an attentional strategy. (pp. 288-291)

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

9. Read the special section on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (pp.290-291) Think about how the normal limitations on children's attentional skills and cognitive inhibition relate to ADHD. Working Memory 10. Define rehearsal. (p. 292) 11. Define organization as a memory strategy. (p. 292) As Berk points out, young children tend to organize things based on how they experience them in everyday life. It is easier for young children to learn about things they encounter together. For example, snakes, birds and monkeys all go together because they are all things you see when you visit the zoo. Around age 9 or 10, children become more skilled at organizing items based on abstract taxonomic categories. For example, whales, elephants and humans all go together because they are all mammals. 12. Define elaboration as a memory strategy. (p. 293) Notice that this memory strategy also develops late in childhood, around age 10 or so. Long-Term Memory 13. Why does recall performance improve with age? (p. 295) 14. Describe recall as a process of reconstruction. (pp. 295-296) 15. Define gist as used in fuzzy-trace theory. (p. 296). Why might you decide to teach a child the gist of something rather than all the details? 16. How does knowledge improve memory? (p. 297 and Figure 7.7) Note that automatization is part of this. 17. Define scripts and explain how they are related to episodic memory. (p. 298) Notice that the everyday routines represented in children's scripts can give them a sense of security by making life predictable. 18. Define autobiographical memory. (pp. 298-299) Eyewitness memory is an example of an autobiographical memory. Notice in the Eyewitness Memory section that there many potential problems related to children as witnesses. Also note that these problems are different depending on the childs developmental level. Without getting lost in all the specific details of memory functioning, language skills, suggestibility and so on, it is clear that there are many factors working against childrens testimony being accurate. (pp. 300-302) Metacognition

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

19. What does metacognition refer to? (pp. 303-304) Note examples of the kinds of metacognitive knowledge that develop during early childhood. Knowing that doing well on a task requires paying attention. Knowing that if you remember or know something, you are more certain about your knowledge than if you are guessing. Knowing that if you understand something it is more likely that you will be able to remember it. Knowledge about information processing strategies. 20. What is cognitive self-regulation? (pp. 304-305) A great deal of improvement in cognitive self-regulation should occur in late childhood (3rd 5th grades). By the time they reach junior high/middle school, children should demonstrate cognitive self-regulation in their schoolwork. For example, they should spontaneously monitor and evaluate their skills, effort and progress when working on academic tasks. Parents and teachers can support the development of cognitive self-regulation by suggesting effective information-processing strategies (e. g., memory and problem-solving strategies) and by emphasizing the importance of self-monitoring and self-correction.

Chapter 8 - Intelligence
Introduction to Chapter 8 IQ is both misunderstood and overrated. IQ assessment has an important function, but it only makes sense as part of a thorough assessment of a child's strengths and weaknesses and of the environments the child lives in conducted by a professional psychologist. As an isolated test score, IQ is virtually meaningless and potentially dangerous. Too often, an IQ score becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once a child's score becomes known, parents, teachers, and peers may treat the child differently. Why do we have false beliefs about IQ tests? Partly, we are misled by the success of IQ tests in predicting school achievement for groups of children and for children at the extremes of the IQ distribution. Within the normal 90% of children, an IQ score is not a good predictor of school achievement, talents, creativity, psychological adjustment, or anything else (except their score on another IQ test). For intellectually gifted or impaired children, IQ scores simply quantify the obvious unless they are just one part of a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. Motivation, interests, talents, and other personal qualities such as self-control and cooperativeness, are vastly more important factors in school success than is IQ. When one takes into account the influence of environmental factors (such as stress, teaching styles, parenting styles, peer conflict) on school performance, the importance of IQ alone is reduced even further.

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

Another reason we have false beliefs about IQ scores is their relationship to occupational success and psychological adjustment. Again, these relationships hold for groups of people, but not for individuals. As with academic achievement, occupational success and psychological adjustment are based on many personal qualities and environmental factors that are far more influential than IQ. Because IQ tests have an important role in professional assessments and because they are so widely misunderstood, misinterpreted and misused, it is important to learn something about them. Theories of Intelligence 1. What was the reason Binet was asked to develop his IQ test? (p. 320) This is important because many of the misconceptions about IQ tests are based on failure to understand what IQ tests are designed to do. (See IQ Test Controversies below.) Typical tasks on children's IQ tests include: General information questions, Similarities (explaining how two different things could be alike), Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Digit Span (repeating a dictated series of digits), Identifying missing parts of pictures, Sequencing cartoon pictures to make sensible stories, Assembling puzzles. Sample items are shown in Figure 8.3 (p. 328). 2. What is the gist of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences? List and give a brief description of each type of intelligence. (p. 325 and Table 8.1) The most valuable contribution of Gardner's theory is that it puts many types of talents on an equal footing with IQ. Children who are particularly skilled in their relationships with others or who have musical or athletic talents can be viewed as having skills that are just as important and just as legitimate as IQ. Any of the 8 intelligences can serve as a foundation upon which academic achievement can be built. 3. Read the Emotional Intelligence section. What is the definition of emotional intelligence? (p. 327) Note that testing instruments are still evolving as researchers are looking for a scientifically useful way of defining emotional intelligence and its relationship to general intelligence. IQ as a Predictor 4. How well do preschool IQ scores predict later IQ scores? (p. 331) This is the concept of correlational stability of IQ scores, the degree to which a child's IQ score predicts the same child's score at an older age. 5. How stable are IQ scores during childhood? (p. 331) This is the concept of how much variation normally occurs among a child's actual IQ scores when the test is taken at various ages. Differences of 20 points are common.

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

6. Note that the average correlation between IQ scores and academic achievement is about .50. (p. 331) A correlation of .50 means that IQ scores can account for about 25% of the differences between children in academic achievement. It also means that 75% of the differences between children in academic achievement are due to things other than intelligence. 7. Why are IQ tests good predictors of school achievement? (p. 332) 8. Which is a better predictor of occupational success, educational achievement or IQ? (p. 332) 9. What conclusion does the textbook reach regarding the relationship between IQ and psychological (emotional and social) adjustment? (p.333) Genetic and Environmental Factors 10. Read Race and Ethnicity: Genetic or Cultural Groupings. Why is it incorrect to assume that differences between racial or ethnic groups in psychological traits, such as IQ, are caused by genetic differences? (p. 339) 11. Note the features of a high-quality home life in middle childhood as indicated by the HOME subscales. (Applying What We Know, p. 344) 12. Note the importance of the home environment in intellectual development, including (1) an organized, stimulating environment, (2) parental encouragement, involvement, and affection, and (3) parents beliefs about educational achievement. (pp. 344-345) Creativity 13. Berk describes creativity as one aspect of giftedness. Contemporary definitions of giftedness are broader than the concept of high intelligence and include the whole range of children's talents (music, graphic arts, dramatic arts, for example). Because the concept of creativity has been around for much longer, we know more about creativity than other aspects of children's giftedness. Define creativity. (p. 350) 14. How is divergent thinking involved in creativity? (p. 350) See the example of divergent thinking in Figure 8.15. Notice that convergent thinking (the opposite of divergent thinking) is given much greater emphasis at all levels of education. 15. List and describe the four types of resources needed for creativity according to the Investment Theory of creativity. (p. 352) Notice that one of the crucial resources is the child's environment. Under normal circumstances, the development of gifts or talents requires a supportive

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

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environment that nurtures the child's abilities. (Characteristics of that type of environment are listed in the Applying What We Know box on p. 355.) 16. Note that traditional educational methods focusing on knowledge acquisition (getting the right answer) discourage the development of creativity. (p. 354) IQ Test Controversies IQ tests have been the subject of great controversy for many reasons. Among them is the simple fact that we often forget what IQ tests are designed to do. They are designed to predict success in a Western-European version of school. They aren't designed to be fair. They aren't designed to explain why some people succeed and some don't. Strangely enough, they measure only a few of the many skills we think of as intellectual. If you spend some time thinking about this, you should be able to see that many of the issues about IQ tests wouldn't be controversial if we kept in mind what IQ tests are designed to do. I chose not to ask you to study the material on ethnic and socioeconomic variations in IQ, including the opinions of Arthur Jensen, Richard Herrnstein, and Charles Murray. Most of the debate about genetic differences in intelligence between races is nonsense, because it is based on the false assumption that there are significant genetic differences between races. As difficult as it is for most people to believe, the genetic differences between racial and ethnic groups are insignificant. I also chose not to ask you to study the material on heritability. The theoretical and psychometric issues in heritability research are too advanced for an undergraduate course. The concepts are beyond the level of expertise of many psychology professors whose training in behavior genetics, psychometrics, and statistics isn't sufficient to fully understand the complexities of this highly specialized area of research. A third issue related to IQ testing that has been widely misunderstood is test bias. Members of racial minorities and lower socioeconomic groups may perform less well on IQ tests for reasons unrelated to their intelligence. As with other issues related to IQ testing, the theoretical and psychometric concepts involved are beyond the level of this course. In all these issues, a little bit of knowledge combined with negative stereotypes leads to wrong-headed and destructive conclusions.

Chapter 9 Language Development

Introduction to Chapter 9 Most of the basics of language are acquired before middle childhood. Consequently, only a few topics in the chapter are directly relevant to the age range we cover in this course. One major area of language development in which there are major achievements during late childhood is conversational skills (pragmatics). An aspect of language that has important psychological consequences during childhood and beyond is bilingualism.

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

11

Negative attitudes and stereotypes associated with bilingualism in the past have been replaced by scientific evidence showing the benefits of growing up bilingual. Linguistic Terms 1. Define semantics. (p. 360) 2. Define pragmatics. (p. 360) Note the many types of skills and knowledge that children need in order to carry on conversations. Later in the chapter, you'll read about a subset of these skills, called referential communication skills. Language Development 3. Note that adult-child conversation is very important in fostering language development during early childhood. (p. 391) The textbook doesn't give the whole story. These adult-child conversations during infancy and early childhood are related to all kinds of competencies during later childhood and adolescence, including school achievement, intelligence, social skills, peer relationships, parent-child relationships, teacher-child relationships, and psychological adjustment. Passive forms of stimulation (e.g., watching TV or listening to stories on tape) lack a crucial component: active interaction (i.e., communication) with another person. 4. Define referential communication skills. (pp. 391-392) Referential communication skills develop slowly over a long period of time. They are still quite limited by the end of childhood. Many adolescents continue to have poor referential communication skills. Even college students frequently fail to recognize when they need more information regarding an assignment, for example. It would be helpful if children and adolescents were given more training in this aspect of language development. 5. Children's narratives (verbal accounts of experiences) are sometimes used by researchers as a means of learning about how they experience events. Berk points out that the ability to produce clear narratives enhances literacy development, the ability to read and write well. (pp. 392-393) Note the importance attributed to family mealtimes in the development of language and literacy. 6. Define metalinguistic awareness. (p. 394) Berk points out that primitive forms of metalinguistic awareness can be seen in early childhood. However, the knowledge and skills that contribute to a mature level of metalinguistic awareness develop primarily in middle childhood and beyond.

PSY 324

Childhood and Adolescence

Exam 2

Study Guide 9th ed.

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Examples include the ability to understand multiple meanings of words and phrases and the ability to understand that a statement can be grammatically correct even if its meaning is false (as in "The cow jumped over the moon").

7. What are some of the benefits of bilingualism? (p. 396)