Berk CD8 CH06

Child Development
Laura E. Berk 8th edition

Chapter 6
Cognitive
Development:
Piagetian, Core
Knowledge, and
Vygotskian
Perspectives
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Goals of
Cognitive Development Research
Chart typical course of development

Examine individual differences
Uncover mechanisms of cognitive
development
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Basics of Piaget’s Theory
General theory
Considers all aspects of cognition
Constructivist approach
Stages are invariant
Stages are universal

Schemes
Are psychological structures
Organized ways of making sense of
experience
Change with age
– Action-based
(motor patterns) at first
– Later move to a
mental (thinking) level
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Adaptation
Assimilation
 Using current schemes to
interpret external world
 Used during equilibrium
Accommodation
 Adjusting old schemes, creating Family Life Royalty Free CD
new ones to better fit environment

 Prompted by disequilibrium

Organization
Internal rearranging and linking

of schemes
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Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage
Birth to 2 years
Building schemes
through sensory and
motor exploration
Circular reactions Family Life Royalty Free CD

Sensorimotor Substages
Reflexive Schemes Birth –1 Newborn reflexes
month
Primary Circular 1 – 4 months Simple motor habits centered
Reactions around own body
Secondary Circular 4 – 8 months Repeat interesting effects in
Reactions soundings
Coordination of 8 – 12 Intentional, goal-directed behavior;
Secondary Circular months object permanence
Reactions
Tertiary Circular 12 – 18 Explore properties of objects
Reactions months through novel actions
Mental 18 months – Internal depictions of objects or
Representations 2 years events; deferred imitation

Intentional Behavior
Object Permanence:
understanding that
objects continue to exist
when out of sight
According to Piaget,
develops in Substage 4
Incomplete at first: A-
not-B search error

Testing Understanding of Object
Permanence Using the Violation-of-
Expectation Method

Testing Infant Understanding of
Object Permanence Using
Predictive Eye Tracking

Progress in Finding Objects
Hidden in Two Ways

Mental Representation
Internal, mental depictions of
information
 Images: objects, people, places
 Concepts: categories
 Can manipulate with mind
 Allow:
Deferred imitation
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Make-believe play

Deferred Imitation
Piaget: Develops at about 18 months

Newer research:
 6 weeks – facial imitation
 6 – 9 months – copy
actions with objects
 12 – 18 months – imitate
skillfully Family Life Royalty Free CD

Development of Categorization
Perceptual
– Based on similar overall
appearance or prominent part
Conceptual
Adapted from Mandler & McDonough, 1993.

– Based on common function
or behavior
– Later add event categories

Infant
Categorization
Using Operant
Bhatt, Rove-collier & Weiner, 1994; Hayne, Rove-Collier & Perris, 1987.
Conditioning

Analogical Problem Solving
Adapted with permission of the American Psychological Association.

Evaluation of the Sensorimotor Stage
Timing of:
How Piaget was • Object search
right • A-not-B
• Make-believe play
• Timing of object permanence, deferred
How Piaget imitation, categorization, problem-solving
might have been by analogy
wrong • All occur sooner than Piaget thought
Some suggest infants are born with core knowledge in several

domains of thought
The Preoperational Stage
Mental Representation
2 to 7 years
Language
– Piaget believed it developed from
sensorimotor experiences
Make-believe play
Dual representation

Development of Make-Believe Play
With age, make-

believe gradually
becomes:
More detached from
real-life conditions
Less self-centered
More complex
– Sociodramatic play

Benefits of Make-Believe Play
Practice representational schemes
Emotional integration
Social, language skills
Attention, memory, logical reasoning

Imagination, creativity

Progression of Drawing Skills
1. Scribbles: during 2nd year

2. First Representational
Forms
– Label already-made
drawings: around age 3
– Draw boundaries and
Used by permission of the author.

people: 3–4 years
3. More Realistic Drawings:
preschool to school age
Dual Representation
Viewing a symbolic object as both
an object and a symbol
Mastered around age 3
Adult teaching can help
– Provide lots of maps,

photos, drawings, make-
believe playthings, etc.
Artville Royalty Free – Point out similarities to real
world
Limitations of
Preoperational Thought
Cannot perform mental operations

Egocentrism and animistic
thinking
Cannot conserve
Lack hierarchical classification

Egocentrism
Failure to
distinguish
others’ views
from one’s own

Animistic Thinking
Belief that inanimate

objects have lifelike
qualities
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Limits on Conservation
Centration
Focus on one
aspect and
neglect others
Irreversibility
Cannot mentally
reverse a set of
steps

Hierarchical Classification

Aspects of Preoperational Thought
• Can adjust language to others and
take others’ perspectives in simple
Egocentric Thought situations
• Animistic thinking comes from

Animistic and Magical Thinking incomplete knowledge of objects
• Can do simplified conservation

Illogical Thought • Can reason by analogy
• Use causal expressions
Categorization • Everyday knowledge is categorized
Appearance versus Reality • Can solve appearance-reality tasks in

nonverbal ways

Example of Categorization
© The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

Evaluation of the
Preoperational Stage
How Piaget was Preschoolers do develop beginnings of

right logical thinking.
How Piaget
Logical thinking develops more
might have
gradually than Piaget thought.
been wrong

Achievements of the
Concrete Operational Stage
(7 to 11 years)
Conservation
– Decentration
– Reversibility
Classification
Seriation
– Transitive inference
Spatial Reasoning Artville Royalty Free CD
– Directions
– Maps
Use of Maps

Cultural Interpretations of Maps
Copyright © 2003, with permission from Elsevier.

Limitations of Concrete Operational
Thought
Operations work best
with objects that are
concrete
– Problems with abstract
ideas
Continuum of
Acquisition
– Master concrete
operational tasks Family Life Royalty Free CD
gradually

Follow-up Research on
Concrete Operational Thought
Culture and schooling affect

performance on tasks
– Going to school gives
experience on
Piagetian tasks
– Relevant non-school
experiences of some
cultures can help too
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Piaget’s Theory:
Formal Operational Stage
11 and Older
 Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
 Deducing hypotheses from a
general theory
 Pendulum problem
Propositional Thought
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– Evaluating the logic of

verbal propositions

Piaget’s Pendulum Problem

Consequences of
Abstract Thought
Self-Consciousness & Self-Focusing
– Imaginary audience
– Sensitivity to criticism
– Personal fable
Idealism and Criticism
Problems with Decision Making
– Inexperience
– Overwhelming options
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Follow-up Research on
Formal Operational Thought
School-age children start
developing abstract thinking
skills
– Problems with propositional
thinking
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Logical necessity
Careful thinking about major premise
Formal operations may not be
universal
– Training, context contribute
– Often fall back on easier thinking

Educational Principles
Derived from Piaget’s Theory
Discovery learning
Sensitivity to children’s
readiness to learn
– Developmentally
appropriate practices
Acceptance of
individual differences
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Overall Evaluation
of Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s change processes — assimilation,
accommodation, and organization — can’t
account for patterns of children’s changes
observed today
Cognitive development not always self-
generating
Cognition not as broadly stagelike as Piaget
believed
Piaget’s theory still inspires research
Core Knowledge Perspective
Evolutionary perspective: infants
start life with innate, special-
purpose knowledge systems
– Core domains of thought
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Core domains prepare us to rapidly

develop key aspects of cognition
Development is domain-specific
– Children as naïve theorists

Suggested Domains
of Core Knowledge
Physical
Numerical
Linguistic
Psychological
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Violation of Expectation Method

Development of
Infants’ Physical Knowledge
One solid object cannot move through
another 2 - 3 months
Size comparisons - notice when objects are:
• Too wide for openings 5-6 months
• Too tall for containers 7-8 months
Gravity, object support 4- 8 months

Infants’ Numerical Knowledge
Findings are mixed and controversial

Infants may be able to:
– Discriminate quantities
and do simple
arithmetic up to 3
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– Approximate large-
number values

Testing Infants for
Basic Number Concepts

Children as Naïve Theorists
(Theory Theory)
Children:
Observe an event
Explain, or theorize about its cause
– Draw on innate concepts
Test theory against experience
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Revise theory if needed

Is Biology a Core Domain?
Develops later than other
domains
– Psychological explanations for
biological events
– Late development is common
around the world
More evidence is needed
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Children’s Understanding of Death
Development of the death concept
Cultural influences
Enhancing children’s understanding
– Use direct explanations
– Teach preschoolers about human biology
– Be culturally sensitive
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Evaluation of
Core Knowledge Perspective
Most serious consideration of beginnings of

thinking
Amount and nature of inborn knowledge
hotly debated
Suggests environment and experience work
together, but does not clarify how
Suggests cognitive development is
independent; little attention to learning
with others
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
Cognition is based on:

Social interactions
Language

Children’s Private Speech
Piaget called this “egocentric speech”

Vygotsky viewed it as foundation for all
higher cognitive processes
Helps guide behavior
– Used more when tasks are difficult, after
errors, or when confused
Gradually becomes more silent
– Children with learning and behavior
problems use longer

Children’s Use of Private Speech

Zone of Proximal Development
Tasks child cannot

do alone but can
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learn to do with help

Social Interactions that
Promote Cognitive Development
Intersubjectivity
Scaffolding
Guided
participation
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Vygotsky and Make-Believe Play
Provides Zone of Proximal

Development
– Imaginary substitutions help children
separate thinking from objects
– Rules strengthen capacity to think

before acting

Social Origins of
Make-Believe Play
Make-believe play is a major means by
which children grow cognitively and learn
about important activities in their culture.
Toddlers need encouragement to
participate in imaginative make-believe
play.
Mothers and siblings play an important
role in modeling make-believe play.

Vygotsky and Education
Assisted Discovery
– Teacher:
Guides learning
Tailors help to
Zone of Proximal
Development Corbis Royalty Free
Peer Collaboration

Reciprocal Teaching
Teacher and students take

turns leading dialogue
– Ask
– Summarize
– Clarify
– Predict
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Cooperative Learning
Small groups of classmates

work toward common goals
– Cultural variations
in ability to learn
cooperatively
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Evaluation of Vygotsky’s Theory
Helps explain cultural diversity in

cognition
Emphasizes importance of teaching
Focus on language deemphasizes
observation, other learning methods
Says little about biological
contributions to cognition
Vague in explanation of change

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Child Development

Laura E. Berk 8th edition

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Chart typical course of development

DigitalVision Royalty Free Stock Photography

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

new ones to better fit environment

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Internal rearranging and linking

Royalty Free Stock CD

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Piaget: Develops at about 18 months

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Adapted from Mandler & McDonough, 1993.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Some suggest infants are born with core knowledge in several

Family Life Royalty Free CD

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

With age, make-

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

DigitalVision Royalty Free Stock Photography

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

1. Scribbles: during 2nd year

Used by permission of the author.

– Provide lots of maps,

Cannot perform mental operations

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Belief that inanimate

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

• Animistic thinking comes from

• Can do simplified conservation

Categorization • Everyday knowledge is categorized

Appearance versus Reality • Can solve appearance-reality tasks in

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

© The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

How Piaget was Preschoolers do develop beginnings of

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Culture and schooling affect

– Evaluating the logic of

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Corbis Royalty Free

Image Source Royalty Free Stock Photography