Chapter 4
Cognitive Development
A. Piaget’s theory
1. Adolescents actively construct their worlds (classify,
prioritize, organize, interpret information).
New information causes changes in how old information is perceived.
2. Individuals move through four stages of cognition that are qualitatively different from one
another.
Sensorimotor
stage
Preoperational stage
Concrete operational stage
Formal operational stage: the adolescent is no longer limited to
concrete, actual experiences for bases of thought
The adolescent begins to think
about thinking itself
Thought becomes idealistic and
many possibilities are considered
Engage in hypothetical-deductive
reasoning (problem solving no longer trial and error); a plan is formulated and
tested; some theorists believe that closer to age 13-15 formal operational
thought is accommodated to the realities of the world
3. Some cautions—even a large number of late adolescents may
not be using formal operations or using it at some times and not as other times
depending on their knowledge base
B. Vygotsky: knowledge
acquisition is heavily influenced through interactions with others (parents,
peers, teachers, etc.); both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories are constructivist theories—individuals
actively construct knowledge and understanding
1. Typically more support of the learner earlier in instruction
and less later. The role of teacher is
as facilitator and guide.
1. Why are adolescents better at processing information than
children?
Answer: they can process more information
automatically (with little or no effort); they have increased capacity for
information; also have a greater range of information
2. Long term memory improves during the adolescent period
3. Adolescent make better decisions and tend to
think more critically (reflecting and evaluating evidence) than children; they
weigh more options, different aspects of situations, and consequences. However, they do not always get the chance
to make decisions regarding important areas of their life.
a. several new projects, such as the Jasper
Project, teach children how to solve real-world
problems and help them make connections across disciplines.
4. Self-regulatory learning (one generates and monitors their
own thoughts, feelings, and behavior to reach a goal; hint: think of this as the person him/herself
controlling the modification of their own behavior)
a. what does it involve?
1)
setting academic and
motivation (effort) goals
2)
making sure these
goals are specific and reachable (broken down into small steps or subgoals)
3)
managing emotions,
especially dysfunctional ones
4)
putting a plan into
action
5)
monitoring progress
toward the goal
6)
fine tuning the plan
based on the progress
7)
attempt to eliminate
obstacles or barriers
D. Psychometric View: emphasizes the importance of individual
differences in intelligence
1. The main issues
What is intelligence
and how best measured?
Is intelligence one
factor or multiple factors?
Is there such a thing
as social or emotional intelligence?
How do various factors
shape intelligence? (heredity and environment (culture, social
class)
2. Definitional problems:
no definition of “intelligence” satisfies everyone
a. most definitions stress verbal ability, and verbal and
nonverbal problem-solving, and (to lesser extent) ability to learn from
experience
b. traditionally measured by a test (IQ test) that seeks to
determine both mental development and mental development relative to age
c. earliest tests (actually first formulate in China around
2000BC, though refined by Binet in 1894) were used to identify people who were
unable to learn
1)
tests are not
difficult to administer but do require sophistication of interpretation (why?—so that one score is not used to label or
indicate all the competence of the person)
2)
only within last 30-40
years do we have tests that address problem of cultural bias, although none
really entirely bias free
d. most popular tests are the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler
scales (both provide scores for different types of intelligence, e.g., verbal
and quantitative)
3. Ideas of multiple intelligence (Sternberg; Gardner) are
intriguing but have not as yet fully influenced test development, nor have they
been thoroughly empirically tested
Triarchic theory
(intelligence involves analytical [comparing & contrasting], creative
[designing and imagining], and practical [using and applying] forms)
Argues that school
instruction should balance all three forms
Argues for eight
different types, including interpersonal skills
4.
Goleman’s notions of emotional intelligence (simply involves awareness
and management of own emotions, and understanding others' emotions and acting
on information in interpersonal situations.
Claims that emotional intelligence is more related to competence than
traditional intelligence have not been validated at this time.
E. Social cognition:
how people reason about their social world
Adolescent
egocentrism: belief that others are as
interested in them as they are in themselves
Personal fable: feeling of being unique and having unique
emotions
Imaginary
audience: desire to be noticed and
feelings of being “on stage”
Throughout
adolescence perspective-taking increases and adolescence develop theories of
others’ personalities (implicit
personality theories) that take into account situational causes and deeper,
hidden causes.