Lifespan Development Psychology - Lecture Block 5: Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Key Theories and Concepts

Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

• Schemes
  • Basic units of knowledge for organizing experiences.
  • Coordinate sensory and motor information.
  • Develop from simple to complex with age.
  • Example: Development of a baby's hand scheme.
• Equilibration
  • Babies seek balance when encountering new information.
  • Self-regulatory mechanism for adapting to the environment.
• Adaptation
  • Involves assimilation and accommodation.
  • Assimilation: Applying existing schemes to new information.
  • Accommodation: Modifying schemes for new information.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2 years)
  • Subdivided into six stages:
    1. Reflexes: Built-in behavior patterns.
    2. Primary Circular Reactions: Repeated actions involving the baby's own body.
    3. Secondary Circular Reactions: Repeated actions affecting external objects.
    4. Coordination of Schemes: Purposeful action sequences.
    5. Tertiary Circular Reactions: Experimenting with actions for new effects.
    6. Beginnings of Representational Thought: Use of symbols and mental combinations.
• Object Permanence
  • Understanding that objects exist even when not seen.
  • Actively constructs over time during development.

Information-Processing Approach

• Comparison to Computers
  • Mind processes information similar to a computer.
• Memory Storage Systems
  • Sensory Register: Briefly holds sensory info.
  • Short-Term Memory: Holds limited info temporarily.
  • Long-Term Memory: Permanent storage for learned info.
• Habituation: Getting used to repeated stimuli.

Cognitive Neuroscience Approach

• Focus on brain structures and technology like MRI and PET.

Social-Contextual Approach

• Vygotsky’s Theory
  • Importance of social interaction and cultural context.
  • Zone of Proximal Development: Potential learning with assistance.
• Role of Caregivers
  • Active participation in learning.

Psychometric Approach

• Developmental and Intelligence Tests
  • Measure comprehension and reasoning.
  • Not true measures of intelligence.
  • Bayley Scales for sensory and motor abilities.
  • HOME: Influence of home environment on development.

Daycare in Infancy

• Attachment
  • Secure attachment possible with working parents if primary needs met.
• Quality Indicators
  • Warm, responsive caregivers; low turnover.
  • Proper hygiene and safety standards.

Language Development

• General Capacity for Symbolic Representation
  • Environmental vs. Nativist theories.
• Components of Language
  • Phonology: Set of sounds and rules.
  • Semantics: Meaning of words and sentences.
  • Morphology: Rules for combining morphemes.
  • Syntax: Organization of words into sentences.
  • Pragmatics: Rules for social use of language.

Early Language and Speech

• Prelinguistic Vocalization
  • Stages from crying to canonical babbling.
• Vocabulary Development
  • Vocabulary spurt around 18 months.
  • Errors: Underextension and overextension.

Gestures and Language

• Types of Gestures
  • Communicative, conventional social, instrumental, and symbolic gestures.
• Role in Language Development
  • Gestures develop alongside language and aid communication.