Lifespan Development Psychology Psyc 2100 Lecture Block 5: Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood You cannot study children�s thought processes and cognitive development without considering the cognitive development theory of Jean Piaget. There is no 1 theory of cognitive devel that captures it all. But Piaget�s theory is one of the major ones that has contributed to the opinions held by modern-day psychologists and educators. Piaget taught that schemes are basic units of knowledge by which we obtain organization and make sense of experience. Schemes are cognitive building blocks for coordinating sensory and motor information. These schemes are applied to a variety of situations and become more complex with increased development. ie The baby scheme for hand goes from an interesting thing to watch as it moves back and forth�to something which can reach�to something which can grasp large items�to something which can pick up small objects�to something that can manipulate objects. The scheme for a spoon may go from an object that brings food by way of an adult�to an airborne missile�to a shiny drumstick�to a toy to play in food with�to a tool to bring food to own mouth. Babies want order and sense in their worlds so they seek equilibration or balance when new information arrives. Equilibration is a self-regulatory mechanism that leads the baby toward increasingly effective organizations of and adaptations to the changing environment. Organization and adaptation�2 important bases. Organization comes with the establishment of schemes. Adaptation is accomplished in infants using the processes of assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation uses an existing motor or mental scheme to make sense of new information. ie�Trying to pick up a cheerio using the whole hand to grasp it. Sucking on different types of bottle nipples or on a pacifier, or even on those spill-proof training cups. Calling a skunk a �kitty�. Accommodation changes existing schemes or creates new ones to fit new information. ie--Sucking on a sipper cup and learning that though swallowing is the same (accommodation), lip and tongue movements have to change to prevent milk from running down the face. Opening the mouth wide to bite a banana and only a little bit to sip from a cup. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Piaget proposed 4 universal sequences or stages of cognitive development. Everyone proceeds in a universal order. The chronological ages may differ but the sequencing or ordering of the stages does not. Children are not just adults who know less; adults are not just children who know more. Developmental changes are qualitative, not just quantitative. Cognitive devel is not simply the adding on of new knowledge to existing stores of knowledge, but it is transformation and radical changes in the processes of thinking. The 4 stages of Piaget�s cognitive devel theory for children are: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Piaget�s 1st stage of cognitive development is the sensorimotor stage from birth to 2 years old. In the sensorimotor stage, sensing and movements are used to make sense of the world. Piaget subdivided the sensorimotor stage into 6 stages. Stage 1�reflexes�birth to 1 month Piaget considered any built-in behavior pattern as a reflex. It did not have to be an automatic response to 1 stimulus to be considered a reflex. Eye movements and movements of the hands and arms were considered reflexes also, along with the reflexes of sucking and grasping. During this 1st stage, reflex movements are refined and no new behaviors are learned. Stage 2�primary circular reactions�1 to 4 months A simple behavior accidentally produces an interesting event involving the baby�s own body and is repeated. This is the stage in which thumbsuckers learn to suck their thumbs. Initially the baby finds his thumb by chance and sucks reflexively. Then he/she tries to repeat the interesting experience automatically not intentionally. Another example of a primary circular reaction is a young infant staring at his/her hands as he/she waves them in front of his/her face, pausing, and then waving them around again. Stage 3�secondary circular reactions�4 to 8 months. Repetitive acts centering on objects in the environment. Baby is actively experiencing the effects that initial accidental behaviors have on external objects. Knocking something off a highchair tray which produces an interesting sound, will have the baby repeating the activity once the parent retrieves the item. The baby is not trying to get the parent�s dander up. He/she is just repeating an interesting event. He/she is learning connections betw moving his/her arm and the resulting sound of the item hitting the floor. Another example of a secondary circular reaction is a baby bouncing in his crib, noticing that the overhead mobile jiggles with every bounce, and continuing to bounce and laugh at the movements. More examples---Baby coos and then sees a smile from parent. Coos again. Baby will shake a rattle again and again to hear the noise. The only repertoire of movements are ones the baby is already capable of doing, ones that he/she can hear or see self doing. Baby is not capable yet of consciously imitating new behaviors of others. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stage 4�coordination of schemes�8 to 12 months Baby begins to do something not for its own sake but as a means of accomplishing something else. The baby anticipates future consequences and purposefully or intentionally behaves a certain way using well-learned motor actions. The baby is able to put actions together into a goal-directed chain of behavior. Crawl, grab, push.... ie move something out of the way to reach something else like a block to reach a rattle, or a parent�s hand so as to touch the tv or an outlet. Another example of coordination of schemes is an infant moving a blanket out of the way with 1 hand so that she could more easily reach the thumb on the other hand to suck. OR An infant pulling up to a chair to reach a teddy bear that is there. Stage 5�tertiary circular reactions�12 to 18 months A behavior accidentally produces an interesting event causing the baby to experiment with variations of the behavior�repeating the behavior with a different twist. This is a get into everything stage, or an exploration for cause and effect relationships. If the baby produces something interesting like throwing a block into the toilet, then what fun to throw a shoe, or a roll of toilet paper or a cookie. Other examples of a tertiary circular reaction: Baby throwing different foods off his high chair tray with varying force to watch the effects�the splats, the sounds. Baby steps on rubber duck. It squeaks. Then baby squeezes the duck with his/her hand to repeat the squeak sounds. Stage 5 includes active exploration, and by the end of the stage, tool-using skills along with imitating new behaviors never done by the baby before. Primary, secondary and tertiary circular reactions all begin when an action accidentally leads to an interesting outcome. Stage 6�beginnings of representational thought using symbols; mental combinations�18 to 24 months Ability of a child to practice deferred imitation, imitating actions they no longer see in front of them. Observing a behavior, remembering it and imitating it later. Child has a memory representing an actual behavior. Doesn�t have to go through trial and error as much; can think before taking action. ie�A child watches his mother play tennis and later picks up a stick and swings it like as if it were the tennis racquet he saw his mother swing earlier that day. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Object permanence�understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. The concept of objects is an essential one for interacting with our world. Objects exist even when light and color and shadows are not around to tell us so. Objects exist even when we ourselves are not around to actively perceive them. Object permanence is not something we are born with, but rather it is something we actively construct over time during cognitive development. It takes biology as well as experience; nature as well as nurture. Recent studies in infant cognitive development have shown that Piaget was right about the sequence in which object permanence develops, but underestimated the rate of its development. Babies have a sense of object permanence sooner than Piaget thought. Piaget also seems to have been right on target with his belief that infants are active participants in their own cognitive devel.. They do not sit and wait for things to happen, rather they act on whatever is nearby and learn from the results. Researchers, like Renee Baillargeon, using methods that require less motor activity and less memory skills, have been able to determine that infants are aware of the permanence of an object at earlier ages, perhaps betw 3 and 5 mons of age. At 2 and ? months, babies will stare longer when their expectations are not met�like when a toy bear disappears from a box. Babies do not look as long when the toy bear stays in the box as expected. This suggests that even a 2 ? mon old understands object permanence�that objects should be permanent in time and space. Some of Baillargeon�s research found infant girls to be a bit more developmentally advanced over infant boys in determining object permanence. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Information-processing approach� Information processing is a cognitive theory of development that can be compared to a computer which takes in (encodes), stores, and uses (retrieves) information. It draws an analogy betw thought processes and a computer. The brain receives info from the environment and processes it using info already stored in memory. This theory emphasizes age-related changes in memory and problem solving, quantitative changes. The older the child, the more amounts of experience with problem solving he/she will have. The child will have better access to memory storage and retrieval, as well as greater abil to apply past experience to new situations. There is continuity and flow between the cognitive processes of memory, perception and attention, rather than the discontinuity and qualitative changes of distinct stages as in Piaget�s theory. Information processing would fit more with the example of a seedling becoming a big tree rather than a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. With the information processing theory of cognitive development, the word �memory� includes 3 different storage systems �sensory register, short-term and long-term. Sensory register is equiv to a keyboard. It is a system of receptors that holds incoming sensory information very briefly. The sensory register is the 1st storage system. Short-term memory is equiv to a monitor. It holds a limited amount of information for no longer than 30 seconds unless the info is rehearsed. If you look up a number in a directory, you have to repeat the # over and over until you have actually dialed it. Short-term memory is the second storage system. It is not the same thing as working memory. Short-term memory involves the info you are using right now. Working memory includes what information you can instantaneously retrieve if you need to, but are not actually thinking of right now. Long-term memory is equiv to a disk or hard-drive. It is relatively permanent storage for learned information and has a very large capacity. Access to long-term memory requires retrieval skills and effort. Long-term memory is the 3rd storage system. Information processing focuses on what children do with information from the time they first experience it until they first use it. It observes and analyzes the mental processes involved in information gathering and handling. Using the simple learning example known as habituation, information processing theorists have proposed that even newborns have the ability to represent things in memory. Habituation is getting used to a repeated stimulus, getting bored, so that you no longer pay attention to it. Repeated stimuli are not as interesting after a while, and disinterest and looking away occurs. Infants paying more attention to new information or stimuli, must remember the old. In order to compare new info with info already experienced, a mental image or representation of the old stimuli must be in service. According to information-processing theorists, the more able a baby is to differentiate betw old and new stimuli, the more intelligent he/she is. (Fantz 63-75) Babies less than 2 days old prefer curved to straight lines, complex to simple patterns, 3 dimensional to 2 dimensional objects, pictures of faces over pictures of other things, NEW to familiar sights. As they age, babies will show preferences for familiar over novel items. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Implicit or procedural memory involves habits and skills, not conscious recall. It develops in babies before explicit memory does. Explicit memory involves facts, names and events and is intentional and conscious. Primitive explicit memory permitting a baby to remember specific sights and sounds long enough to show simple preferences for novelty, develops in the hippocampus in the medial temporal lobe in the first few months. Betw 6-12 months, explicit memory becomes more sophisticated and involves prefrontal cortex enabling the baby to use short-term memory or that information the brain is processing at the moment. Infantile amnesia�inabil of adults to recall events that happened in their infancies. May be due to the immaturity of the hippocampus and other memory structures or may be due to the absence of the necessary connections. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cognitive neuroscience approach�focuses on the brain�s memory structures using the technology of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography). Cannot do either on a baby�PET presents a radiation risk and MRI requires stillness that a wriggling baby is unable to do. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Social-contextual approach�focuses on early interactions with adults. Caregivers influence cognitive development by guiding their babies� participation in play and providing stimulation for learning. Vygotsky�s theory of cognitive development is an example of the social-contextual approach. He stressed the potential of learning if given mediated help, called the zone of proximal development. There is a potential for learning in every baby or child that will be realized if he/she is given active help from others. Thr adult help, babies acquire skills neces for further devel. Others deliberately structure the environment to maximize learning & can enable speedier learning at earlier ages than is typical. Culture is important. This explains the cultural differences we find in cognitive development. Different cultures value and applaud different proficiencies in their children depending on cultural relevance and usefulness. Children bounce ideas off of the significant people around them. This is what promotes further growth. Vygotsky�s theory also emphasizes the importance of language in cognitive development. Language development will be covered shortly. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> There is a psychometric approach to cognitive development. Developmental and intelligence tests attempt to measure the things of which intelligence is made, like comprehension and reasoning, for the purpose of predicting future performance or achievement. IQ test scores are good at predicting school achievement of school-aged children. IQ tests do NOT measure intelligence! Remember we can�t even agree on the definition of intelligence. What IQ tests do appear able to measure and predict are academic achievement and school success -- NOT intelligence and life success. IQ tests are unable to test potential development (ie. zones of proximal development). They are unable to test motivation, social skills, personality, drive, emotional maturity, creativity, willingness to work hard, resiliency, optimism, cultural factors or even luck and who you know. So, if we do not really know with any certainty exactly what intelligence is, then how can we measure it? Testing the intelligence of babies and toddlers is even more difficult. They cannot express what they are thinking. What we do have are useful tools which can approximate mental and motor development espec in cases where high risk is suspected. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (II) measure sensory and motor abilities of children aged 1 month to 3 ? years. HOME, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment, measures the influence of the home environment on the cognitive development of children. Parental responsiveness and attitude, accessibility to toys and stimulation, availability of books, etc. are noticed. One longitudinal research study (Hart & Risely, 92-96) included visitations to 40 families once a month for 2 years or more. It was found that parents who spent time with, talked to and showed interest in what children had to say, had children who did better on IQ tests, school grades, language and achievement tests 6 years later. Parents who used negative words frequently like �quit, stop, don�t� had lower IQ�s and academic achievement later. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DAY-CARE in infancy� Day-care does not prevent secure attachments betw parent and baby. As long as the caregiver is the primary adult to satisfy the baby�s needs after working hours, the attachment will form securely. Full-time day-care is not negative unless it is poor and unstable and is coupled with unresponsive mothering. Quality day-care often proves to have positive benefits for toddlers and preschool-aged children. This type of day-care for this aged population enhances cognitive as well as social development. The focus should be on finding good quality daycare, regulating it and making it accountable rather than decry the existence of daycare. More than 60% of all mothers of children under 2 years old are working. Gone are the days of the Ozzie and Harriet scenario with a stay-at-home mom and a working dad. They will not come back. For more and more families it takes 2 salaries to keep afloat. Daycare is not a voluntary option, it is an economic necessity. Many do not have the luxury of choosing to stay home with their babies. Many others are too unhappy in that role or are unwilling to give up careers into which years of education were invested. [[As for allowing role switching so that the dad becomes the caregiver while the mom works, salaries for women have not yet reached equitable levels and women are still paid less with less chance for promotional executive advancements than are men. ]] Some things to look for in deciding good daycare� warm and responsive caregiver or teacher-- most important element low turnover in staff infants are held to be fed; no bottle propping or putting to bed with a bottle. infants are not confined to playpens and cribs for long periods of time but are given freedom on the floor with adults nearby. infants are engaged in 1-on-1 interaction with a familiar adult often and not just for feeding and diaper changing (singing, talking and reading to infant) mobiles and toys on highchair and infant seats give a stimulating atmosphere. no more than 3 infants to 1 adult. proper hygiene like hand-washing betw diaper changing each time and again before food handling and feeding. personnel have had child development, first aid and safety training. licensed by the state and accredited by the Nat�l Academy of Early Childhood Programs or the Nat�l Family Day Care Assoc. parents are welcome anytime and caregivers frequently talk to parents about their child�s behavior and development. clean and safe facility balance between structure and free play >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Language involves a general capacity for symbolic representation�the use of ideas, images, or other symbols to stand for objects or events. Language and symbolic representation begin during the transition from infancy to childhood� the toddler period from 12 months to 30 months. Language�is an abstract, rule-governed system of arbitrary symbols that can be combined in countless ways to communicate information. Language does not mean the same thing as speech. The communication of info can take place without words. The sign language of people with hearing impairments is a genuine language even without speech or audible words---language without speech. And words can take place without the communication of info. Parrots imitate sounds and words but nothing is being symbolized so do not display language---speech without language. The environment and the child in language development� Environmentalists/behaviorists vs nativists�Skinner vs Chomsky Skinner was on the environmentalist/behaviorist side of the debate. He believed that parents instrumentally or operantly conditioned their children to speak. They reinforce their babies with smiles and hugs and obvious approval when the babies babble and attempt to speak. The positive reinforcement given with the added attention, assures that the babbling and early attempts at speech will occur again. The same thing happens when grammar is learned, according to Skinner. Parents reinforce children for saying things right and correct and show confusion when they say things wrong. But what has been found is that children are corrected for inaccuracies not grammatical mistakes by their parents, and yet they learn correct grammar anyway. To support the environmentalist view, the more a parent talks to a baby, the larger the baby�s vocab at 17 mons. old. More exposure and experience with language, speed up language development. Asking questions will promote greater participation. Child-directed speech (CDS) is modified speech when speaking to young children; also called motherese. CDS has simpler grammar, higher pitch, exaggerated intonations, more pauses, present tense, concrete nouns, is repetitive and redundant. It allows for taking turns. Even 4 yr olds will use CDS with babies by using simpler sentences, speaking more slowly and repeating themselves. Mothers who are hearing-impaired, sign more slowly withmore repetition and more exaggerated movements. CDS may aid language development in addition to capturing a baby�s attention and ministering to the baby�s emotional needs. Infants clearly prefer CDS by age 1 month---more attentive, excited, happy and interested. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Skinner�s nurture view or environmentalist/behaviorist view does not account for the imaginative way of expressing things never heard before like �sprangle� for sprained ankle; �skitch� for an itch that needs scratching; �not yawny� for not sleepy; �needle it� for sew it up; plant-man for gardener; fire engine in my tummy for stomachache; clouds are pillows; leaves are dancers. Chomsky was on the nativist side of the debate. He believed that children could not learn primarily by reinforcement episodes, since the sheer volume of new sentences and language usage would make this impossible. Imitation and modeling are not sufficient answers either, since children can construct different combinations of words that they�ve never heard anyone else say. Chomsky believed instead that language evolved due to innate capacities of the brain, called language acquisition device (LAD), to perceive and understand in certain ways. The brain was thus wired for language adaptation. LAD programs children�s brains to analyze the language they hear, and to infer from language, rules of grammar and syntax. Chomsky, however, ignored the social contexts of language. To support the nativist view, let�s look at what the child brings to the acquisition of language. Babies learn to talk as naturally as they learn to walk. Humans must be biologically predisposed to learn language because it is learned too fast and with little direct teaching. In addition, there are too many similarities in the general processes of language across cultures like the concept of nouns and the rules for such. Babbling appears to be universal despite different language heritages. Inborn cognitive abilities of humans enable language acquisition. Babies are born with the ability to perceive objects and movements and group them to allow for recognition and organization of stimuli. This capability plus the ability to represent stimuli in thought and memory, set the stage for naming or labeling items. Lang devel is tied to brain maturation rather than vocal cord maturation. Non-hearing babies hand babble at the same time other babies are voice babbling; and they use sign language sentences at the same time others use spoken sentences. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The components of language� 5 major subsystems phonology semantics morphology syntax pragmatics All 5 of these subsystems of language must be learned in order for a person to become a competent speaker. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Phonology is a set of sounds used in a language, the rules for combining these sounds to make words, and the use of stress and intonation while speaking. Toddlers must master phonology or the sound patterns of their native language. During the 1st year of life, prelinguistic vocalization lays the foundation for phonology. There are 5 stages of prelinguistic vocalization� crying�reflexive vocalization that occurs automatically whenever the infant is overly aroused. Cries are not identical and will differ depending on the nature of the baby�s discomfort. Hunger cries generally begin as low-key whimpers and escalate into louder and more sustained crying. Pain cries are generally more high-pitched and high-intensity in the beginning and become loud and sustained crying. Upset cries are loud and sudden. Reflexive crying gives way to voluntary cooing and babbling as the cortex takes over brainstem in behavior control. cooing�consists of mostly vowel sounds and expresses pleasure, contentment and a comfort state. Age 2 months. �U� is espec used. Laughing and chuckling happen now also. Few consonant sounds; first, back of the mouth consonants like �g� and �k�; then, front of the mouth consonants like �m� and �b� in the weeks to follow. vocal play�sounds produced vary greatly in pitch and loudness; 4 months of age; simple vowel/consonant syllables like ba, ga, and da. canonical babbling�strings of syllables that resemble speech sounds more and more; 6 months old; 1 syllable repeated over and over then several syllables strung together. This canonical babbling is similar for all babies around the world including babies with deafness. It is not imitation of phonemes yet since cultures with differing native languages have babies who produce similar sounding babbling. Non-hearing babies do repetitive, rhythmic hand gestures�like babbling in sign language. jargon or conversational babbling�use of adultlike stress and intonation; 10 months old; no identifiable words but resembles conversational speech with question inflections and statements; native language differences now beginning to appear. Protowords or words which mean something to the baby but do not resemble actual words begin to be used betw 10-12 months. Protowords are the transition betw babbling and true speech. Babies must have control and development of the mouth, lips, tongue and vocal cords in order to begin speaking. They must be able to produce sounds on purpose or intentionally. They have to alter speech to accommodate teeth and muscle development in the tongue, face and jaw. Months after birth, the larynx descends farther into the neck, the oral cavity grows, and baby can place tongue in different positions�not just forward and backward. Babies also need to learn the phonemes or speech sounds of their particular language and imitate what they hear. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Semantics is the meaning of words and sentences. Babies must learn words and their meanings. By 12 months old babies say their 1st recognizable words. These 1st words name familiar persons like dada; body parts like nose, eye; animals like kitty; objects like ball, light, shoe; feelings like badboy or girl; good boy or girl; movements like up, down, allgone, byebye; no concept like no, me, mine In developing semantics babies can adopt a referential style or an expressive style. Referential style is a language pattern that expresses objects and events using nouns, verbs and adjectives. This style is more accomplished among infants whose parents asked lots of questions and encouraged labeling. These infants acquire a larger vocabulary. Expressive style is a language pattern that expresses social routines using pronouns like me and mine and formulas like stop it. Parents encourage this style when they use language to direct their baby�s behavior rather than to question and label and teach. Expressive style is found more among later born children who have less questioning and labeling by parents and among less educated families who command more and teach less. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Morphology is the system of rules for combining morphemes or units of meaning to form words or to modify word meanings. The smallest unit of meaning in a language is called a morpheme. Morphemes can be a root word, a suffix or a prefix, so some words are a combination of several morphemes. Grammatical morphemes are language units that carry little meaning by themselves but which change the meaning of words or sentences systematically (like suffixes and prefixes, auxiliary verbs, articles, and certain prepositions). �s�, �ed�, �ing�. Irregular verbs and nouns like mouse/mice, go/went, tooth/teeth, come/came are learned early but are then changed to apply newly learned rules of adding s for plurals and ed for past tense. I brushed my teeth becomes I brushed my tooths; Daddy came home becomes Daddy comed home; Baby went to the circus becomes Baby goed to the circus. Children appear to automatically search for rules and regularities. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Syntax is the organization of words into phrases and sentences to give meaning. Words are formed into categories including nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. Different word orders mean different things and there is a limit in the different sequencing patterns available for placing words in sentences. There are definite grammatical rules and young children are not consciously aware that they are learning them. 1-word stage communicates far more than 1 word. When 1 word expresses a complete thought and has extensive possible meanings depending on context, intonation, inflection, tone of voice, facial expression and gestures, then this word can be called a holophrase. Ba-ba. vs Ba-ba? vs Ba-ba! 18-24 months begin putting 2 words together for sentences with a pause in betw the words as if conveying 2 separate thoughts. Maybe not a true sentence. Daddy--- car. True 2-word sentences convey 1 thought without pauses and omit unnecessary words like articles and prepositions. They are terse like a telegram and are called telegraphic speech. �No drink milk.� Adults need to consider context and expression in order to understand the meaning meant by the toddler. By the age of 3 ? years, children can join 2 simple sentences to form compound sentences. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pragmatics is the set of rules governing conversation and the social use of language. There may be several ways to say the same thing, some more polite and socially appropriate. Pragmatics includes the ability to adjust language to fit the specific social situation. You tell a story to friends differently than you tell the same story to authority figures. You use different words and phrases when talking to a preschooler than when talking to an adult. Pragmatics includes communication competence and the abil to repair communication when it breaks down by repeating or changing the request somewhat. Turn-taking and responding with a relevant comment are part of communication competence. Pragmatics includes language routines like greetings and goodbyes [Hi! How are you?; Bye-Bye], politeness [Thank-you; Please; What�s the magic word?], appropriate forms of address [Yes, maam; Yes sir; No maam, No sir; Mrs. Miss Mr.], specific occasion routines [Throw me something, mister! Trick or treat!]. Pragmatics also govern the rules for loudness [Whisper not shout; Use your inside voice; The noise is hurting my ears.], tone of voice [That�s not nice; You can speak to your brother better than that.] >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The actual words a child can use when speaking is called productive vocabulary. The rate of vocabulary increases dramatically at the age of 18 months when toddlers experience what is called a vocabulary spurt or naming explosion. But children can understand more words than they can speak or use and this is called receptive vocabulary. (At age of 6, 22 new words a day are added to the receptive vocab.) Productive skills and receptive skills are both necessary for effective communication. Productive skills put ideas into words. Receptive skills are used to understand what other people say. These skills precede the development of productive skills. Babies understand the language of others before they are able to speak the same words themselves. This greater ability in receptive skills over productive skills, is a reason why toddlers enjoy being read to out-loud. Toddlers can understand what they hear more than they can reproduce the sounds. The process of learning new words, includes the capability of an 18 month old at the time of the vocab spurt, to refer to categories rather than just particular contexts. �What�s that?� is common, and everything has a name. Unfamiliar words are understood by 2,3,and 4 year olds by fast-mapping or noting the context in which the words are used especially when teamed with a familiar word. �Do you see the hexagon not the circle?� �Bring me the magenta one not the yellow one�. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Early word errors are underextension and overextension. With underextension a child attaches a meaning to a word that is too limited or restrictive. The child fails to use the word in instances where it could have been used. Like associating the word candy for a candy cane and not describing m&m�s the same way. Underextensions occur when words are 1st learned and the meaning attributed to them depends on the specific context in which they were 1st encountered. Overextension is a more noticeable mistake. It involves attaching too broad a meaning to a word like calling a skunk a �kitty�, or every man �daddy�. The more vocab increases the less often overextension mistakes are made. Nonjudgmental feedback helps reduce overextension mistakes also. �Sweetheart that is a skunk, not a kitty. It is soft and furry-looking like a kitty but it is called something different, a skunk.� Adults should not overcorrect as this discourages the child. According to Piaget, babies do not use language symbolism with their 1st words since the words stand for things that are in view at the time they are uttered. Not until the words are used to stand for something not present, is language symbolism being employed. Piaget claimed this happened in the 6th stage of sensorimotor development at age 18-24 months. Language is not the only form of representational thought. Pretend play and using gestures are also representational skills. Betw 14-19 months, children use replica objects in their pretend play like cars and dolls. By age 24 months, children can use substitute objects like a block for a telephone or a microphone. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> --Communicative gestures like pointing begin at 9 months. --Conventional social gestures [like waving bye-bye or blowing kisses or nodding for yes or shaking the head for no] occur betw 9-12 months. --Instrumental gestures [like begging for a cookie with an outstretched palm, pleading to be picked up with arms outstretched upwards; pretending to drink by placing an empty cup to the lips] happen at 13 months. Gestures WITH objects like holding a cup to the lips to represent drinking. --Symbolic gestures to directly represent an object [like pretending to screw a lid on a jar; sniffing as if there were flowers present; blowing to mean �hot�]. Using a pretend cup to represent drinking with NO object or with a substitute object like a block. 12-18 months. Toddlers display gesture advances. Early gestures reflect the function of an object rather than its physical form. To gesture �a ball� a baby will make a bouncing motion rather than form a circle with hands. 12 month olds have trouble coordinating gestures and visual signals that are not congruent. If an adult points 1 way but looks another way, the baby will have trouble following the gesture or the point. If a baby points 1 way, he/she will look the same way. A toddler at 17-18 months can follow the direction of the pointing gesture even if the adult is not pointing and looking in the same direction. Likewise the toddler can look at whom he/she is speaking to while pointing at something else--a coordination of divergent signals of gesture and vision. Gestures and language are 2 separate representational systems or communication that develop side by side. Symbolic gestures begin about the same time that first words do. Gestures are not just precursors to language. Both are forms of symbolic ability. Toddlers who are hearing impaired have a system of gestures that are different and distinct from their sign-language gestures. Gestures appear before vocab of 25 words and decrease when words for gestured items are learned. Gestures help babies learn to talk.