COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY

Chapter 7

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (intellectual development)

Piaget’s Sensorimotor developmental stage

Birth to age 2 years Babies find out about the world by

interacting with their environment Babies become more “reflective” over

time through exploration using movement and information acquired through senses

BIRTH TO 1 MONTHSubstage 1

See chart, page127 Reflexes (random, involuntary actions)

become more refined and organized

ONE TO FOUR MONTHSSubstage 2

Primary circular reaction: learning to control own bodyBaby does not understand causality

FOUR TO EIGHT MONTHS Substage 3

Secondary circular reactions using objects

No clear understanding of cause and effect

EIGHT TO TWELVE MONTHSSubstage 4

Coordination of secondary circular reactions

Cause and effect starts to make sense Object permanence

12 TO 18 MONTHSSubstage 5

Causal thinking (can control consequences)

Trial and error experimentation

18 TO 24 MONTHSSubstage 6

Internalized thought Mental manipulation Egocentric thought

MULTICULTURAL CRITIQUE

Piaget may underestimate kids’ abilities ex. object permanence

Piaget’s stages are universal Timing of stages may differ depending

on culture, genetics, other factors

MEMORY

Newborns apparently remember “whole situations”- objects, people, actions

Visual memory develops by about 6 months

By 13 months, kids can recall complex actions after significant delays: verbal cues may stimulate memory

Visual memory is associated with “IQ”

PRETEND PLAY

Important in guiding symbolic thought Emerges about age 1 Begins with using familiar objects (ex

toy phone to enact conversation) Later, symbolic objects represent real

ones ex. Block of wood reps a phone

VARIATIONS IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Differences in infant cognitions due to:cultureindividual differencesfamily cultural differencesdebilitating conditions

poverty/nutrition/parenting/medical conditions

IMPROVING COGNITION IN CHALLENGING SITUATIONS

1. Interventions are most effective when they are1. Intensive,

2.Home based,

3.Comprehensive

4. Culturally sensitive

EDUCATIONAL CLASSROOM

For infants/toddlers 1. Large motor activities encouraged Multi-sensory activities available Object permanence activities Causality activities

MAKE-BELIEVE PLAY

Number of props increases over time Modeling and prompting by adults Dolls and other items from child’s every

day environment Abstract props

PLAY

Play: nonliteral, intrinsically motivating, self-chose, pleasurable

Enhances intellectual abilities, cognitive development

Helps children make sense of their world

Forms of play:• Motoric: see chart, page 134