Transcript Chapter 7 PowerPoint

CHAPTER 7
Cognitive Development in Infancy
PIAGET’S THEORY OF
INFANT DEVELOPMENT
The Stage of Sensorimotor
Development – birth to tow years –
progression of infant to organize and
coordinate sensations with physical
movements and actions.
Sub-stages – Characterized by different
schemes (i.e, sucking, rooting, blinking).
Germinal period – creation of the zygote –
one week after conception – 100/150 cells.
Embryonic period – support systems for
cells – 2/8 weeks after conception.
Fetal period – begins at two months, lasts
for seven – period of organ growth.
Object Permanence – The
infant comprehends that objects
continue to exist even when not
directly seen, heard, or touched.
Research on object permanence
reveals a wide range of
comprehension by the infant to
objects in motion.
Evaluating Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage –
Extended research on his theories has appreciably
increased information regarding them.
Perceptual development – Perceptual abilities are
highly developed early in infancy with
coordination of two sensory modalities – seeing
and hearing.
Cognitive development – Infants have more
sophisticated perceptual abilities than Piaget
envisioned (i.e., recognizing familiar toys and
seeking them).
LEARNING
AND
REMEMBERING
Conditioning – classical and operant
conditioning – Resulting from research
by Pavlov and Skinner that have farreaching effects on nurturing.
Habituation and Dishabituation – The
infant loses interest in an action
repeatedly presented and regains interest
when a novel aspect is added.
Imitation – Some researchers believe that
infants in the first days of life are capable of
imitation, while others believe these are
merely automated responses to stimuli.
Memory – Researchers disagree about
whether infants can actually recall information
or are merely responding to implicit
researchers agree the explicit memory occurs
in the second half of the first year.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE
Knowing whether the infant is progressing at a “normal” rate
of development is important but difficult. Gesell’s
developmental quotient consists of four categories of
behavior; motor, language, adaptive, and personal-social.
The Bayley Scales of Infant Development assess infant
development along three scales: mental, motor, and
behavioral.
The Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence assesses the
infant’s ability to process information such as encoding the
attributes of objects.
Overall, infant habituation and dishabituation are
important in determining later child intelligence, in that
infants in their first six months who show greater amounts
of attention in the dishabituation situation reflect more
efficient information processing.
EARLY ENVIRONMENTAL
INFLUENCES ON INFANT
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Nutrition – Although good nutrition provides
optimum physical growth, it can also influence
cognition. Studies of malnourished children find
lower scores on the Bayley test. Other studies on
children given protein supplement indicate higher
cognitive development.
Poverty – Children born into poverty are more
susceptible to conditions that will negatively affect
cognitive growth. Intervention programs that
educate parents on enriching practices and
improving quality of life have important positive
effects on cognitive growth.
LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
Languages have common characteristics
throughout the world; they have generativity,
ability to produce meaningful sentences, and
organizational rules.
How Language Develops – Babies begin linguistic acquisition
through crying, cooing, babbling, and gestures.
Recognizing language sounds – As language is composed
of phonems, in which certain sound sequences occur.
First words – Usually those related to people and things in
the baby’s immediate environment. Once the first word is
spoken, a naming explosion leads to a rapid increase in
vocabulary. The first word usually occurs at 13 months.
Two-word utterances – 18 to 24 months – rely heavily on
gesture, tone, and context. Toddlers rely on telegraphic
speech, in which short word utterances convey large
meaning.
Language production/comprehension – There is a
difference between words that are used and those that are
understood by the child. Their comprehensive words exceed
their productive vocabulary.
Biological Influences
– Conditions under which children
throughout the world begin to talk indicates a
biological influence. In cultures where adults
do not speak to their infants, the infants still
begin speaking at approximately the same age
as those whose parents speak to them.
Biological evolution – Language acquisition by humans is
estimated at 100,000 years old. Physically adapted to
speak, language gives humans an advantage over other
animals.
Brain’s role in language – The speech center of the brain
is considered to be the left frontal lobe, known as Broca’s
area, and Wernicke’s area in the left hemisphere is
believed to be where comprehension occurs. Studies on
brain-injured patients have revealed a great deal of
information on the brain’s involvement in speech.
Biological pre-wiring – Famed linguist Noam Chomsky
believes humans are equipped with a language acquisition
device that aids the child to sequence and process
phonology, syntax, and semantics. The uniformity of
language acquisition across cultures supports this finding.
Behavioral and Environmental Influences – Behaviorists
believe that language is a responsive action to stimuli in the
environment; however, critics argue that the orderliness of
language defies this explanation.
Children who are not exposed to rich verbal environments
still acquire the grammatical orderliness of language, but do
not develop a sophisticated level of vocabulary and
articulation.
Maternal influence is a key factor in language acquisition.
Infant-directed speech is a manner in which parents speak
to their infants that has a higher pitch with simple words and
phrases.
Techniques such as echoing, expanding, and labeling are
natural devices parents use to encourage speech in their
children.