All Flashcards
What is Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
Cognitive development occurs in four distinct stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
What is the sensorimotor stage?
Infants learn through senses and motor actions; key milestone is object permanence.
What is the preoperational stage?
Children use language and symbols but struggle with conservation and are egocentric.
What is the concrete operational stage?
Children grasp conservation and can solve problems with concrete materials.
What is the formal operational stage?
Teens develop abstract reasoning and can think about hypothetical situations.
What is Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?
Cognitive development is a social process driven by language and interaction with more skilled individuals.
What is the role of language in Vygotsky's theory?
Language acquisition and communication are central to cognitive development.
Who are 'more knowledgeable others' in Vygotsky's theory?
Individuals with more skills and knowledge who guide a child's learning.
Explain the concept of separation anxiety in infants.
Distress displayed by infants when separated from their primary caregivers, indicating attachment.
Explain the concept of stranger anxiety in infants.
Distress displayed by infants when approached by unfamiliar people, indicating attachment.
Compare Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories of cognitive development.
Piaget emphasized individual exploration and stage-based development, while Vygotsky emphasized social interaction and the ZPD.
How do Piaget and Vygotsky differ on the role of social interaction?
Piaget saw social interaction as a facilitator, while Vygotsky viewed it as essential for cognitive development.
Compare assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation is fitting new info into existing schemas, while accommodation is changing schemas to fit new info.
What is a schema?
A mental framework used to organize and interpret information.
What is assimilation?
Fitting new information into existing schemas.
What is accommodation?
Changing existing schemas to fit new information.
What is object permanence?
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight.
What is conservation?
The understanding that the amount of something stays the same even if its appearance changes.
What is egocentrism (in Piaget's theory)?
Difficulty understanding things from other people's perspectives.
What is theory of mind?
The ability to understand one's own and others' mental states.
What is abstract reasoning?
Thinking about hypothetical situations and concepts.
What is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?
The gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with help.
What is scaffolding?
Providing support to help a child master a task within their ZPD.