EDUS 220 Educational Psychology Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC Spring 2011 Unit 3: Cognitive and Social Development

EDUS 220Educational Psychology

Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCCDean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC

Spring 2011Spring 2011

Unit 3: Unit 3:

Cognitive and Social Development Cognitive and Social Development

How does the mind change with age and experience?

The Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget

“Children have real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them something too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves. “

Topics to be discussed

Brief Biography of Jean Piaget

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Implications for Teaching

Jean Piaget

Born: August 9, 1896Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandDied: September 17, 1980Geneva, SwitzerlandSwiss psychologist

(Genetic Epidemiologist)

Young naturalist

Jean Piaget was born on August 9, 1896, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, the son of a historian. Much of Piaget's childhood was influenced by what he saw in his father, a man intensely dedicated to his studies and work. Because of this, at an early age Piaget began passing up recreation for studying, particularly the study of the natural sciences. When he was eleven, his notes on a rare part-albino (having extremely pale or light skin) sparrow were published, the first of hundreds of articles and over fifty books. Several times, when submitting his works to be published in various magazines, Piaget was forced to keep his young age a secret. Many editors felt that a young author had very little credibility.

Piaget's help in classifying Neuchâtel's natural-history museum collection inspired his study of mollusks (shellfish). One article, written when he was fifteen, led to a job offer at a natural history museum in Geneva, Switzerland; he declined in order to continue his education. At Neuchâtel University he finished natural science studies in 1916 and earned a doctoral degree for research on mollusks in 1918.

Early career

Piaget's godfather introduced him to philosophy (the search for knowledge). Biology (the study of living organisms) was thus merged with epistemology (the study of knowledge), both basic to his later learning theories.

Work in two psychological laboratories in Zurich, Switzerland, introduced him to psychoanalysis (the study of mental processes). In Paris at the Sorbonne he studied abnormal psychology (the study of mental illness), logic, and epistemology, and in 1920 with Théodore Simon in the Binet Laboratory he developed standardized reasoning tests (universal tests).

Early career

Piaget's thought that these quantitative tests were too strict and saw that children's incorrect answers better revealed their qualitative thinking at various stages of development. This led to the question he would spend the rest of his life studying:

How do children learn?

The study of children

Piaget found four stages of mental growth while studying children, particularly his own:

A sensory-motor stage, from birth to age two,

A pre-operational stage, from two to seven,

A concrete operational stage, from seven to eleven, and

A formal operational stage from age eleven.

Piaget believed that children's understanding through at least the first three stages differed from those of adults and are based on actively exploring the environment (surroundings) rather than on language understanding. During these stages children learn naturally without punishment or reward.

Piaget saw nature (heredity, or characteristics passed down from parents) and nurture (environment) as related and equally as important, with neither being the final answer. He found children's ideas about nature neither inherited (passed down from parents) nor learned but constructed from their mental structures and experiences.

Nature Nurture=

Mental growth takes place by integration, or learning higher ideas by absorbing lower-level ideas, and by substitution, or replacing early explanations of an occurrence or idea with a more reasonable explanation. Children learn in stages in an upward spiral of understanding, with the same problems attacked and solved more completely at each higher level.

Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner (1915–) and others introduced Piaget's ideas to the United States around 1956, after his books were translated into English. The goal of American education in the late 1950s, to teach children how to think, called for further interest in Piaget's ideas. His defined stages of when children's concepts change and mature came from experiments with children. These ideas are currently favored over the later developed stimulus-response theory (to excite in order to get response) of behavioral psychologists, who have studied animal learning.

Piaget's theories developed over years. Further explanations and experiments were performed, but these refinements did not alter his basic beliefs or theories.

Process of Cognitive Development. As a biologist, Piaget was interested in how an organism adapts to its environment (Piaget described as intelligence.)

Behavior (adaptation to the environment) is controlled through mental organizations called schemes that the individual uses to represent the world and designate action. This adaptation is driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between schemes and the environment (equilibration).

Process of Cognitive Development.

Piaget hypothesized that infants are born with schemes operating at birth that he called "reflexes." In other animals, these reflexes control behavior throughout life. However, in human beings as the infant uses these reflexes to adapt to the environment, these reflexes are quickly replaced with constructed schemes.

Process of Cognitive Development.

Piaget described two processes used by the individual in its attempt to adapt: assimilation and accomodation. Both of these processes are used throughout life as the person increasingly adapts to the environment in a more complex manner.

Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the environment so that it can be placed in preexisting cognitive structures.

Accomodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept something from the environment.

Both processes are used simultaneously and alternately throughout life.

An example of assimilation would be when an infant uses a sucking schema that was developed by sucking on a small bottle when attempting to suck on a larger bottle.

An example of accomodation would be when the child needs to modify a sucking schema developed by sucking on a pacifier to one that would be successful for sucking on a bottle.

As schemes become increasingly more complex (i.e., responsible for more complex behaviors) they are termed structures. As one's structures become more complex, they are organized in a hierarchical manner (i.e., from general to specific).

The sensory-motor stage Birth to 24 months

In this period (which has 6 stages), intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use of symbols.

Knowledge of the world is limited (but developing) because it’s based on physical interactions / experiences.

Children acquire object permanence at about 7 months of age (memory).

Physical development (mobility) allows the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities.

Some symbolic (language) abilities are developed at the end of this stage.

Object Permanence: The ability to understand that an object still exists even when it is not in sight.

Object permanence refers to the ability of the brain to retain and utilize visual images. It develops at about seven months of age. This faculty is distinct from a baby's recognition memory.

For example, a baby is able to recognize and prefers to look at its mother by the third day of life. However, it will not cry upon being left by mother; "Out of sight, out of mind."

At around seven months, the child will be exhibit signs of separation anxiety when mother leaves the room. This is because the child can now appreciate what he has just lost - the presence of his mother.

Another sign of the attainment of object permanence is baby's delight at the game of "peek-a-boo," which demonstrates graphically that the child appreciates that just because Mother is out of direct view she is still in the world and can be recalled by moving the hands or blanket out of the way.

The pre-operational Stage 2-7 years

Pre-operational stage (Toddler and Early Childhood). In this period (which has two substages), intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a nonlogical, nonreversable manner. Egocentric thinking predominates

There is only one way to view the world…from my vantage point. At this stage I lack the ability to appreciate events from another’s point of view. A child can hit another without realizing the pain or discomfort it may cause.


Characteristics of the Preoperational Stage:

Language development is one of the hallmarks of this period. Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people, which he termed egocentrism.

During the preoperational stage, children also become increasingly adept at using symbols, as evidenced by the increase in playing and pretending. For example, a child is able to use an object to represent something else, such as pretending a broom is a horse. Role playing also becomes important during the preoperational stage. Children often play the roles of "mommy," "daddy," "doctor," and many others.



Egocentrism:

Piaget used a number of creative and clever techniques to study the mental abilities of children. One of the famous techniques egocentrism involved using a three-dimensional display of a mountain scene. Children are asked to choose a picture that showed the scene they had observed. Most children are able to do this with little difficulty. Next, children are asked to select a picture showing what someone else would have observed when looking at the mountain from a different viewpoint.Invariably, children almost always choose the scene showing their own view of the mountain scene. According to Piaget, children experience this difficulty because they are unable to take on another person's perspective.



Egocentrism:

Piaget’s View

Child’s View

A

B

C

D



Centration:

A common characteristic of the pre-operational period is referred to as centration. Children seem only to be able to concentrate on one attribute of feature of a problem at a time.



Conservation:

Another well-known experiment involves demonstrating a child's understanding of conservation. In one conservation experiment, equal amounts of liquid are poured into two identical containers. The liquid in one container is then poured into a different shaped cup, such as a tall and thin cup, or a short and wide cup. Children are then asked which cup holds the most liquid. Despite seeing that the liquid amounts were equal, children almost always choose the cup that appears fuller.Piaget conducted a number of similar experiments on conservation of number, length, mass, weight, volume, and quantity. Piaget found that few children showed any understanding of conservation prior to the age of five.



Conservation:

The concrete operational stage 7-11 years

•Concrete operational stage (Elementary and early adolescence). In this stage (characterized by 7 types of conservation: number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area, volume), intelligence is demonstrated through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects.

Characteristics of Concrete Operations: The concrete operational stage begins around age seven and continues until approximately age eleven. During this time, children gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.


Decentration: The ability to attend to or consider multiple aspects or features of a situation or problem simultaneously.

?


Decentration: The ability to attend to or consider multiple aspects or features of a situation or problem simultaneously.

?

:

:


Classification: The ability to systematically group, sort, and organize objects in the environment and to see patterns.

Furniture


Class Inclusion: Some categories are subsumed in other more inclusive categories.

Are there more teddy bears or more toys?


Logic: Piaget determined that children in the concrete operational stage were fairly good at the use of inductive logic. Inductive logic involves going from a specific experience to a general principle. On the other hand, children at this age have difficulty using deductive logic, which involves using a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event.

Reversibility: One of the most important developments in this stage is an understanding of reversibility, or awareness that actions can be reversed. An example of this is being able to reverse the order of relationships between mental categories. For example, a child might be able to recognize that his or her dog is a Labrador, that a Labrador is a dog, and that a dog is an animal.

Animal….Dog…..Labrador…..Rusty

Rusty….Labrador.….Dog…..Animal

The formal operational stage 11-adult (?)

•Formal operational stage (Adolescence and adulthood). In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35% of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood.


The ability to think systematically about all the logical relations within a problem. Thinking about abstractions, ideals, and about the process of thinking itself (metacognition).

Reality is made Secondary to PossibilityThought operates on a theoretical plane.Thinking about possibilities - what's not immediately present, not directly observed.What might occur.

Abstract & HypotheticalThought deals with propositions, no longer only objects.This is seen in:Thinking ahead - planning for the future.Thinking about hypotheses - counter factuals.Thinking about thought - metacognition.Thinking beyond conventional limits - idealism.


IF BIRDS LIVE IN THE GROUND

AND A GRONKER LIVES IN A TREE

THEN A GRONKER IS NOT A BIRD


If x = 7, then 2x + 4 = ___?___

Arm: body :: Branch: __?__

Propositional Logic


Probability and Proportional Reasoning

What is the probability of drawing a blue chip from the bag….?


Albert Einstein is said to have conjured his special theory of relativity by imagining himself riding on a photon traveling at the speed of light!

Can you imagine what that would be like?

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein

Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date] from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html

Formal Operational Thought…..

Battle of Britain…..

A small lesson in history.

If Germany had been successful in its plan to invade England, how would the course of WW II been different?

Lev Vygotsky

1896-1934

Vygotsky believed culture was involved in cognitive development. His theory stressed the role of language and social interaction within particular cultures as being influential. He believed that children began interacting with adults or older peers on the margins of an adult activity (“legitimate peripheral participation”) – listening, watching, then helping a little, then taking on more responsibility, and finally assuming the full duty (“internalization”). What things children learn early on depends on what culture they grow up in – what is important in that society is generally taught to the young. What do we teach ours?

Characteristic Piagetian Theory Vygotskian Ttheory

Developmental Continuity

Development occurs in a series of distinct stages

Development unfolds in a continuous process devoid of set stages.

Direction of Development

Development begins with the maturation of the mind; the mind can be stimulated through social interaction and the adaptations such interactions foster

Development is formed through human contacts and the verbal interactions they stimulate; the understanding derived from these interactions become internalized

Role of Others

How children function depends largely on their level of mental maturity

How children function varies greatly with the sociocultural context and the human resources present

Relationship of thought and language

Language patterns of children are indicators of mental maturity and related thinking processes.

Putting thought into words changes those thoughts, leading to deeper and richer conceptualizations.

Sigmund Freud

Psychosexual Stages

of Development

1856-1939

1. Oral (birth- 18 months)

2. Anal (18 mos to 3 1/2 years)

3. Phallic (3 ½ to 6 years)

4. Latency (6-Puberty)

5. Genital (Puberty onward)

Erickson’s 8 Ages of Man

Erik Erikson

Erikson’s Psychosocial theory

Erikson’s stages are based on Freud’s in that the first five match Freud’s in time of appearance, but Erikson’s are enlarged, include more things, and there are three stages beyond. They take society more into account. The theme is search for identity and the scope is the lifespan.

1902 –1994

Erik Erikson

8 life Stages of Psycho-social Development

Stage Period

1. trust vs. mistrust Infancy

2. autonomy vs. shame and doubt Toddler (terrible twos)

3. initiative vs. guilt Preschool years

4. industry vs. inferiority Elementary School

5. identity vs. ID confusion Adolescence

6. intimacy vs. isolation Early Adulthood

7. Generativity vs Stagnation Middle Adulthood

8. integrity vs. despair = wisdom Late Adulthood

Erikson's Eight Stages of Development

1. Learning Basic Trust Versus Basic Mistrust (Hope)

Birth- 1 Year

Infants either form a trusting and loving relationship with caregivers or develop a general mistrust of others and the world around them.


2. Learning Autonomy Versus Shame (Will)

Ages 1-3

Young children must gain some control over their minds and bodies, for example, through walking, feeding, or dressing themselves or using the bathroom. If they succeed, with the guidance and support of others they gain a sense of autonomy. If not, they can experience persistent shame and self-doubt.


3. Learning Initiative Versus Guilt (Purpose)

Ages 3-6

Children explore their independence and emerging roles through make-believe and self-initiated tasks. If caregivers are too controlling and do not encourage this self-initiative or if parental expectations for control are too high, children can experience guilt and frustration.


4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Competence)

Ages 6-11 (Start of formal school)

With the onset of formal education, children confront a variety of new tasks. If they succeed at these tasks through their own efforts or by cooperating with peers, children develop a sense of competence and if not, they can develop a feeling of inferiority.

Erikson's Eight Stages of Development5. Learning Identity Versus Identity Diffusion (Fidelity)

Adolescence

During the fifth psychosocial crisis (adolescence, from about 13 or 14 to about 20) the child, now an adolescent, learns how to answer satisfactorily and happily the question of "Who am I?" But even the best - adjusted of adolescents experiences some role identity diffusion: most boys and probably most girls experiment with minor delinquency; rebellion flourishes; self - doubts flood the youngster. Personal values, career choices, complex social interactions….


6. Learning Intimacy Versus Isolation (Love)

Young AdulthoodThe successful young adult, for the first time, can experience true intimacy - the sort of intimacy that makes possible good marriage or a genuine and enduring friendship. Failure in this task can generate feelings of isolation and loneliness


7. Learning Generativity Versus Self-Absorption (Care)

Middle Adulthood

In adulthood, the psychosocial crisis demands generativity, both in the sense of marriage and parenthood, and in the sense of working productively and creatively. Failure in this stage produces feelings of stagnation…of being stuck.


8. Integrity Versus Despair (Wisdom)

Old AgeIn the final stages of life, it is critical that individuals view themselves and their lives as good or satisfying….leaving them content. If they are full of regrets or dissatisfaction, these older adults face despair instead of ego integrity.

Moral development

Lawrence Kohlberg

1927-19871927-1987Proposed a developmental theory of moral Proposed a developmental theory of moral development that progressed through three development that progressed through three levels with two states in each level.levels with two states in each level.

Heinz Dilemma In Europe a woman was near death from cancer. One drug might

save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2,000, ten times what the drug cost to him to make. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money but he could get together only about half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to see it cheaper or let him pay later, but the druggist said no. The husband became desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why?

Moral development

Lawrence Kohlberg

1927-19871927-1987

Proposed a developmental theory of moral Proposed a developmental theory of moral development that progressed through three development that progressed through three levels with two states in each level.levels with two states in each level.

Pre-conventional1 Punishment & Obedience

2 Instrumental purpose orientation Conventional3 Interpersonal cooperation

4 Social order orientation

Post-conventional5 Social contract6 Universal ethics

Moral development L. Kohlberg

Pre-conventional Level

Morality is EXTERNALLY controlled. Rules are set by authority figures and actions are judged by consequences.

Stage 1Punishment and obedience orientation

The focus is fear of authority and avoidance of punishment Stage 2

Instrumental purpose orientation

Become aware of different perspectives Correct actions determined by self-interest.


Conventional Level

Conformity to social rules is important in maintaining social order

Stage 3Morality of interpersonal cooperation

Importance of being “good” as opposedto being “bad”. Maintain approval ofothers by being “good”.

Stage 4Maintaining social order orientation

Morality is now defined in terms of what is best for society and social order…


Post-Conventional Level

Morality is defined in abstract principles that can be applied to all.

Stage 5Social Contract Orientation

Laws and rules are regarded as flexible tools for enhancing humanlife and society.

Stage 6Universal ethical principle orientation.

Correct action is defined by self-chosenethical principles of conscience…and are valid for all regardless of law or social agreement.


Research on Kohlberg’s theory can be

summarized as follows:

1. Individuals move through stages 1-4 as predicted…

2. Moral development is slow and gradual….

3. Reasoning in stages 1 & 2 decreases in early adolescence

4. Stage 3 reasoning increases in mid-adolescence then declines

5. Stage 4 reasoning increases during adolescence and early adulthood and becomes the typical response….

6. Few individuals achieve stage 5 or 6 reasoning….except for philosophers, perhaps.

Moral development Gender Differences

Carol Gilligan (1982) argued that gender

differences do exist and that feminine morality is

more like to be based on an “ethic of care”.

Little evidence for this exists in the research

literature with males and females emphasizing

both justice and caring about equally.

However there does appear to be a difference in reasoning based on gender…

Masculine Ideal: Rights and Justice

Feminine Idea: Responsiveness and Care

Moral development Influences

Parental Practices

Schooling

Peer Interaction

Culture

Religious beliefs and practices

Individual situations (Abstract and real responses).

Moral development Culture

Is each of these acts wrong? If so, how serious a violation is it?

A young woman is beaten by her

husband after going to a movie

without his permission, despite

having been warned not to do so.



A brother and sister decide to

get married and have children



The day after his father died, the

oldest son in the family gets a

haircut and eats chicken.

Source: Shweder, Mahapatra, & Miller, 1990


These questions are but 3 of 39 given to Indian and American children (5-13) as well as adults.

Source: Shweder, Mahapatra, & Miller, 1990

Indian subjects rated the son’s having a haircut and eating chicken as among the MOST morally offensive acts. Beating one’s disobedient wife was not considered an offense at all.

American subjects viewed each of these events in quite an opposite manner…beating one’s wife (for whatever reason) was seen as much more morally offensive than breaking arbitrary rules of mourning.

Both groups found marriage between brother and sister offensive but could agree on little else in the study. Concepts of morality may be be more deeply culture bound than previously thought….universal morality???

Additional Reading

In lieu of a textbook students are directed to

the following sites for additional reading and

information on these topics…

Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm

Freud: Psychosexual Stages

http://wilderdom.com/personality/L8-5FreudPsychosexualStagesDevelopment.html

Erik Erikson: Psycho-social Development

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm

Lawrence Kohlberg: Moral Development

http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm

http://wilderdom.com/personality/L8-5FreudPsychosexualStagesDevelopment.html

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm

http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm

References

Shweder, R.A., Mahapatra, M., & Miller, J.G. (1990). Culture and moral development. In J.W. Stigler, R.A. Shweder, & G. Herdt (Eds.). Cultural psychology: Essays on comparative human development. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press.

Documents

EDUS 220 Educational Psychology Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC Spring 2011 Unit 3: Cognitive and Social Development