Cognitive Development in Infancy Chapter 6 I Learned

I learned about cognitive processes and what processes children use as they construct their knowledge of the world. Piaget developed several concepts, the important ones are schemes, assimilation, accommodation, organization, equilibrium, and equilibration. As the infant or child seeks to construct an understanding of the world, the developing brain creates schemes. Assimilation occurs when children use their existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences. Accommodation occurs when children adjust their schemes to take new information and experiences into account. Organization in Piagets theory is the grouping of isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system. Equilibration is the name Piaget gave to this mechanism by which children shift from one stage of thought to the next. The sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to 2 years of age, in this stage infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences. Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six substages: simple reflexes, first habits and primary circular reactions, secondary circular reaction, secondary circular reactions, coordination of secondary circular reactions, tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity, and internalization of schemes. Simple reflexes is corresponds to the first month after birth, sensation and action are coordinated primarily through reflexive behaviors. First habits and primary circular reactions is the second sensorimotor substage, which develops between 1 and 4 months of age, the infant coordinates sensation and two types of schemes: habits and primary circular reactions. Primary circular reaction is a scheme based on the attempt to reproduce an event that initially occurred by chance. Secondary circular reactions is the third sensorimotor substage, which develops between 4 and 8 months, the infant becomes more object-orientated, moving beyond preoccupation with the self. Coordination of secondary circular reactions is the fourth sensorimotor substage, which develops between 8 and 12 months of age, the infant must coordinate vision and touch, hand and eye. Tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity is the fifth sensorimotor substage, which develops between 12 and 18 months of age, infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things that they can make happen to objects. Internalization of schemes is the sixth and final sensorimotor substage, which develops between 18 to 24 months of age, infants develops the ability to use primitive symbols. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. An A-not-B error is the term used to describe this common mistake. A-not-B errors are sensitive to the delay between hiding the object at B and the infants attempt to find it. A core knowledge approach, which states that infants are born with domain-specific innate knowledge system.

Attention, the focusing of mental resources on select information, improves cognitive processing on many tasks. Dishabituation is the increase in responsiveness after a change in stimulation. Joint attention, in which individuals focus on the same object or event. Memory involves the retention of information over time. Implicit memory refers to memory without conscious recollection-memories of skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically. Explicit memory, refers to the conscious memory of facts and experiences. Concepts are cognitive grouping of similar objects, events, people or ideas. Language is a form of communication- whether spoken, written or signed-that is based on a system of symbols. Infinite generativity is the ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a finite set of words, and rules. Phonology is the sound system of the language, including the sounds that are used and how they may be combined. Morphology refers to the units of meaning involved in word formation. Syntax involves the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences. Semantics refers to the meaning of words and sentences. Pragmatics, the appropriate use of language in different contexts. I learned about how language develops, by recognizing language sounds, babbling and other vocalization, gestures, first words, and two-word utterances. Telegraphic speech is the use of content words without grammatical markers such as articles, auxiliary verbs and other connectives.