1. Cognitive and Motor Development
Chapter 2
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2. There is a strong relationship between human intellectual
function and movement:
Any intellectual change is
also accompanied by a change
in motor function
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Objectives
• Differentiate between the terms psychomotor and motor
• Explain the work of Jean Piaget on cognitive development
• Describe Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
• Describe the sensorimotor stage and motor development
• Describe preoperations and motor development
• Describe cognitive and motor development in later childhood and adolescence
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Objectives
• Describe Piaget’s concrete operational stage
• Describe Piaget’s formal operational stage
• Describe postformal operations and cognitive development in adulthood
• Explain two general theories of intellectual development in adulthood
• Explain the total intellectual decline theory
• Explain the partial intellectual decline theory
• Describe the link between knowledge development and sport performance
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Four Domains
Affective
Cognitive
Motor
Physical
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Domains
Categorizing human behavior into domains evolved because it is useful in organizing and simplifying the study of human development
Cognitive and motor development interact continually throughout the lifespan as they reciprocally inhibit or facilitate each other
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Interaction
The mind (psych) and human movement (motor) are related
Cognitive
Development
Motor Development
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Psychomotor or Motor?
Motor
Refers to any form of human movement behavior
Reflex movement
Psychomotor
Movements initiated by an electrical impulse from higher brain centers
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How does our gradually changing motor ability affect our cognitive development? How does our evolving cognitive development affect our motor development? What are some significant areas of integration?
Ask CPS question 1 to check students’ comprehension.
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10. Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget
Swiss psychologist
Interested in the process of thinking
Established the clinical method of research
Collected data during question-and-answer sessions
"Piaget, Jean," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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11. Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Theory
Four major stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
Interaction of cognitive and motor development is found in Piaget’s Theory
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12. Stages of Piaget’s Theory
Age/Period of Occurrence
Sensorimotor
Birth to 2 years
Preoperational
2 to 7 years
Concrete operational
7 to 11 years
Formal operational
Early to mid-adolescence
11 to 12 years
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Piaget’s Theory
Adaptation
Cognitive development occurs thorugh this process
Adjusting to the demands of the envirnoment and intellectualizing those adjustments
Two facets of adaptation
Assimilation
Accommodation
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Piaget’s Theory
Assimilation
Process by which children attempt to interpret new experiences based upon their present interpretation of the world
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Piaget’s Theory
Assimilation
Child tries to grab a large ball with one hand
His experiences of the past tell him that he can use one hand to grab hold of an object because it worked with rattles and smaller objects
The child assimilates his past experiences
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Piaget’s Theory
Accommodation
Adjustments or modifications in the thinking process which will become a part of a child’s new cognitive repetoire
Using the same example, when the child is unable to grasp the ball, he may try to adjust or accommodate by using two hands or even adapting the one-handed grasp
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17. Is the activity in the picture below an example of assimilation?
F. Schussler/PhotoLink / Getty Images
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18. Assimilation and Accommodation always work together
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19. Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
Theory lacks scientific control
Piaget used his own children to study
Subjects were not studied across the lifespan
Piaget may have underestimated a child’s capabilities
Theory does not discern between competency and performance
Theory does not account for the influence of motivation and emotion
Stages of developoment were too broad
Developoment is described, but never explained
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20. Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
Most criticized aspect of the theory is that formal operational thought can be achieved as early as 11 years of age
Did not account for adult development in his theory
Now known that cognitive development continues throughout adulthood
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21. Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
If a child performed poorly on a task, Piaget attributed
this to a lack of intellectual competency
However, there are a other reasons for not performing a task well:
Social influences
Peers
Teachers
Siblings
Child’s emotional state
Lack of motivation
Verbal ability
Memory
Lack of familiarity with task
Peer pressure
Ask CPS questions 2-5 to check students’ comprehension.
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22. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
Intelligence develops as a result of movement actions and their consequences
Movement is critical to thought processes
Six substages
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23. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
Substage
Age of Occurrence
Exercise of reflexes
Birth to 1 month
Primary circular reactions
1 to 4 months
Secondary circular reactions
4 to 8 months
Secondary schemata
8 to 12 months
Tertiary circular reactions
12 to 18 months
Invention of new means through mental combinations
18 to 24 months
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24. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
EXERCISE OF REFLEXES substage
Birth through 1 month
Repetition of reflexes helps child to form the foundation for cognitive understanding
Reflexive movements are innate
Reflexive movements lead to new behaviors
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25. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
PRIMARY CIRCULAR REACTIONS substage
Onset of increased voluntary movement
End of month 1-month 4
Called circular and primary because movements always occur in close proximity to the infant
Conscious effort to repeat movements
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26. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
SECONDARY CIRCULAR REACTIONS substage
4 month - 8 months
Continuation of primary circular reactions
The infant’s interaction with the environment expands
Child begins to integrate vision, hearing, grasping and movement behaviors
Can imitate behaviors
No permanence – remove object – object is gone
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27. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
SECONDARY SCHEMATA substage
8 months to 1 year
Past movement actions applied to new situations
New behaviors emerge
New behaviors are facilitated by increasing movement capabilities such as crawling and creeping which allow exploration of the environment
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28. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
Secondary schemata substage
Repetition of experimentation and trial-and-error exploration continue
Child can predict some actions and situations
Roll ball to child – he crudely roles it back – he anticipates you rolling the ball to him again
The ability to predict (Piaget) is the onset of intellectual reasoning
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29. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
TERTIARY CIRCULAR REACTIONS substage
1 year -11/2 years
Use of active experimentation to learn
Child realizes that discovery of an object and use of the object are separate entities
First level of visualizing an object beyond its immediate use
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30. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
Tertiary circular reactions substage
Child sees the ball and knows she can have fun, but also realizes she does not have to play with it right now – it will be there later
Can distinguish self from others
Seeks immediate family members for help
Social and emotional development
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31. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
INVENTION OF NEW MEANS THROUGH MENTAL COMBINATIONS substage
11/2 years - 2 years
Child recognizes objects and others as independent from himslef
Child is beggining to understand properties of objects
Size, shape, color, texture, weight, use, etc.
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32. Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
Invention of new means through mental combinations substage
Semimental functioning
“thinking with the body” is replaced with “thinking with the mind”
Child reflects
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33. Summary: Infancy ~ Sensorimotor Stage
Increasing awareness of the difference between the self and others
Recognition that objects continue to exist even though they are no longer in view
Production of the mental images that allow the contemplation of the past, present, and future
Ask CPS questions 6 and 7 to check students’ comprehension.
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What Sensorimotor Substage is pictured here?
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What Sensorimotor Substage is pictured here?
(c) Photodisc
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What Sensorimotor Substage is pictured here?
(c) Brand X Pictures/PunchStock
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What Sensorimotor Substage is pictured here?
dynamicgraphics/Jupiterimages
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38. Childhood ~ Preoperational Stage
Preoperational stage (2-7 years)
Verbal communication begins to emerge
Language development is the most important aspect of Preoperational Stage
Linked to motor abilities
Children are unable to think logically
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39. Childhood ~ Preoperational Stage
Preconceptual substage (2-4 years)
Ability to use symbols to represent someone or something in the child’s life
Pretend play common
Role play
Egocentrism
A serious deficiency in the Preconceptual substage
Play helps child to socialize and work with others
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40. Childhood ~ Preoperational Stage
Preconceptual substage (2-4 years)
Flawed thinking
Drooping flower is sad – unrealistic – flawed thinking
Transductive reasoning
A form of flawed thinking
Incorrect assumptions
Missed breakfast, so it can’t be morning
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Why is the activity pictured here an
example of Preconceptual Substage?
(c) Royalty Free/CORBIS
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42. Childhood ~ Preoperational Stage
Intuitive substage (4-7 years)
Reduced egocentrism
Improvement in the use of symbols
Child is incapable of “conservation”
Ability to realize that certain properties of a substance remain unchanged when the appearance is rearranged
Child cannot consider multiple aspects of a problem
Ask CPS questions 8-10 to check students’ comprehension.
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43. Later Childhood ~ Concrete Operational Stage
Concrete operations stage (7-11 years)
Must gain ability to conserve first
Enhanced ability to decenter attention from one variable in a problem solving situation
Reversibility ~ Able to mentally modify, organize, or even reverse thought processes
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44. Later Childhood ~ Concrete Operational Stage
Children in the concrete operation stage can reverse the order of the ball as they go through the tube
Preoperational stage children will see no difference in ball order
Reversibility
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45. Later Childhood ~ Concrete Operational Stage
Seriation
Ability to arrange a set of variables by a certain characteristic
Child’s height can determine position in a game of basketball
Piaget emphasized that learning can be enhanced through movement
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46. Later Childhood ~ Formal Operational Stage
Formal operational stage (11-12 years)
Ability to consider ideas that are not based on observable objects or experiences
Abstract ideas are possible
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47. Later Childhood ~ Formal Operational Stage
Interpropositional thought
Applicable to complex movement
A logical relationship exists between two propositions
Enhanced level of cognitive ability
Allows child to relate one or more parts of a proposition or situation to another part to arrive at a solution to a problem
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48. Later Childhood ~ Formal Operational Stage
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
A problem-solving style that allows child to choose between possible solutions and then pick the best one
Aids in emotional development and emerging values
Child ponders – “do I follow the crowd; do I want to be fit in”
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49. Adulthood ~ Postformal Operations
Postformal operations stage
Answers become more relative and less absolute
Thrive on detecting inconsistencies in ideas and attempt to reconcile them
Advanced thinking exists in a minority of people who are also highly educated and live in a culture that encourages new ideas and freethinking
New questions are discovered
Ask CPS questions to check students’ comprehension.
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50. Adulthood ~ Theories of Intellectual Development
Total intellectual decline ~ traditional view of aging
Gradual, consistent, pervasive decline in overall intellectual ability throughout adult years
Lacks strong scientific support today
Studies backing this theory
WAIS – Welchsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Seattle Longitudinal Study
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51. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
WAIS – Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Found declines in intellect
But, this test is not designed to measure intellect – it is designed to ascertain psychopathological behaviors clinically
Seattle Longitudinal Study
Subjects increase performance until age 30 or early 40s
By the age of years, there is a plateau
Less decline when process is a central part of one’s life
Even by age 88 – decline in all aspects of intellect is not universal
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52. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Partial intellectual decline
Widely accepted theory
Intellectual decline occurs in some areas and not others
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53. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Partial intellectual decline
Chinese elders are revered – therefore, intellectual decline is less in China than that observed in the US where elders are not revered
Large base of information can offset losses in processing efficiency
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54. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Contextual perspective
Learning and memory depend in part on factors like culture
Chinese elders are revered in society
Noncognitive, situational factors can affect degree of decline
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Negative thoughts on losing an ability
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Dynamic Graphics / JupiterImages
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56. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Biological changes
Neural activation slows
Circulatory system is less efficient
Brain decreases in size (variable)
Neuronal losses are very gradual
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57. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
“there are no simple rules about when age differences in memory will and will not occur, and if they do, whether differences will be small, modest, or large”
(Zacks et al., 2000)
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58. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Implicit memory
Unintentional, automatic, without awareness
Adult is not aware of being tested
Develops with no decline in adulthood
Elders perform similarly to young people
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59. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Explicit memory
Deliberate and effortful
Tested by traditional tests of recall or recognition Two types of memory follow different developmental paths
Develops until adulthood
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60. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Age-related decline in memory is evident with new learning at an older age
Well-established information learned early in life is easier to retrieve
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61. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
Older adults respond more slowly
Especially during timed tasks
Decline in speed of processing information is well-documented
Practicing cognitive abilities will delay or avoid decline
Ask CPS questions 15 and 16 to check students’ comprehension.
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62. What are some other ways to practice cognitive abilities during
older adulthood?
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
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63. Adulthood ~ Theories ~ Intellectual Development
A lifestyle that involves movement can play an important role in the effort to allay the decline of intellect
Physical activity increases motor neuron size and decreases neural synapse density
Reaction time and cognitive performance improve in those who exercise
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64. Knowledge Development and Sport Performance
Declarative knowledge
Factual information
What to do
Found in a novice performer
Procedural knowledge
Production system
How to do something
Found in an expert performer
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65. Knowledge Development and Sport Performance
“development of sport-specific declarative knowledge is related to the development of cognitive decision-making skills or procedural knowledge, whereas development of shooting skill and dribbling skill are related to the motor execution components of control and execution”
(French & Thomas, 1987)
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66. Knowledge Development and Sport Performance
In other words - children learn “what to do” in a given situation before they acquire the physical skills (how to do) to carry out their strategic plan successfully
Ask CPS question 7 to check students’ comprehension.
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Task specific knowledge and improved performance
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The End
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