1. Chapter 11: Cognitive development Slides prepared by Randall E. Osborne, Texas State University-San Marcos, adapted by Dr Mark Forshaw, Staffordshire University, UK 1

2. Nature Versus Nurture: An Unnatural Division 2

3. Nature vs Nurture Tabloid mentality: must be one or the other Reality is that genes influence development in relation to the environment Clownfish can change sex –When dominant female in a school dies, the dominant male changes ex and takes over Epigenesis Canalization 3

4. Prenatality: A Womb with a View 4

5. Prenatal Development Zygote Germinal stage Embryonic stage Fetal stage –Myelination Building a brain from the neural tube 5

6. Prenatal Environment Teratogens –Toxins that affect foetal development Fetal alcohol syndrome –significance of “syndrome” Unlike most things which require building before they start working, the human brain functions as it is being built 6

7. Postnatal Life: wiring and firing Brain development after birth –Arborization –Synaptogenesis –Myelination –Synaptic pruning Brain plasticity –Experience-expectant and experience- dependent –Sensitive periods 7

8. The Science of Studying Change 8

9. Changing Patterns 9

10. Developmental Designs Longitudinal research –Based on sample of children studied over time Cross-sectional research –Based on groups of children from different ages Cohort bias –Major problem affecting cross-sectional studies 10

11. How To Study Young Children Clinical method: Piaget Habituation: watching children learn Visual preference paradigm –Based on where babies look Preference for novelty Violation of Expectancy –Watching children get surprised 11

12. Beyond the Blooming, Buzzing Confusion 12

13. Making Sense of the World: Sensation Vision –Newborns are legally blind Audition –Hearing reaches adult levels at 5 to 8 years Taste and smell –Amniotic fluid can take on taste that influences later food preferences of infants Touch 13

14. Sorting Out the World: Perception Forming mental representations Newborns show perceptual constancies –Seem to understand that a moving object is the same thing as when it is still 14

15. Acting on the World: Motor Development Reflexes –Rooting and sucking Stereopsis –Perceiving depth by combining images from both eyes Visual cliff 15

16. Acting on the World: Motor Development 16

17. Understanding the World: Cognitive Development Jean Piaget Cognitive development Sensorimotor stage — discovering our world –schemas –assimilation –accommodation –object permanence 17

18. Cognitive Development Childhood — discovering our minds Consists of 2 stages: (1) Preoperational stage — discovering our minds (2) Concrete operations stage –conservation –mental representations 18

19. Cognitive Development Formal operational stage —11 years through adulthood Childhood ends when formal operations begin –abstract reasoning –some mental representations have no physical referent 19

20. Piaget’s Four Stages 20

21. Information Processing Approaches Strategies Executive Functions: co-ordinating activities Memory Deferred Imitation Paradigm –Shows long-term memory in infants Causal Reasoning Three year olds can re-order pictures of an apple being cut into pieces (Gelman et al., 1980) 21

22. Core Knowledge Theories Suggest that a child is born with some ‘hard-wired’ understanding about the world So-called instincts Navigation, counting skills, understanding solid objects Intuitive Theories –Frameworks for understanding that are not taught 22

23. Sociocultural Theories Lev Vygotsky Zone of proximal development –a child is capable of acquiring a wide — but bounded — range of skills at a given age –experience matters but within limits 23

24. Adolescence: Minding the Gap 24

25. Adolescence — Brain and Body Changes “Adolescence” defined Puberty –bodily changes –brain changes Primary sex characteristics Secondary sex characteristics 25

26. Adulthood: The Short Happy Future 26

27. Adulthood: Changing Abilities Adulthood — begins at 18-21 Changing abilities General declines in: –subcortical connections of prefrontal cortex— controlled processing –working memory (keeping things in mind for a short time to use) –episodic memory (particular events) –retrieval of information 27

28. Adulthood Most older adults compensate effectively for these declines Change in bilateral symmetry? –brain of younger adult trying to remember shows strong activation in localized areas –brain of older adult trying to remember shows activation of multiple areas 28

29. Older Adulthood Memory is also affected by changing orientations (what we focus on) Socioemotional selectivity theory –focus on the future versus focus on the moment –useful information versus positive information 29

30. Older Adulthood Despite our youth- oriented culture, older adults are happy –fewer “peripheral” friends –just as many close friends And less negative 30