The Development and Application of Cognitive Skills Chapter 7 Objectives: -How does our Memory develop? -How do we learn Problem-solving skills?

Do infants even have a memory?? Yes…the foundation of memory is laid down in the first few months following birth. Young babies remember events for days or even weeks at a time!

What kind of memory do infants have? Scientists have confirmed that infants have great difficulty storing new memories in their first year. But developmentalists have agreed that young infants can remember if certain conditions exist: Particularly if the experiment is similar to real life situation

Research on Infant Memory The most dramatic evidence comes from a series of experiments in which 3 month-old infants were taught to make a mobile move by kicking their legs (Rovee-Collier, 1990). Virtually all infants began making some random kicks and movement, eventually realizing that these kicks made the mobile move. When some infants returned to the experiment 1 week later, they immediately began to kick-indicating they remembered.

The Mobile Game (2 – 6 Months of Age) 3-Month-Old

Other infants were retested at 2 weeks and demonstrated forgetting Other infants were retested at 2 weeks and demonstrated forgetting. However, they could remember if a reminder session was provided that helped infants recollect the experience.

Once a memory has been forgotten, it can be retrieved by a reminder Two types of reminders: Reactivation A passive reminder during which the infant basically watches a “replay” of a portion of the original event Experimenter controlled – mobile game Computer controlled – train game Reinstatement An active reminder during which the infant plays with the mobile or train again It is an abbreviated training trial

Which reminder is more effective? Reactivation and reinstatement produces different effects At 6 months: After a single reactivation – infants remember for 2 weeks (as long as they did originally) After a single reinstatement – infants remember for: 4 weeks using the mobile 19 weeks using the train An active reminder is better than a passive reminder The more involved you are in the reminder – the better its effect Being actively involved in a task produces better learning than being passively involved in a task Infants work hard at learning to predict and control their experiences They dislike losing control once it has been established Infants learn that there are situations over which they have control OR over which they have no control

These experiments show that three important features of memory exist as early as 2 and 3 months of age: -An event from the past can be remembered -An event from the past is eventually forgotten -A cue can serve to recover the memory that seems to have been forgotten

Infants Remember Longer As They Get Older

Infant Memory Research supports an increased ability to retain learned information as infant grows older Because there are many types of memory, it’s not surprising that infants remember some things better than others Ex: language, images, actions, forgotten faces, smells, memorized facts and so on…

Memory rapidly improves in older infants and toddlers Memory rapidly improves in older infants and toddlers. Youngsters can recall more of what they experience and remember it longer When shown novel actions with toys and later asked to repeat it, toddlers can remember more than infants and remember the actions for longer periods of time.

Memory in Children Use of memory strategies Activities that improve remembering Rehearsal: repetitively naming information that is to be remembered Organization: information to be remembered should be structured so that related information is placed together Elaboration: embellishing information to be remembered to make it more memorable

Organization Example: a seventh grader trying to remember battles of the Civil War could organize them geographically or chronologically.

Elaboration Example: A child cannot remember if the second syllable of rehearsal is spelled her (as it sounds) or hear. The child could remember the correct spelling by reminding himself that rehearsal is like re-hear-ing. Thus, thinking about the word in that context makes it easier to remember its spelling.

Knowledge that allows a child to organize information and give it meaning increases gradually with age.

Children’s Memory of Their Own Lives Scripts Abstract generalized accounts of familiar repeated events For example, a child describing what happens during a birthday party “you play games, open presents, and eat cake”. Scripts: a child describing what happens during a birthday party “you play games, open presents, and eat cake”. Details of particular events are often omitted. An unusual experience may be remembered in detail for a year or more. Young children begin forming scripts after experiencing an event only once Scripts become more elaborate with repeated experience Older preschool children form detailed scripts more quickly than younger children Autobiographical memories are richer when parents talk about past events in detail and encourage their children to participate in these conversations Parents focus on who, what, when, where and why – they teach children the important features of events and how they are organized Parents that focus on yes and no questions – their children will have less extensive autobiographical memories

Is memory a social thing? Autobiographical memory refers to people’s memory of the significant events and experiences in their own lives. Autobiographical memories are richer when parents talk about past events in detail and encourage their children. In addition it allows people relate their experiences to others, creating socially shared memories (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000).

Autobiographical Memory This form of memory is very important because it helps people construct a personal life history. Language helps facilitate the development of autobiographical memory. When parents converse with their children, parents teach children the important features of events and how events are organized. Parents focus on who, what, when, where and why – they teach children the important features of events and how they are organized Parents that focus on yes and no questions, their children will have less extensive autobiographical memories

Children’s Memory Preschoolers’ memories for activities are better than their memories for objects because children find it easier to remember events that follow a logical order than events that do not Children are much better at recalling their activities in a playhouse (washing a shirt, chopping ice, etc..) than they are at recalling specific objects (shirts and icepicks) 3 and 5 year olds have a better memory for activities involved in making pretend cookies out of Play-doh (you put ingredients in a bowl, then you mix ingredients, then you roll the dough, then you put pieces on a tray to cook, etc…) than they do for activities involved in a sandbox – because they can occur in any order

For example, 3 and 5 year olds have a better memory for activities involved in making pretend cookies out of Play-doh than they do for activities involved in a sandbox – because they can occur in any order (you put ingredients in a bowl, then you mix ingredients, then you roll the dough, then you put pieces on a tray to cook, etc…)

Metacognition Awareness of and control of one’s cognitive abilities, as shown by the intentional use of cognitive strategies in solving problems Metacognitive skills improves the performance of children in reading and in other areas The ability to formulate problems The activation of cognitive rules and strategies Keeping one’s attention focused on the problem Checking one’s answers

Metamemory Knowledge of the functions and processes involved in one’s storage and retrieval of information, as shown by the use of cognitive strategies to retain information Young elementary school students frequently announce that they have memorized educational materials before they have actually done so. Older elementary school children are more likely to accurately assess the extent of their knowledge. Older children use more strategies that facilitate memory: Preschool children will use rehearsal if someone else suggests that they do so 6-7 year old children will use rehearsal without being instructed to do so Older children will be more likely to use selective rehearsal – more common in teenagers (15-18 years) rather than 11 year olds.

Let’s test YOUR memory! Take a minute and recall your earliest memory…write down any content that you can remember. How old were you? What were the details of the event Was the memory emotionally significant? Do you remember the memory or do you remember hearing about the memory?

Memory Test Were you about 3 or 4 in your memory? Most people recall early memories at about this age. Was there some degree of emotion surrounding the memory? Most early memories are either very positive or negative. Why don’t we remember our first birthday?

Infant Memory…or lack of one Infants have great difficulty storing new memories in their first year known as Infantile amnesia which is the inability to remember events from one’s early life Usually events that happened before the age of 2. But, we do remember a increasing number of events from about the age of 3 or 4 years.

How would YOU explain the cause of infantile amnesia? Think on Your Own…. How would YOU explain the cause of infantile amnesia?

Theories Explaining Infantile Amnesia One theory is that infants lack adequate language to successfully store memories. How can we recall a memory before we have the language to organize our thoughts? Once children learn to talk (about 2 years) they tend to rely on language to represent their past Early prelingual experiences may be difficult to retrieve from memory without proper language. Language: Once children learn to talk (about 2 years) they tend to rely on language to represent their past Sense of Self: Their experiences early on are not represented in autobiographical memory so they can’t be recalled later in life

Inadequate Sense of Self Infants and toddlers lack a sense of self. Their early experiences are not represented in autobiographical memory, so they can’t be recalled later in life. Some theorists argue that because infants have no sense of self, they lack the autobiographical timeline that’s used to organize experiences later in life They do not have the framework for remembering early events

Think on Your Own… Review and think about the Focus on Research question: Do Stereotypes and Suggestions Influence Preschoolers’ Reports?

How Do Children Learn to Problem-Solve? Piaget believed that reasoning and problem-solving become progressively more sophisticated as children develop. We will see that young children do indeed solve problems with far greater skill than Piaget predicted

Children typically solve problems more readily as they get older, but young children sometimes solve problems well and older children are sometimes quite error-prone

Features of Problem-Solving Young children sometimes fail to solve problems because they don’t encode all the important information in a problem Encoding processes transform the information in a problem into a mental representation. Quite often children's representations of problems are incorrect or incomplete

Young children sometimes fail to solve problems because they don’t plan ahead For example, “get ready for school” requires planning because it involves coordinating a number of goals- get dressed, eat breakfast. Brush teeth, find backpack- which must be completed under time pressure. When faced with problems like this one, children rarely come up with effective plans.

That doesn’t mean young children never plan ahead Young children can plan ahead, if the problem is not too complex- but many problems make it difficult or pointless for young children to plan Successful problem-solving depends on knowledge specific to the problem as well as general processes. Children need critical facts to solve problems

More often than not, older children have more of the knowledge relevant to solving the problem and will therefore be more successful Children often rely on Heuristics (general rule of thumb) to solve problems, as well as means-ends analysis