the 1st two years

Motor Milestones

Chapter 6 -

The First Two Years: Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget (1896–1980)Action = Knowledge

Knowledge is the product of direct motor behavior.Stage approach to development – four distinct

stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational. These stages occur from birth to adolescence and a combination of physical development and relevant experience are necessary to move from one stage to another.

6.1 Basic Principles of Piaget’s Theory

• Metaphor of child as scientist• Children are naturally curious and create

theories about how the world works• In assimilation, new experiences are readily

incorporated into existing theories• In accommodation, existing theories are

modified based on experience• Sensoritmotor intelligence—

active intelligence causing babies to think while using senses and motor skills

6.1 Basic Principles of Piaget’s Theory

• Assimilation and accommodation are usually in balance, or equilibrium

• When balance is upset, children reorganize their theories to restore equilibrium, a process Piaget called equilibration

• Process results in qualitatively different and more advanced theories

Sensorimotor StageSubstage 1: Simple reflexes

birth to 1 month

Reflexes at the center of cognitive life

Substage 2: First habits and primary circular reactions

1–4 months Coordinate separate actions into single, integrated actions

Substage 3: Secondary circular reactions

4–8 months Begin to act on outside world

Substage 4: Coordination of secondary circular reactions

8–12 months Calculated approaches; object permanence begins

Substage 5: Tertiary circular reactions

12–18 months

Carry out miniature experiments to observe consequences

Substage 6: Beginnings of thought

18–24 months

Capacity for mental representation or symbolic thought; imagine where objects might be that they cannot see

Stages 1 and 2: Primary Circular Reactions

• The feedback loop involving the infants own body; infant senses motion and tries to make sense of it

• Stage 1 = Reflexes • Stage 2 = First

Acquired Adaptations- adaptations of reflexes,

i.e., sucking—new information taken in by senses and responded to

Substage 1: Simple reflexes

birth to 1 month



1–4 months

Coordinate separate actions into single, integrated actions


4–8 months

Begin to act on outside world


8–12 months

Calculated approaches; object permanence begins


12–18 months



18–24 months


• Assimilation and Accommodation– assimilation—taking in new information

by incorporating it into previous knowledge

– accommodation— intake of new data to re-adjust, refine, expand prior schema or actions

– babies eagerly adapt their reflexes and senses to whatever experiences they have

Stages 1 and 2: Primary Circular Reactions, cont.

• Sucking as a Stage-Two Adaptation– begin

adapting at about one month

– reflexive assimilation

Stages 1 and 2: Primary Circular Reactions, cont.


birth to 1 month



1–4 months



4–8 months



8–12 months



12–18 months



18–24 months


Stages 3 and 4: Secondary Circular Reactions

• feedback loop involving people and objects

• Stage 3 = Making Interesting Events Last- repetition - awareness

• Stage 4 = New Adaptation and Anticipation- goal-directed behavior- object permanence


birth to 1 month



1–4 months



4–8 months



8–12 months



12–18 months



18–24 months


• Feedback loop that involves active experimentation and exploration- involves

creativity, action, and ideas

• Stage 5 = New Means Through Active Experimentation– little scientist

Stages 5 and 6: Tertiary Circular Reactions


birth to 1 month



1–4 months



4–8 months



8–12 months



12–18 months



18–24 months


Transitions

Piaget Concepts

Circular reaction – an activity that permits the construction of positive schemes through the repetition of a chance motor eventPrimary – schemes reflecting an infant’s repetition of

interesting or enjoyable activities just for the enjoyment of doing them

Secondary – schemes regarding repeated actions that bring about a desirable consequence

Tertiary – schemes regarding the deliberate variation of actions that bring desirable consequences

Piaget Concepts

Goal-directed behavior – several schemes are combined and coordinated to generate a single act to solve a problem

Mental representation – internal image of a past object or event

Deferred imitation – when a person who is no longer present is imitated, e.g., pretending to drive when mom even when mom is no longer driving

Object permanence – realization that people and objects exist even when they cannot be seen

Deferred imitation

Piaget and Modern Research

• Habituation—process of getting used to an object or event through repeated exposure to it

• fMRI—functional magnetic resonance imaging measuring technique for brain activity and neurological responses

• First three years are prime time for cognitive development

Affordances

• Affordances—opportunities for perception and interaction offered by environment

• How something is perceived and acted upon depends on– past experiences– current developmental level– sensory awareness of opportunities– immediate needs and motivation

Criticism of Piaget’s Theory

Waves, not stages – Robert Siegler (1995) suggested development in waves, or ebb and flow, as opposed to stages

Motor development may not be the only basis – Piaget was not familiar with sensory and perceptual systems

Object permanence may occur earlier – motor skills or memory deficits may not allow that concept to develop earlier

Fixed pattern – infants may be able to imitate facial expressions earlier than Piaget proposed

Information-Processing Approaches

Information is encoded, stored, and retrieved, much like a computer.

Information-processing theory— perspective that compares human thinking processes to computer analysis of data, including sensory input, stored memories, and output

6.2 Information Processing

• People and computers are both symbol processors• Distinction between hardware and software• Hardware includes sensory, working, and long-term

memory• Software is task specific

Mental Hardware

6.2: Information Processing

Memory in Infants

Memory, the process by which information is initially recorded, stored, and retrieved, is certainly in the realm of infants. Infant memory capabilities increase with age.

Infantile amnesia is a lack of memory for experience that occurred before 3 years old.

Early memories appear to be implicit. Explicit memory emerges by the second half of the first year.

Increased Working Memory

6.2: How Information Processing Changes with Development

• Certain amount of experience and maturation in order to process and remember experiences

• In first year infants have great difficulty storing new memories

• Older children often unable to describe events that occurred when they were younger

Memory

• Very early memories possible if– situation similar to real life– motivation high– special measures aid retrieval by acting

as reminders

Memory, cont.

Reminders and Repetition

• Reminder session—any perceptual experience that helps a person recall an idea or experience

A Little Older, A Little More Memory

• After 6 months infants capable of retaining information for longer periods of time with less reminding

• Deferred imitation apparent after end of first year

• By middle of the 2nd year, children capable of remembering and reenacting complex sequences

A Little Older, A Little More Memory, cont.

• Memory is not just single entity; distinct brain regions for particular aspects of memory; humans have a memory for– words– images– actions– smells– experiences– “memorized” facts

Language and Infants

Language is a systematic, meaningful arrangement of symbols that provides a basis for communication.

Phonology refers to basic sounds of language.

Morpheme is the smallest language unit that has meaning.

Semantics are rules that govern meaning of words and sentences.

Language and Infants Prelinguistic communication refers to communication through sounds,

facial expressions, gestures, imitation, and other nonlinguistic means. Babbling refers to making speechlike but not meaningful sounds. Holophrases are one-word utterances that stand for a whole phrase,

whose meaning depends on the context used. Telegraphic speech is speech in which words not critical to meaning are

left out. Underextension is the overly restrictive use of words, common among

children just mastering spoken language. Overextension is the overly broad use of words, overgeneralizing their

meaning. Referential style is a speaking style in which language is used primarily

to label objects. Expressive style is a speaking style in which language is primarily used

to express feelings and needs about oneself and others.

• Children around the world have the same sequence of early language development but– timing and depth of linguistic ability

vary

The Universal Sequence of Language Development

First Noises and Gestures

• Baby talk—high-pitched, simplified, and repetitive ways adults talk to babies

• Vocalization– crying– cooing

• Babbling– deaf babies do it later and less

frequently, but are more advanced in use of gestures

• First word and sentences at age of 1 year

First Words

The Language Explosion and Early Grammar

• Naming explosion—sudden increase in infant vocabulary, especially nouns, beginning at 18 months

• Holophrase—single word that expresses a complete, meaningful thought

• Grammar—all the methods that languages use to communicate meaning

Theories of Language Learning

• Even the very young use language well

• Three schools of thought– infants are taught language– infants teach themselves– social impulses foster infant language

Learning Theory Approach vs. Nativist Approach

Learning theory says that language acquisition follows the basic laws of reinforcement and conditioning.

Nativist approach states a genetically determined, innate mechanism directs language development.

Theory 1: Infants are Taught

• Skinner’s reinforcement theory: quantity and quality of talking to child affects rate of language development (learned)– parents are good instructors– baby talk characterized by

• high pitch• simpler vocabulary• shorter sentence length• more questions and commands• repetition

NatureOr Nurture?

• Chomsky and LAD (Language Acquisition Device)—hypothesized neurological (inborn) structure that prewires all children for language, including basic aspects of intonation, grammar, and vocabulary – infants innately ready to use their minds

to understand and speak whatever language offered to them

– they are experience expectant

Theory 2: Infants Teach Themselves

NatureOr Nurture?

• Social-pragmatic—social reason for language: to communicate

• Infants seek to respond, which shows their being social in nature— and thus mutually dependent—by

- vocalizing- babbling- gesturing- listening- pointing

Theory Three: Social Impulses Foster Language

NatureOr Nurture?

A Hybrid Theory

• Emergentist coalition—combination of valid aspects of several theories- cortex contains many language centers- nature provides several paths to learning

language

NatureOr Nurture?

6.2 Core-Knowledge Theories

• Builds on Piaget’s metaphor of child as scientist• Research traces children’s knowledge of

> naive physics (understanding objects)> naive psychology (theory of mind)> and naive biology (understanding unique

properties of animate objects)

6.3 Understanding People

• Children use naïve psychology to predict how people will act

• Even 1-year-olds have understanding of intentionality

• Between ages 2 and 5, children develop a theory of mind

Theory of Mind

the 1st two years

Technology

primary circular reactions

world substage

consequences substage

integrated actions substage

months capacity

sensorimotor stage substage

reflexes stage

month reflexes