MRCPsychCognitive Development

Dr Mark WorthingtonClinical Psychologist

Piaget’s Model

• Developed through observation.• The thinking of children is qualitatively different

from thinking in adults.• Knowledge and cognitive development depend

on the child’s pre-programmed behaviours interacting with the world.

• Development follows sequential stages.

Key Concepts Egocentrism = Inability to distinguish perspectives Schemes/Schemas = Patterns of knowledge. Operations = logical procedures allowing mental

manipulation of thoughts/concepts. Assimilation = Attempts to understand novel

situations in terms of existing schemas. Accommodation = Ability to modify existing

schemas in order to understand novel situations. Adaptation = Assimilation + Accommodation

Four Stages of Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor (0 - 18/24m)

2. Pre-Operational (18/24m – 7y)

3. Concrete Operational (7 – 11y)

4. Formal Operational (11y +)

Sensorimotor Stage (0-18 months).

Through reflexive behaviour stimulus-response/cause-effect relationships are learned.

Self is differentiated from external world Object permanence is achieved; knowledge

that objects continue to exist even if we can no longer see them

No understanding of temporal relationships is evident.

Preoperational Stage (18 months – 7th year).

Symbolic schemas used (e.g. play, drawing). Egocentricity gradually declines as the ability

to understand alternative perspectives develops (decentre).

Perception influences judgement.

3 Mountains Task

Concrete Operational Stage(7th to 11th year)

Logical thought appears. Mental or physical

actions can be considered in reverse.

Egocentrism disappears.

Formal Operational Stage (11th year onwards).

Reasoning and thought can be purely verbal/logical and self reflective

Reasoning from other perspectives is possible Abstract concepts are understandable Systems of belief develop A complex self identity develops

Critical Comments• Problems with formal operations– Formal operation is rarely reached by 11 – A good proportion of adults rarely or never think in

such away unless constrained to do so by the task• Underestimates children’s abilities – too rigid– Most researchers agree that children posses many of

the abilities at an early age than Piaget suspected• Problems with research methods– Small, unrepresentative sample (own children)

• Style of thinking is influenced by culture

Thought & Communication

Preoperational Stage:

Growth in communication skills. Single words→short sentences→competent but

unsophisticated language. Towards the end: Development of linguistic

pragmatics: Rules of appropriate use. Social skills requiring appreciation of alternative

perspectives. Understanding of indirect questions, sarcasm, hints. Politeness.

Concrete Operational Stage:

Development parallels reduction and disappearance of egocentrism.

Alternative perspective taking becomes fully developed.

Able to say what others know. Able to persuade rather than simply to use

crude requests. Development of humour

Formal Operation Stage

Increased subtlety. Irony and satire. Understanding unfamiliar words inferred from

their context. Abstraction and understanding of abstract

concepts increases : egocentrism decreases.

Consider in Communicating• Linguistic ability and communicative skill are closely

related to the Piagetian stages• As abstraction develops egocentrism declines whilst

social skills of communication (pragmatics) develop:– Spoken language becomes complex and directed at achieving

goals in a social context.– Abstract concepts become more readily understood.– Written communication develops as the perspective/needs of

the reader are appreciated.

MRCPsychLanguage Development

Dr Mark WorthingtonClinical Psychologist

Components of Language Phonemes: Units of sound used to construct word sounds

Phonology; rules about structure & sequence of speech sounds Grammar

Morphemes: Word or meaning units, made up of phonemes. Syntax: rules in which words are arranged into sentences

Semantics: how concepts are expressed through sounds. Pragmatics: relationships between words and their social uses, rules for

appropriate and effective communication

Language: Complex syntactic rules describe language. Acquisition of language is the acquisition of these rules.

Chomsky

• Universal Language:– A common underlying structure to languages related

to genetic factors that enable language acquisition (language acquisition device).

• Conditioning is insufficient to account for richness and speed of development.

• Language acquisition proceeds through stages.• Rate of acquisition is related to intelligence.

First YearPre-linguistic Stage

• Phonological– Speech sounds – cooing/babbling (strings of phonemes)– Categorisation of sounds made by others– End of year 1 – phoneme range specific to native

language, first words are spoken• Semantic– Understanding develops before production– Recognition of familiar words, use of preverbal gestures

• Pragmatic– Engagement in joint attention and turn-taking activities

Second Year• Phonological– Recognise correct pronunciation of familiar words– No word order (18m) rigid word order learned from

interactions (24m)• Semantic– Vocabulary spurt 18-24m; 13 300 words

• Grammatical– Telegraphic speech (two word combinations)

• e.g. ‘big house’ (attributive), ‘Daddy ball’ (agent-object) • Pragmatics – Engage in conversational turn-taking and topic

maintenance

Third Year• Phonological– Phonological awareness and pronunciation improve

• Semantic– Rapid word learning– Difficulty using words correctly – e.g. Overextensions,

underextensions• Grammatical– Simple 3-word sentences follow adult rules, gradually get

refined– Grammatical morphemes added as these emerge– over-generalisation of grammatical rules

Fourth Year

• Phonological– Simple utterances/sentences

• Semantic– can understand metaphors

• Grammatical– Generally correct grammar– Begin to use future tense– Understanding still greater than generation

Fifth Year Semantic

Verbal thought is apparent Grammatical

Several clauses in sentences. Pragmatics

Social rules apply

Resembles adult languageAwareness of own ability to use language

Communicative Competence

Linguistic skills are a subgroup of communication skills

Many species display communicative competence. At what point does word use become language? Non-verbal behaviour is closely related. Signing as language?

Critical Periods

First year crucial for differentiation of phonemes. Syntactic development over first few years. Full competence is never achieved following early

language deprivation. Similar evidence in deaf children’s acquisition of

sign language.

Environmental Influences Cognitive development necessary but not

sufficient for acquisition Relies on social context, learning relationships

between objects/people. Cognitive development leads. Language is one communication skill. Phonetic forms are reduced over time according

to native language. Isolation impairs later acquisition. Worse if also socially isolated.