Psyc 222 Developmental Psychology II

1. Psyc 222 Developmental Psychology II Unit 1a: Adolescent Physical and Cognitive Development Dean Owen, Ph.D., LPCC Spring 2011

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3. Recall Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Formal Operational Stage 12 years + Concrete operational Stage 7 years – 12 years Preoperational Stage 2 years – 7 years Sensori-motor Stage Birth – 2 years

4. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor stage (Infancy, Birth – 2 years ). In this period (which has 6 stages), intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge of the world is limited (but developing) because its based on physical interactions / experiences. Children acquire object permanence at about 7 months of age (memory). Physical development (mobility) allows the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities. Some symbolic (language) abilities are developed at the end of this stage.

5. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Pre-operational stage (Age 2- 7, Toddler and Early Childhood). In this period (which has two substages), intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a nonlogical, nonreversable manner. Egocentric thinking predominates

6. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Concrete operational stage (Ages 7-12, Elementary and early adolescence). In this stage (characterized by 7 types of conservation: number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area, volume), intelligence is demonstrated through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects. Operational thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible). Egocentric thought diminishes. 12 years +

7. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Formal operational stage (Ages 12+, Adolescence and adulthood). In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35% of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood.

8. Formal Operational Stage Source: Renner, J., Stafford, D., Lawson, A., McKinnon, J., Friot, E., & Kellogg, D. (1976).

9. Pre-operational stage task Egocentrism

10. Concrete operational stage task Conservation of number

11. Concrete operational stage task Conservation of length

12. Concrete operational stage task Conservation of volume

13. Concrete operational stage task Conservation of mass

14. Concrete operational stage task Conservation of area

15. Formal operational stage task “If Edith is taller than Susan, and Edith is shorter than Lily, who is the shortest of the three?”  Susan

16. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 1. The ability to think abstractly and systematically solve problems emerges during the: a) Concrete Operational Stage b) Sensori-motor Stage c) Formal Operational Stage d) Preoperational Stage

17. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 2. Jean Piaget was a: a) Child psychologist b) Developmental psychologist c) Biologist d) Genetic Epistemologist

18. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 3. According to Piaget, children in the concrete operational stage have difficulty with: a) Perspective-taking b) Deductive logic c) Inductive logic d) Conservation

19. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 4. Jane has learned to feed herself with a spoon. When her mother gives her a fork, she immediately begins to feed herself. Jane has __________ the fork into her schema for utensils. a) Accommodated b) Appropriated c) Assimilated d) Initiated

20. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 5. A schema is a: a) Category of knowledge that allows us to interpret and understand the world. b) Process of taking in new information. c) Process of balancing old knowledge and new information. d) None of the above.

21. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 6. Piaget's stages are criticized by some due to: a) His theory was based on an unrepresentative sample of children. b) Not all people reach the formal operational stage or use formal operational thought consistently. c) His theory underestimates children's abilities. d) All of the above.

22. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 7. Jane's mother has two crackers, both of equal size. She breaks one of the crackers up into four pieces. Jane says she wants the one with the most and immediately chooses the four pieces, even though the two amounts are equal. Jane's choice illustrates Piaget's concept of: a) Accommodation b) Egocentrism c) False belief d) Conservation

23. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 8. Piaget believed that children in the preoperational stage have difficulty taking the perspective of another person. This is known as: a) Reversibility b) Egocentrism c) Meta-cognition d) Constructivism

24. Brief quiz on Cognitive Development…. 9. Piaget assumed that children are __________ in constructing understanding of the world. a) Passive b) Active c) Neutral d) Bystanders

25. Formal Operational Stage The final stage of cognitive development characterized by the capacity for abstract, systematic and scientific thought.……

26. Formal Operational Stage • Two features of formal operational thought: • Hypothetico-Deductive reasoning. • Propositional Thought

27. Formal Operational Stage Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning Problem Hypothesis Solution

28. Formal Operational Stage Propositional Thought This is abstract thinking… Being able to make judgments without reference to physical objects or real world circumstances.

29. Does formal operational thought emerge for all adults?? Do individuals in primitive tribal cultures develop formal operational thought….. Stories of Aboriginal Australians and British Researchers…..

30. Does formal operational thought emerge for all adults?? This suggests that perhaps, contrary to Piaget’s theory, thought processes may be a function of exposure and cultural need…without the drive or need to perform, those skills fail to develop in favor of other, more functional skills. In some societies +/- 5 cm is close enough! For ours it may be necessary to measure things in milimicrons……

31. Does formal operational thought emerge for all adults?? What would happen if there were no paper in the world? How would the world be different if Germany and Japan had won World War II? What would people look like if gravity were 1/10 as much as it is.

32. Information Processing and Adolescent Cognitive Development. Mechanisms Attention: More focused and better adapted to changing situations Inhibition: Internal control improves allowing individuals to ignore irrelevant stimuli and of well learned responses if inappropriate…improves attention and reasoning. Problem solving strategies: Improve significantly and are more effective, with gains in storage ability, representational ability and retrieval. Knowledge: Body of existing knowledge is increased…reducing the near for strategies. (Rote memorization) Metacognition: (Awareness of thought)…Improves and provides insights into effective strategies for acquiring information and problem solving.

33. Information Processing and Adolescent Cognitive Development. Mechanisms Cognitive self-regulation: improved self-monitoring, evaluation, and redirection of thought. Speed of thinking and processing capacity increases. The volume of information that can be processed increases significantly as well as efficiency of processing allowing for more complex forms of thought.

34. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Self-Consciousness and Self-focusing = + physical & psychological changes Increased Metacognition Me Me Me Me Me

35. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Imaginary Audience: The belief that they are the focus of the attention and concern of others…..I can’t possibly go to school wearing that!! Everyone will laugh at me!! Hypersensitivity

36. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Personal Fable: Certain that others are observing and thinking about them, adolescents acquire the belief that they are special and unique. No one can understand how what it’s like to be me…

37. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Idealism and Criticism The ability of adolescents to think of alternatives allows them to think of different or alternative worlds…religious, moral, political worlds that are ideal….it also make them more likely to become critical of what is…..they tend to think of what could be rather than what is…..

38. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Decision Making Skills Adolescents have more difficulty in arriving at decisions in a systematic fashion….and still lack experience and fundamental knowledge about likely outcomes or results of decisions. They also face many new situations involving competing goals or objectives….They tend to choose short-term goals instead of long-term goals….Freud would say that their “EGO” was relatively weak.

39. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Gender Differences in Mental Abilities. Females tend to score slightly better than males in tests of verbal ability and perform better in reading and writing……perhaps because of earlier development of the left cerebral cortex and greater maternal verbal stimulation…..Language arts may also be stereotyped as more feminine and are more encouraged and supported throughout school. These differences are small !!!

40. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Gender Differences in Mental Abilities. Males tend to perform better than females in complex mathematical reasoning perhaps as the result of somewhat better spatial skills abilities…thinking of objects in a three dimensional space……Math and science may also be stereotyped as more masculine disciplines… These differences are small !!!

41. Results of adolescent cognitive changes. Gender Differences in Mental Abilities. William Shakespear F-16 fighter Pilot

42. Colors Thinking about who you are….

43. Transitions What Adolescence is all about. What transitions can identify??

44. Colors Scoring: Count the number of Rs, Ys, Gs, and Bs you circled on the survey. My most frequently circled letter was R My least frequently circled Letter was B

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50. Questions or comments ??