Studies summaries

Brain development

Stages of structural brain develop:

• Develops back to front

1. Neurogenesis –

• neurons are overproduced
• finished before birth

2. Migration

• Transportation of newly formed neurons to their correct location along special glia fibers from inner to outer layers of the brain

3. Differentiation – lots of new neuron connect but rate decreases over time which builds the network of neurons
4. Pruning – elimination of unnecessary connections and neurons therefore children have more neural connections than adults; better at learning new things but cannot focus

• Studies:
  • Chugani(1999) – the brain structural development correspondences to patterns of behaviour
  • Werker et al(1981) – infants have a natural ability to discriminate between phonemes and this ability is lost due to pruning.

​-ve in research:

• Ability vs strategy – either less develop OR using wrong strategy
• Maturation vs learning
• Correlational
• Localization of function will change over time therefore an adult’s brain and a child’s brain may be different

Piaget individual cognitive development

Main concepts:

• Children are ‘active scientists’ – they interact with the social and physical environment to learn how they work
• Children use strategies in thinking and problem solving
• There is biological maturation
• Development is universal therefore all humans are the same

Stages:

• Sensorimotor intelligence(0-2years)
  • Learn through movements and sensation eg. Touching, hearing, hearing, put in mouth
  • No control over movements so movements are not purposeful
• Pre-operational(2-7 years)
  • learns to speak
  • egocentric world
    • only from their viewpoint and cognitive limitation
    • Piaget and Inhelder(1956) – 3 mountain task
      • CC: Hughes(1975) and Borke(1975)– task is too difficult
  • No concept of conversation – physical properties remain the same. Eg. All the water in a tall glass in poured into a low basin, which had more?
    • Li et al(1999) – education also affects cognitive development
• Concrete operational thought(7-12 years)
  • Can do simple problem solving
• Formal operations( above 12 years)
  • Can use formal and abstract logic, understand concept of ‘could’
  • Speed to reach this stage is also affected by education - Li et al(1999) – education also affects cognitive development

​Object permanence – object continues to exist even when they cannot see it anymore

• 8 months start, around 18-24 months fully developed
• CC: Baillargeon(1986) – starts as early as 3.5 months

Vygotsky social cognitive development

Main concept:

• Culture affects cognitive development
• There is biological maturation
• Children are ‘active scientists’ – they interact with the social and physical environment to learn how they work
• Role of language:
  • Private speech – talking aloud to themselves. The more they do, the more socially competent they are later – Winster et al(2003)

Stages:
1. Pre-intellectual speech – social contact eg. Crying
2. Autonomous speech(12 months) – invent words for objects
3. Naïve psychology (12-24) – can use adult words but express simple words for many meanings
4. Communicative and egocentric speech(3 years) –

• Communicative speech - can convey meaning to others
• Egocentric speech – self-talk which guides the child through the task

5. Inner speech – silent form of verbal thinking helps child process things.

• CC Prior and Welling(2001) – contradicts theory

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Information is mostly complied from:
​​Popov, Alexey. Psychology: for the IB Diploma. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2018.
Crane, John. “IB Psychology.” ThinkIB Student Pages, www.student.thinkib.net/psychology?lg=8007.
Photo: Dwyer, Lexi. “When Do Babies Start Smiling?” TODAY.com, 24 June 2019, www.today.com/parents/when-do-babies-start-smiling-t153698.
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