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Theme 1: Cognitive development. - Coggle Diagram
Theme 1: Cognitive development.
Infancy
Significance: Considered a critical and challenging period as it lays the groundwork for behavioural patterns.
Duration: Spans from the neonatal phase to the culmination of the second year of life. Witnessed rapid growth and development across all domains.
Brain development.
At birth, the brain comprises approximately one billion nerve cells. However, it's only a quarter of the size of the adult brain.
Brain growth during infancy is crucial for future physical, cognitive, and emotional development.
Major parts of the brain.
Cerebral cortex: Less developed initially, it's the outer layer responsible for conscious thoughts, feelings, memories, and deliberate actions. As it matures, it becomes more connected to the brain stem and spinal cord.
Developmental of cerebral cortex: Different parts develop at infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Significant changes occur in the primary sensory cortex within the first few months, responsible for senses.
The frontal cortex, crucial for mental associations, begins functioning during infancy but is immature for years, continuing to develop.
The primary motor area is the first to develop, enabling infants to control movements.
Brain stem: Highly developed, controlling essential functions and basic reactions.
Brain cells.
Infants have twice the number of synapses they will have in early adolescence.
Through pruning, frequently used connections are strengthened while unnecessary ones are eliminated.
Synaptic exuberance occurs, leading to a peak in the number of synapses around age 2.
Brain size increases due to myelination, facilitated by nutrition including healthy fats found in breastmilk.
Brain growth is driven by an increase in the number of synapses.
Early experiences and brain development.
Plasticity: The brain's capacity to change in response to environmental influences.
Enriching experiences: Positive experiences contribute to the formation of more synaptic connections in kids.
Structural impact: Early experiences influence the structure and wiring of the brain.
Risk of over-pruning: Excessive pruning can lead to cognitive and emotional problems.
Use It or Lose It Principle: Early experiences significantly impact brain development.
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: Sensorimotor stage.
Developmental milestones: By about 4 months, infants can sit up, reach for, and manipulate objects.
Object permanence: Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. Object permanence forms the basis for language and thought.
Coordination of sensations and movements: Infants learn to coordinate their sensations and perceptions with their movements, forming mental pictures of objects based on interactions.
A, Not B, Error: Infants to reach for a hidden object where it was last found (location A) rather than where it was moved (location B), as seen in Piaget's experiment.
Role of reflexes: Inborn reflexes like rooting, palmer grasp, and sucking are utilized to respond to the environment.
Role in language and thought: Object permanence lays the foundation for the development of language and thought processes in infants.
Thinking with senses: Infants think primarily through their senses, lacking complex cognitive processes or subjective understanding.
Sense and physical actions: Infants in the sensorimotor stage use their senses and physical actions to explore and learn about the world.
Does research support Piaget's theory?
This method assesses infants' responses based on what they look at and for how long. Habituation is central to this research, revealing how infants learn to ignore familiar stimuli.
However, there is still controversy surrounding this research and its findings.
Alternative methods, such as violation of expectations research, have been employed to investigate infants' cognitive capabilities.
Elizabeth Spelke proposed an explanation for why infants continue to make A, not B, errors. She suggests that object permanence may exist in early infancy and become refined through experience.
Some research indicates that infants may be underestimated in their cognitive abilities. Some studies suggest that infants may develop an understanding of object permanence even earlier.
Early memory.
Research by Carolyn Rovee-Collier shows infants can remember actions:
Three-month-olds remember for about a week.
Six-month-olds remember for over 2 weeks.
Two-month-olds remember for up to 2 days.
Infants' memory relies on specific cues.
Infants gradually develop memory capabilities.
Around 6-9 months, infants progress to deliberate recall and deferred imitation.
Infantile amnesia.
Explanation: Infants store memories in a pre-verbal form.
Lack of a coherent sense of self may contribute.
Adults often can't recall events before age 2-3.
No concrete explanation exists.