Page 84 - Understanding Psychology

Cognitive and Emotional Development
s Main Idea
As the thought processes of children develop, they begin to think, communi- cate and relate with others, and solve problems.
s Vocabulary
• schema
• assimilation
• accommodation
• object permanence
• representational thought
• conservation
• egocentric
• imprinting
• critical period
s Objectives
• Summarize the cognitive-development
theory.
• Discuss how children develop
Reader’s Guide
Exploring Psychology
What Is She Thinking?
At [2 years and 4 months old] L. heard water running in the bathroom upstairs. She was with me in the garden and said
to me: “That’s daddy up there.” At [2 years and 5 months old] L. went with her uncle to his car and saw him drive off along the road. She then went back into the house, and went straight to the drawing-room, where he had been earlier, and said: “I want to see if uncle C. has gone.” She went
in, looked all round the room and said:
“Yes, he’s gone.”
—from Plays, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood by Jean Piaget, 1962
emotionally.
70 Chapter 3 / Infancy and Childhood
Psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) chronicled the development of thought in his own daughter (“L.”). From the stories Piaget described above, it is obvious that children think differently from adults in many ways. Children form their own hypotheses about how the world works.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
If you have a younger brother or sister, you may remember times when your parents insisted that you let the little one play with you and your friends. No matter how often you explained hide-and-seek to your 4-year-old brother, he spoiled the game. Why couldn’t he understand that he had to keep quiet or he would be found right away?