Page 89 - Understanding Psychology

Figure 3.9 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget stressed the active role of the child in gaining knowledge. He also stressed the differences in the way a child thinks during different stages of maturity. At which of Piaget’s stages do children lack the concept of conservation?
Stage
Sensorimotor Preoperational
Concrete operations
Formal operations
Approximate Age
Birth–2 years 2–7 years
7–11 years
11 years–onward
General Characteristics
Behavior consists of simple motor responses to sensory stimuli; lacks concept of object permanence
Lacks operations (reversible mental processes); exhibits egocentric thinking; lacks concept of conservation; uses symbols (such as words or mental images) to solve simple problems or to talk about things that are not present
Begins to understand concept of conservation; still has trouble with abstract ideas; classification abilities improve; masters concept of conservation
Understands abstract ideas and hypothetical situations; capable of logical and deductive reasoning
Experiments With Animals
Experiments with baby birds and monkeys have shown that early in life there is a maturationally determined time of readiness for attach- ment. If the infant is too young or too old, the attachment cannot be formed, but the attachment itself is a kind of learning. If the attachment is not made, or if a different attachment is made, the infant will develop in a different way as a result.
Imprinting Konrad Lorenz (1903—1989) became a pioneer in the field of animal learning. Lorenz discovered that baby geese become attached to their mothers in a sudden, virtually permanent learning process called imprinting. A few hours after they struggle out of their shells, goslings are ready to start waddling after the first thing they see that moves. Whatever it is, they usually stay with it and treat it as though it were their mother from that time on. Usually, of course, the first thing they see is the mother goose. Yet Lorenz found that if he substituted himself or some moving object like a green box being dragged along the ground, the goslings would follow that. Lorenz’s goslings followed him wher- ever he went and ran to him when frightened (see Figure 3.10). Goslings are especially sensitive just after birth, and whatever they learn during this critical period, about 13 to 16 hours after birth, makes a deep impression that resists change. A critical period is a time in develop- ment when an animal (or human) is best able to learn a skill or behav- ior. If a gosling has imprinted on a human being instead of a goose, it will alter (correct) its imprinted response when later exposed to its mother. Imprinting is important for survival purposes.
imprinting: inherited tenden- cies or responses that are displayed by newborn animals when they encounter new stimuli in their environment
critical period: a specific time in development when certain skills or abilities are most easily learned
Chapter 3 / Infancy and Childhood 75