INFANCYCognitive and Language Development

Cognitive DevelopmentCognitive Development

Learning: A DefinitionLearning: A Definition Change in behavior Change must be relatively stable. Change must result from experience.

How Soon Do Infants Start How Soon Do Infants Start Learning?Learning?

Learning in the Womb De Casper Cat in the Hat

Newborn Learning Sameroff’s experiments

Piaget: The Sensorimotor Piaget: The Sensorimotor PeriodPeriod

Refers to the coordination of motor activities with sensory inputs. Capacity to look at what they’re listening to Object permanence: Capacity to view the

external world as permanent Inability to represent world internally

Neo-and Post-Piagetian Neo-and Post-Piagetian ResearchResearch

Playing is Learning Playing gives babies clues as to what

they should do and when they should do it. Consequences of Maternal Depression

Youngster lags behind in emotional, language and social development

Bruner on Modes of Cognitive Bruner on Modes of Cognitive RepresentationRepresentation

We “know” something in three ways: Enactive: doing it Ikonic: picture or image of it Symbolic: language

Continuity in Cognitive Continuity in Cognitive Development from InfancyDevelopment from Infancy

Decrement and Recovery in Attentiveness Two components of attention indicative of

intelligence in youngsters: Decrement of attention Recovery of attention

Language and ThoughtLanguage and Thought

LanguageLanguage Language: a structured system of sound

patterns that have socially standardized meanings.

The Functional Importance of The Functional Importance of LanguageLanguage

Two contributions: Communication: The process by which people

transmit information, ideas, attitudes and emotions

Facilitation of thought and other processes.

Language as Container of Language as Container of ThoughtThought

Thought takes place independently of language

Words are only necessary to convey thought to others.

Language as a Determinant of Language as a Determinant of ThoughtThought

Language develops parallel with, or prior to, thought.

Conceptualization: Grouping perceptions into classes or categories based on similarities.

Theories of Language Theories of Language AcquisitionAcquisition

Nativist TheoriesNativist Theories Noam Chomsky et.al. Human beings begin life with the

underpinnings of later speech perception and comprehension.

“Pre-wired” by their brain circuitry for language use

Chomsky’s Theory of Chomsky’s Theory of Language DevelopmentLanguage Development

Language Acquisition Device All languages possess:

Surface Structure Deep Structure

Transformational grammar biologically built in.

Other Nativist StudiesOther Nativist Studies The Twins’ Early Development Study

(TEDS) The Cambridge Language and Speech

Project Genetics of Developmental Dyslexia International Molecular Genetics Study of

Autism

Arguments for Arguments for Nativist TheoriesNativist Theories

Children Acquire Language with Little Difficulty

Adult Speech is Inconsistent, Garbled and Sloppy

Children’s Speech is not a Mechanical Playback of Adult Speech.

Learning and Interactionist Learning and Interactionist TheoriesTheories

Caretaker Speech Interactional Nature of Caretaker Speech Motherese

Language DevelopmentLanguage Development

Communication ProcessesCommunication Processes Nonverbal Communication or Body

Language Physical movements Gaze Pointing Paralanguage

The Sequence of Language The Sequence of Language DevelopmentDevelopment

From Vocalization to Babbling Babbling Receptive Vocabulary Holophrases Overextension Two-Word Sentences Telegraphic Speech

BilingualismBilingualism Critical period of language acquisition:

prior to onset of puberty Best time to learn a new language is early in

life.