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Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

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Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
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Effective problem-solving consists of two steps: 1. identifying the problem and 2. selecting the appropriate problem-solving strategy (i.e., a plan of action used to find a solution). Humans use four problem-solving strategies:
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Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood01:25

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood

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Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development emphasizes the role of thinking in a child's learning process, suggesting that children are naturally curious about their environment. His approach to development is discontinuous, proposing that cognitive abilities progress through distinct stages, each with unique characteristics. Central to Piaget's theory is schemata—mental structures that allow individuals to understand and interpret the world.
Schemata: Building Blocks of Knowledge
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Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition01:24

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

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A revisionist approach to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has brought new insights that challenge and reinterpret his established ideas. Piaget proposed that the formal operational stage, emerging in adolescence, represents the culmination of cognitive maturity. During this stage, individuals are said to develop abstract thinking, engage in systematic problem-solving, and show a form of egocentrism, believing others are as preoccupied with their behavior as they are...
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The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

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The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to...
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Principle of Moments: Problem Solving01:30

Principle of Moments: Problem Solving

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The principle of moments is a fundamental concept in physics and engineering. It refers to the balancing of forces and moments around a point or axis, also known as the pivot. This principle is used in many real-life scenarios, including construction, sports, and daily activities like opening doors and pushing objects.
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Related Experiment Video

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Practical Methodology of Cognitive Tasks Within a Navigational Assessment
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Young children spontaneously devise an optimal external solution to a cognitive problem.

Kristy L Armitage1, Alex H Taylor2, Thomas Suddendorf1

  • 1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Developmental Science
|November 30, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Preschoolers can learn to use external reminders for memory tasks. Four- and five-year-olds independently used a marking strategy to improve performance in a search task, showing developing metacognition.

Keywords:
cognitive developmentcognitive offloadingmetacognitionproblem solvingreminder setting

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Development
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Metacognition Research

Background:

  • Metacognition is crucial for cognitive offloading in adults.
  • Preschool-aged children often struggle with effective cognitive offloading despite basic metacognitive abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether preschool-aged children can independently devise and use external strategies for cognitive offloading.
  • To examine the role of metacognitive knowledge in children's ability to manage future uncertainty.

Main Methods:

  • A novel search task was designed for 3- to 5-year-olds.
  • Children observed a target being hidden and containers shuffled.
  • A strategy involving marking the correct container was introduced and tested for independent use.

Main Results:

  • Children of all ages successfully used the marking strategy when demonstrated.
  • Only 4- and 5-year-olds independently developed this strategy to enhance their performance.
  • Independent strategy use correlated with improved future task outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Four- and 5-year-olds demonstrate the capacity to use metacognitive knowledge of future uncertainty.
  • Preschoolers can deploy effective external solutions for cognitive tasks when metacognitive demands are present.
  • This study highlights developmental changes in children's strategic memory and offloading behaviors.