Freud - ontogeny of personality

Piaget - ontogeny of intelligence

Development of intelligence (vs. measurement)
Knowledge is the result of sensory input and
action
Schema: unit of organization of knowledge
Schemata are undergoing constant revision
Genetic (developmental) epistemology
Neither nature nor nurture are sufficient
explanations of knowledge

Contrast Between Piagets Views of

Knowledge and Those of Other
Thinkers
KANT: Children born with basic categories of
time, space, number, and causality.

BORING: Intelligence is what an intelligence

test measures.

PIAGET: Sought to discover how concepts of

time, space, number. causality and intelligence

develop.

Schema: Structure that

adapts
Organization of knowledge changes with
experiences.
Relationships between schema change.
The basic unit of knowledge.
Knowledge neither innate (cf. Chomsky) nor the
aggregate of different behaviors (e.g., Skinner).

Schemata change continuously by:

Adaptation: modification of schemas by
experience.
Assimilation: quantitative enrichment
(generalization), e.g. calling a goat a doggie.
Accommodation: qualitative enrichment
(discrimination), e.g. calling a dog an animal.
Equilibrium: process whereby schemata
minimize conflict between assimilation
(responding to new stimulus in old way) and
accommodation (changing response in
accordance with demands of new input).

Schema of Sucking Reflex

At birth:

Turning of the head when cheek is stimulated

Opening mouth when lips are stimulated
Sucking when inside of mouth is stimulated
Swallowing when liquid reaches throat

After a few weeks:

Searching for the breast when child is against
mother's body
Sucking movements in anticipation of feeding
Non-nutritive thumb sucking
Sucking on spoons and blocks

Development Of Imitative Schemata

Pseudo-imitation: Parent imitates child who

continues activity in question
Partial imitation: Parent opens and closes
eyes. Child only opens eyes.
Full imitation: Child attempts to perform all
features of activities modeled by adult, e.g.,
dancing, athletics.

Stages of Cognitive Growth

A shift from perception of the here and now to abstract
reflection about the world.
Sensory-Motor Period: (0-2 years)
Integration of sensory information, separate motor
movements

Preoperational Period: (2-7 years)

Development of representational strategies
e.g., by addition of counting

Concrete Operational Period: (7-11 years)

Emergence of specific problem solving skills
e.g., multiplication skills

Formal Operational Period: ( 11 years and onward)

Emergence of general problem solving skills
e.g., set theory

Sensory-Motor Period
William James: "bloomin, buzzin,
confusion"
Unintegrated sensations and movements
No object constancy
no distinction between stable and changing
objects.
no object permanence. Has to learn to search
for a previously present object.
No (or poor) differentiation of self from others.

Cognitive development at
end of Sensory-Motor period:
Object permanence
Complex instrumental behavior
Simple imitation
Ability to generate images
Beginnings of language
Representational Ability: Child could previously
interact with environment only through direct
sensory contact; now she can carry aspects of world
in her head.

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a time
(that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner of
her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Pre-operational Period
Pre-operational intelligence is intuitive; child cannot
make logical statements
Ego-centric thought
-Can only take one point of view
-Child can only respond to one dimension at a
time (that which it perceives)
No operations - Child responds solely on basis of
perceptions and representations
Magical demonstrations convincing - child a prisoner
of her immediate perceptual experience.
No conservation (length, liquid volume, solid volume)
Cant say clay is thinner but wider
Animistic view of world
Cloud, streams, bicycles are alive
Walls, trees, tables are not
Name of a thing an intrinsic property (cf. Romeo: a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet)
Moral judgments dont allow for intent

Egocentric Thought
What does the doll see?

Conservation of Liquid

Conservation of Amount

Which row has more pennies?

Are both sticks the same length?

Do both blobs have the same amount of

clay?

Conceptual Ability
Put together those items that are alike.

Sticks in Order

Concrete Operational Period

Child cannot grasp logical operations.
Child understands concrete (but not abstract) rules that
apply to specific situations.
Concrete child can:
adopt perspective of viewer
alternate thoughts about two or more dimensions of
an object
understand conservation of length, volume, etc.
sort by category (concretely, not abstractly)

Concrete vs. Formal Operations

Build a new tower on the floor that

is as high as the tower on the table

Formal Operations
Child generates hypotheses
Can think about thinking
Concerned with beliefs - values
Can argue if A is true, then B must
follow.
Can argue other things being equal.

Will a falling
ball stop in
midair?
Will a falling
ball pass
through a
solid object?
(Liz Spelke)

Magic Show:
How many
Mickey Mouse
dolls does the
infant expect?
1 + 1 = 3 causes
more looking time
than 1 + 1 = 2.
(Karen Wynn)

Magic Show:
How many pieces
of eggplant does
the monkey
expect?
1 + 1 = 3 causes
more looking time
than 1 + 1 = 2.
(Marc Hauser)