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Good morning, Doc and Classmates. Today, I'm going to discuss about the Cognitive
Development.

What Is Cognitive Development in Psychology?

 Cognitive development is how humans acquire, organize, and learn to use
knowledge (Gauvain & Richert, 2016).
 In psychology, the focus of cognitive development has often been only on
childhood. However, cognitive development continues through adolescence and
adulthood. It involves acquiring language and knowledge, thinking, memory,
decision making, problem solving, and exploration (Von Eckardt, 1996).
 Much of the research within cognitive development in children focuses on
thinking, developing knowledge, exploring, and solving problems (Carpendale &
Lewis, 2015).
So, Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a
child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill,
language learning, and other aspects of the developed adult brain and cognitive psychology.

Nature vs nurture debate

 The nature versus nurture debate refers to how much an individual inherits
compared to how much they are influenced by the environment. How do nature
and nurture shape cognitive development?
 American psychologist Arthur Jensen (1969, 1974) emphasized the role of
genetics within intelligence, arguing for a genetic difference in the intelligence of
white and Black people. His study may sound discriminatory, but it's interesting in a
manner because white and black Americans are consistently compared in research
studies in states.
 Jensen (1969) made some very bold assertions, stating that Black people have
lower cognitive abilities. His research was heavily criticized for being
discriminatory. He did not consider the inbuilt bias of psychometric testing (Ford,
1996). The lower test scores of Black individuals were more likely to be a result of
a lack of resources and poor-quality life opportunities (Ford, 2004). It is biased in
that IQ can be evaluated based on a number of factors rather than just skin color.

In the Nature vs nurture debate, there are also

 In an enormous cross-sample of 11,000 adolescent twins, Brant et al. (2015) found
that those with a higher intelligence quotient (IQ) appeared to be more influenced
by nurture and stimulation. The researchers suggested this may be because of
their heightened attention and arousal system, absorbing more information from
the environment, being more open to new experiences, and allowing brain
plasticity and changes to occur.
 They also found that adolescents with a lower IQ showed more genetic influence
on their IQ from their parents. The researchers suggested that their lower levels of
intelligence may result in lower motivation levels and an inability to seek out new
experiences. Imagine if you are unaware of what is going on outside of your comfort
zone. Because they are constantly on their parents' side, the child will never learn to
make decisions for themselves or live independently. Some parents think that by
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allowing their kids to be hurt and make mistakes, they are helping them to mature and
become stronger.

Nature vs nurture debate

 This study highlights the need for those with lower IQ levels to be supported with
positive interventions to increase their cognitive abilities and capacity. Playing
games like chess, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, and more are recommended by some
researchers as ways to promote cognitive development in children.

Going forward, the Cognitive Development Skills & Important Milestones

 Developmental milestones are specific skill achievements that occur predictably
over time.
 These milestones reflect skill achievement and take into account genetic makeup
and environmental influence (Dosman, Andrews, & Goulden, 2012).
 Here are a few of these important milestones, the associated skills, and the age at
which they are typically achieved. The following table is modified from the Child
Development Institute.

Table 1. Children’s cognitive milestones and skill development

Milestone Description Approximate age
Object permanence (early) Follows an object until it is This occurs over a period of
out of sight. 4–8 months
Searches for a partially
hidden object. Have you
ever used peekaboo to play
with your/the kids? This is
demonstrated by the fact that
you are only momentarily
hiding something.
Object permanence Will search for a This occurs over a period of
completely hidden object. 9–12 months
This one is unique since it
permanently removed
something from the child.
Cause and effect Begins to understand This occurs over a period of 9
cause and effect in actions. months
Realizes how to get a
response. The kid may
experience fear since he is
reluctant to do any actions
that could lead to
punishment.
Functional use of objects Understands what objects This occurs over a period of
are used for. The toddler 12–15 months
appears to understand the
placement of toys in the
shape sorter toy based on
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their shapes.
Play (Representational) Can use dolls in a This occurs over a period of
functional manner. Here, 18 months
the toddler is aware of what
to dress and do for the doll.

Table 1. Children’s cognitive milestones and skill development

Milestone Description Approximate age
Play (Symbolic) Can use an object This occurs over a period of
symbolically to represent 2–3 years
something else. Symbolic
play is a steppingstone to
literacy and numeracy.
Skills (Pre-academic) Knows letters, numbers, This occurs over a period of
shapes, and colors and 3–5 years
can count. It's similar to
how, when you indicate
something on the chart as a
parent, your child can
identify the color, animal,
or form since they have
greater knowledge of those
things.
Thinking (Logical) Understands conversation This occurs over a period of
and multi-step problem 6–12 years
solving. Understands
others’ perspectives. Now,
as he looks around him and at
his surroundings, the kid
begins to think critically and
profoundly.

Thinking (Abstract) Abstract thinking, This occurs over a period of

hypothesizing, and >above 13 years
drawing conclusions.
Here, the knowledge is
almost comprehensive, if
not entirely so, as he is able
to evaluate and critically
think about all he hears
from others and knows that
it is true.
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Language and other cognitive skills

 Language skills are essential for a child’s ability to communicate and engage with
others. These skills support other areas of a child’s development, such as
cognitive, literacy, and social development (Roulstone, Loader, Northstone, &
Beveridge, 2002). Psycholinguistics, which I know some of us here are familiar with, is
the field that studies and explains the psychological mechanisms that enable people to
learn and utilize language. This is connected in that the child's speech always has a
purpose; there is never a meaningless statement.

Table 2. Language development from 0 to 8 years

Language activity Approximate age

Singular word use. Often resembling exact This occurs over a period of 12–18
words such as ‘dada’ meaning dad. Toward the months
end of 18 months, a child will be able to follow
simple instructions such as ‘sit down’ and ‘get
up.’

The use of two-word sentences. A child can This occurs over a period of 18
understand what familiar people say and vice months–2 years
versa, and unfamiliar people understand about
half of what they say.

Table 2. Language development from 0 to 8 years

Language activity Approximate age

A child will make use of three to four words This occurs over a period of 2–3 years
with more accuracy. Play is combined with
talking.

A child will illustrate abstract thought and show This occurs over a period of 3–5 years
their thoughts and feelings through more
complex conversations. The ability to discuss
many topics is apparent at least by the end of 5
years old. There will be an understanding of
basic grammar and stories.

Table 2. Language development from 0 to 8 years

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Language activity Approximate age

By now, children are becoming good at This occurs over a period of 5–8 years
storytelling and putting together words
and sentences creatively. Children can
share opinions, and by the age of 8
years, they can have adult-style
conversations.

Thinking skills
 Thinking concerns manipulating information and is related to reasoning, decision
making, and problem solving (Kashyap & Minda, 2016). It is required to develop
language, because you need words to think.
 Cognitive development activities helps thinking and reasoning to grow. Thinking
is a skill that does not commence at birth. It develops gradually through childhood
and advances more rapidly when children are around two years old. Reasoning
develops around six. By the time they’re 11, children’s thinking becomes much
more abstract and logical (Piaget, 1936). By the time the child is eleven years old, he
may be beginning to show signs of maturity as he considers many aspects of his life,
such as dating, getting into a relationship, hanging out with friends, and much more.

Developing knowledge
 Knowledge is essential for cognitive development and academic achievement.
Increased knowledge equates to better speaking, reading, listening, and
reasoning skills. Knowledge is not only related to language. It can also be gained
by performing a task (Bhatt, 2000). It starts from birth as children begin to
understand the world around them through their senses (Piaget, 1951).
 Building knowledge is important for children to encode and retrieve new
information. This makes them able to learn new material. Knowledge helps to
facilitate critical thinking (Piaget, 1936). Clearly, the development of children’s
knowledge base is a critical part of cognitive development. Sensation occurs to our
five sensory systems: vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Additionally, humans possess
a sixth sense that allows us to detect unpleasant things in the air and validate our intuition when
they do. Perception in psychology can be defined as the sensory experience of the world,
which includes how an individual recognizes and interprets sensory information. This
also includes how one responds to those stimuli.

Memory development
• The development of memory is lifelong and related to personal experiences.
• Explicit memory, which refers to remembering events and facts of everyday life,
develops in the first two years (Stark, Yassa, & Stark, 2010). Explicit memory
develops around 8 to 10 months.
• Working memory and its increase in performance can be seen from three to four
years through adolescence (Ward, Berry, & Shanks, 2013). This is demonstrated
through increased attention, the acquisition of language, and increased
knowledge.
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• Implicit memory, which is unconscious and unintentional, is an early developing

memory system in infants and develops as the brain matures (Ward et al., 2013).
Our memories will include the things we do now, the things that happened yesterday or a
long time ago, and the things that will happen in the future. We will be able to reflect
back on these things as we become older, especially when a familiar object or person
brings up a recollection.

Perceptual skills
• Perceptual skills develop from birth. They are an important aspect of cognitive
development. Most children are born with senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste,
and smell (Karasik, Tamis-LeMonda, & Adolph, 2014).
• As children develop, they learn to communicate by interacting with their
environment and using their sensory and motor skills (Karasik et al., 2014).
• When visual, tactile, and auditory skills are combined, they emerge as perceptual
skills. These perceptual skills are then used to gauge spatial relationships,
discriminate between figure and ground, and develop hand–eye coordination
(Libertus & Hauf, 2017). Perceptual skills are essential for many daily tasks. They can
help guide children's capability to learn, read and write. The development of perceptual
skills can establish the ability to make sense of the world around us.

Exploring and solving problems

• Problem solving can be seen in very young children when they play with blocks,
objects, and balls. It is entwined with perceptual skills and memory. Very young
children playing with blocks, picking up a spoon, or even looking for objects
demonstrate the development of problem solving skills (Goldschmied & Jackson,
1994). This is known as heuristic play (Auld, 2002). Heuristic play is rooted in young
children's natural curiosity. As babies grow, they move beyond being content to simply
feel and ponder objects, to wanting to find out what can be done with them.
• As children develop cognitively and gain language, the problem solving then
transfers to abstract thinking and solving logical problems (Needham, Barrett, &
Peterman, 2002). Problem solving and exploring are interconnected. Science,
engineering, and mathematics are all based around exploration and problem-
solving skills. Children who like problem-solving and exploration are capable of critical
and scientific thinking. These individuals enjoy learning new things, solving problems,
and expanding their knowledge by reading and watching content online that can help
them become more knowledgeable about subjects that interest them.

5 Real-Life Examples of Cognitive

[Link]
• To understand how people think and process information, it is important to look at
how cognitive skills are used in everyday life. According to researchers, cognitive
processes are applied in real life while making judgments and selecting a course of
action. Dito naaalala ko yung nagviral interview kasi sinasabi ng guy na mas mahalaga
yung diskarte kesa sa diploma. Pero, in my personal perspective, both are important,
pero mahirap kasi maghanap ng work ngayon, specially for those who didn’t finish their
study, at mahirap din makasurvive kung kulang tayo ng diskarte sa buhay lalo na ngayon
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mahal yung mga bilihin at palaki ng palaki yung mga bayarin natin. So kailangan talaga
maging madiskarte sa budgeting and maging resourceful na rin.

2. Decision making
 To make a decision, a person needs to weigh up information and make the best
choice. As an example, think about a restaurant menu. There is a lot of
information on the menu about food options. Reading the menu requires you to
analyze the data then reduce it to make a specific meal choice. You may have a
broad idea of what you want to happen in life at this point, but you also need to be
particular about where you want your life to go and who you want to be in the future.
What counts most, in my opinion, when making a decision is your willingness to
completely embrace the consequences and take responsibility for your actions. Because
of this, some successful people don't mind making bad decisions and blunders in life.

3. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• This widely used therapeutic intervention is based on an understanding of
cognition and how it changes behavior.
• It is based on the premise that cognition and behavior are linked, and this theory
is often used to help individuals overcome negative thinking patterns. CBT
provides them with alternative positive thinking patterns to promote positive
behavior.
Cognitive behavioural therapy or (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage
your problems by changing the way you think and behave. It's most commonly used to
treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health
problems.

4. Forgetting
• The cognitive processes of short-term and long-term memory explain forgetting.
An example of forgetting can be seen in students who do not study for exams. If
they do not transfer the information from short-term to long-term memory, they
forget the knowledge required for the examination and may fail. Ito you big
challenge sa mga mahilig magcramming, yung nagrereview before the exam. Kasi ako
ilang beses ko na ito nagawa and masasabi ko hindi ito healthy. Lalo pa kung yung
scope ng exam ay malawak o maraming chapters ng book ang kasama, especially for
the major classes. Minsan pa nga cover to cover yung scope ng exam, kaya
napakahirap talaga kung magkacramming a day o a night before the actual day of exam.

5. Reasoning
• Thinking and cognition are required for reasoning. Reasoning involves intellect
and an attempt to search for the truth from new or existing information. An
example of this activity can be seen in political debates on television. In our
profession, two frequent types of reasoning are deductive and inductive reasoning.
Inductive reasoning is a bottom-up approach, while deductive reasoning is top-down.
Inductive reasoning takes you from the specific to the general, while in deductive
reasoning, you make inferences by going from general premises to specific conclusions.
An example of inductive reasoning is concluding that because you have only ever seen
red apples, that "all apples must be red" based on your observation. So, dahil red lang
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yung color ng apple na nakita mo po ay yun na yung magiging general description ng

apple para sayo. While an example of deductive reasoning is searching for facts that
apples are all red, and discovering that is not the case. Kasi sa deductive reasoning,
bukod sa ang color ng apple ay red, tinatry nya tingnan yung iba pang aspeto that would
completely describe the apple.

3 Ground-Breaking Cognitive Development Theories

• There are several cognitive development theories, some more well known than
others.
• They all attempt to explain how cognitive development occurs.

Piaget’s cognitive development theory

• Jean Piaget (1936) is famous for his theory of cognition that considers four
specific stages of development.
• The sensorimotor stage (0–2 years) is when infants build an understanding of the
world through their senses and movement (touching, feeling, listening, and
watching). This is when children develop object permanence. And, Object
permanence means that you know an object or person still exists even when they are
hidden and you can't see or hear them.

• The pre-operational stage (2–7 years) is when language and abstract thinking
arise. This is the stage of symbolic play. Symbolic/Fantasy play is role playing or
make-believe play, such as pretending to be a baby, firefighter, superhero, or monster,
and make believe actions, such as driving a car by moving a pretend steering wheel, or
using a block of wood as a cell phone. O binigyan ng buhay ng bata ang mga bagay
para maging mukang totoo.

Piaget’s cognitive development theory

• When a child is 7 years old, they enter Piaget’s concrete-operational stage, which
goes up to 11 years. This is when logical and concrete thought come into action.
This involves mastering the use of logic in concrete ways. The word concrete refers to
that which is tangible; that which can be seen, touched, or experienced directly. The
children in the concrete operational stage will understand that a tower, built six blocks
wide and two blocks high, has the same number of blocks as a tower built three blocks
wide and four blocks high. Before this stage, children may consider the tower that has a
wider base as the one with more blocks overall.
• At the age of 11 onward, children learn logical and abstract rules and solve
problems. Piaget described this as the formal operational stage. During the formal
operational stage, adolescents are able to understand abstract principles which have no
physical reference. They can now contemplate such abstract constructs as beauty, love,
freedom, and morality. The adolescent is no longer limited by what can be directly seen
or heard.

Vygotsky’s theory
• Lev Vygotsky described an alternative theory. He believed that children’s cognitive
development arises through their physical interaction with the world (Vygotsky,
1932). Vygotsky’s theory is based on the premise that the support of adults and
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peers enables the development of higher psychological functions. His is known as

the sociocultural theory (Yasnitsky, 2018).
• Vygotsky believed that a child’s initial social interactions prompt development,
and as the child internalizes learning, this shifts their cognition to an individual
level.
Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of human learning describes learning as a social process
and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture. The major theme of
Vygotsky's theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the
development of cognition.

Vygotsky’s theory
• Vygotsky (1932) considered children akin to apprentices, learning from the more
experienced, who understand their needs.
• There are two main themes of Vygotsky’s theory.
• The zone of proximal development is described as the distance between the
actual development level and the level of potential. This is determined by
independent problem solving when children are collaborating with more able
peers or under the guidance of an adult (Vygotsky, 1931). In, the Zone of Proximal
Development is defined as the space between what a learner can do without assistance
and what a learner can do with adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable
peers.

Vygotsky’s theory
• This may explain why some children perform better in the presence of others who
have more knowledge and skills but more poorly on their own. These skills,
displayed in a social context but not in an isolated setting, are within the zone of
proximal development. This highlights how a more knowledgeable person can
provide support to a child’s cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1932).
• Thinking and speech are considered essential. Vygotsky described a connected
relationship between language development and the thinking process. His theory
explains how younger children use speech to think out loud. Gradually, they
evolve silent inner speech once mental concepts and cognitive awareness are
developed (Vygotsky, 1931).

Ecological systems theory

• Another more modern theory, similar in some sense to Vygotsky’s, is one by
American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner (1974). He suggested that a child’s
environment, within an arrangement of structures, has a differing impact on the
child (Bronfenbrenner, 1974).
• Bronfenbrenner’s five structures are the micro-system, mesosystem, ecosystem,
macrosystem, and chronosystem. These concern the surrounding environment,
family, school, values, customs, and cultures. They are interrelated, with each
system influencing others to impact the child’s development (Bronfenbrenner,
1977). This theory looks at a child's development within the context of the system of
relationships that form his or her environment.

Ecological systems theory

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• Bronfenbrenner (1974) considered the micro-system as the most influential. This

system contains the developing child, family, and educational environment, and
impacts a child’s cognitive development the most. The microsystem is considered
the most influential environmental level in a person's life because it directly shapes their
experiences, influences their beliefs and values, provides support and resources, and
can have a significant impact on their development and well-being.

There are 3 Fascinating Research Studies

• There are numerous examples of case studies involving cognitive development.
• Here are three we find most interesting.

Number 1 is a cognitive habilitation program for children

• Millians and Coles (2014) studied five children who had experienced learning and
academic deficits because of prenatal alcohol exposure. Before and after an
intervention, researchers gave standardized tests of nonverbal reasoning and
academic achievement to the children.
• Four of the five children showed increases to the average range of scores on
measures of nonverbal, reasoning, reading, and mathematics. This study
highlighted the benefit of interventions to address children’s cognitive difficulties
and learning problems, even when the cognitive difficulties are apparent from
birth. Alcohol exposure during pregnancy can result in FASD or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorders by interfering with development of the baby's brain and other critical organs
and physiological functions. This can lead to deficits after birth and beyond. Alcohol can
disrupt development at any stage, even before a woman knows that she is pregnant.

2. Bilingual babies and enhanced learning

• Introducing babies to two languages has been shown to improve cognitive
abilities, especially problem solving (Ramírez-Esparza, García-Sierra, & Kuhl,
2017).
• Spanish babies between 7 and 33.5 months were given one hour of English
sessions for 18 weeks. By the end of the 18 weeks, the children produced an
average of 74 English words and phrases. This study showed that the age
between 0 and 3 years is the best time to learn a second language and gain
excellent proficiency. However, languages can be learned at any time in life. Some
people would agree that the greatest time to invest in their child's education and learning
is probably between the ages of 0 and 3 because at that age, a child can absorb
information more readily and retain it for a long time.

3. Unusual autobiographical memory

• In an unusual case study, a woman described as ‘AJ’ was found to have highly
superior autobiographical memory, a condition that dominated her life (Parker,
Cahill, & McGaugh, 2006).
• Her memory was described as ‘nonstop, uncontrollable and automatic.’ AJ did not
use any mnemonic devices to recall. She could tell you what she was doing on
any day of her life.
• AJ could also recall her past with a high level of accuracy. This study provided
some insightful details of the neurobiology of autobiographical memory and
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changes in the prefrontal cortex that cause these superior cognitive abilities. One
of the last places in the brain to mature, the prefrontal cortex is thought of as the
“personality center” and is the cortical region that makes us uniquely human. It is where
we process moment-to-moment input from our surroundings, compare that input to past
experiences, and then react to them. Based on the study, ina-atribute ng researchers
yung mabilis na pagrecall o pagalala ng information ni AJ sa kanyang prefrontal cortex.

That is all for my report today. Thank you.