0. Introduction What is cognition? 7. Brain Development. Synaptic Pruning 9/18/2013. Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach

Transcription

1 Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach Chapter 3 Prepared by: Ashlea R. Smith, PhD Phoenix College 5 th Edition (adapted & supplemented by Jim Clark) This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright Pearson Education 2013 Cognitive Foundations Chapter Overview 0. Introduction 1. Piaget s theory of cognitive development 2. Cognitive development in emerging adulthood 3. Information-processing approach 4. Practical cognition 5. Social cognition 6. Psychometric approach 7. Brain development 8. Culture and cognitive development 0. Introduction What is cognition? Diverse Mental Processes: Perception, Attention, Memory, Language, Thinking, Why would cognitive development continue during adolescence and into adulthood? Experience: practice at tasks, schooling, learning new tasks and skills (e.g., driving), Maturation: brain continues to develop, hormonal influences, 3 7. Brain Development By age 6, brain is 95% of adult size Use of PET and fmri scans Thickening of synaptic connections occurs during two timeframes Prenatal through 18 mths At puberty (10 12) Thickening known as overproduction or exuberance Synaptic Pruning Overproduction of synapses whittled down Between ages of 12 and 20, average brain loses 7 to 10% of gray matter 4 F3.4 Two Neurons and the Synapse 5 Synaptic Pruning 6 1

2 Other Brain Changes Myelination Process of creating myelin sheath (blanket of fat) over main part (Axon) of neuron (see slide 5) Increases speed of electrical signals Cerebellum Historically thought involved in only basic functions, such as movement Recent research shows it continues to grow in adolescence through to emerging adulthood and is important for higher functions (e.g., math, social skills, humor) 7 Frontal & PreFrontal Cortex Blue = Mature State 8 Blakemore Perspective Taking Task Continued Growth 2

3 1. Piaget s Theory Children think differently at different ages 13 Piagetian Schemes Schemes 14 Changes proceed in distinct stages (i.e., discontinuous) Cognitive abilities organized as one coherent mental structure Approach known as cognitive-developmental approach Maturation drives development from one stage to next Assimilation New information altered to fit existing scheme Accommodation Scheme changes to adapt to new information Mental Schemes (Schemas) develop through Assimilation and Accommodation Piagetian Stages Stages Age Brief Description Sensorimotor 0 2 Cognitive development involves learning how to coordinate activities of the senses with motor activities Preoperational 2 7 Capable of representing the world symbolically (e.g. language) Formal Operations Central to cognitive development in adolescence Abstract thinking Ability to think scientifically (hypothetical-deductive reasoning) and apply abstract concepts e.g., the pendulum problem Concrete Operations 7 11 Become more adept at using mental operations which leads to a more advanced understanding of the world Formal Operations to 20 Allows adolescents to reason about more complex tasks and problems involving multiple variables Limitations of Formal Operations Limitations (see following slides) Methods: unfamiliar tasks, language, complexity of tasks, subjects, Individual differences Low percentage in early adolescent Even people capable of formal operations thinking may fail to use it: e.g., Is rule if stamped then sealed true? A-stamp B-no stamp C-sealed D-unsealed Concrete operational thought often sufficient Education appears to play a role (e.g., studying math & science) Cultural basis of adolescent cognitive development Formal operations may take different forms (e.g., p 69 Inuit and hunting or tanning hides) Sophisticated culture-specific thinking may be concrete (Situated Cognition) rather than abstract (e.g., street children/adolescents and math; formal operations and subject matter) Scientific reasoning not universal end-point: Other bases for knowledge, such as Relational (Collectivism?), Faith and cultural appreciation, Magical and religious beliefs,

4 Piagetian Stages in University Students 19 Scores on Three Formal Operations Tasks (Combinations, Plane, Balance) 20 Greeks Post-Formal Thinking 22 Piaget s research inspired theories of cognitive development beyond formal operations Pragmatism Adapt logical thinking to practical constraints of real-life Cognitive development in early 20s distinguished by more recognition of practical limits to logical thinking Reflective Judgment Capacity to evaluate accuracy and logical coherence of evidence and arguments Perry (1970; 1999) investigated reflection in adolescence and emerging adulthood which included: Dualistic thinking, Multiple thinking, Relativism, Commitment According to text: Formal reasoning necessary but not sufficient 3. Information-Processing Views cognitive change as continuous gradual and steady 23 Information Processing 24 Focus on thinking processes that exist at all ages Original model or analogy was computer Break down human thinking into separate capacities of Attention, Processing, and Memory (more components in most Information Processing models) Attention Much evidence for development of attentional capacities during childhood and adolescence May involve development of inhibitory functioning characteristic of frontal lobes Representative tasks on next few slides: Stroop, A model of information processing. Attention and memory are the key components. In human thinking the different components operate simultaneously Figure 3.1 4

5 25 Selective Attention: read bold print Somewhere Among hidden the in most the spectacular Rocky Mountains cognitive near abilities Central City is Colorado the an ability old to miner select hid one a message box from of another. gold. We Although do several this hundred by people focusing have our looked attention for on it, certain they cues have such not as found type it style. Comalli, Wapner, & Werner (1962) Stroop & Negative Priming 27 Stroop Task Across Ages 28 Red Blue Yellow Stroop Task 29 Ignoring Irrelevant Stimuli

6 31 Maccoby & Hagen (1965) 31 Short-Term Memory 32 STM & Working Memory Capacity to hold information in temporary store, often auditory Working Memory: many complex tasks (problem solving, reasoning, decision making) require temporary storage and manipulation of information Various tasks: memory span, Brown- Peterson task, recency effect on serial position curve, Sternberg task,, some included on IQ tests STM & WM increase during adolescence Memory Span Development Childhood Development, Speech Rate, and STM: Slow, Medium, and Fast Speakers at each Age (Hulmeet al, 1984) 35 Working Memory Math Word Problems (Dark & Benbow, 1990): math precocious yr olds who scored in top 3% of SAT-M, test to measure HS/Univ math aptitude) The Word Problem: Mr. Russo takes 3 minutes less than Mr. Lloyd to pack a case when each works alone. One day, after Mr. Russo spent 6 minutes packing a case, the boss called him away and Mr. Lloyd finished packing in 4 more minutes. How many minutes would it take Mr. Russo alone to pack a case? Digit spans 7.4 College students 7.5 Mathematically Talented yrs old 6.7 Verbally Talented 6.3 Average-ability 36 6

7 37 Age, Ability, and STM Retrieval (Keating & Bobbitt, 1978, G15.1) Individual Differences and STM Retrieval Effects of various individual differences on STM Retrieval (Hunt, 1978) HS vs. Adult Adult vs Elderly Adult vs. Low Ability (Retarded) Adult vs. Mnemonist (parallel?) 39 STM and Metacognitive Ability in Children (Yussen & Levy, 1975) Young children poor judges of how much they will remember on STM tasks 40 Long-Term Memory 41 LTM & Organization 42 LTM has capacity to Store, Retain, and Retrieve large amounts of information over long time periods Critical for many cognitive activities, including schooling Schooling also important for development of LTM People in cultures without higher levels of education may not develop some LTM capacities Particularly important capacity that develops during later childhood and adolescence is Meta-Cognitive (or Meta-Memory) ability to self-regulate cognitive processes involved in LTM (e.g., rehearsal, organization of new information, use of mnemonics, evaluate likelihood of retention, ) Clustering: group related items even if presented apart Niemark et al (1971) 24 pictures from 4 categories presented in random order Bear, Camel, ; Chair, Lamp, ; Jacket, Mitten, ;Boat, Car, Grade Recall (Trial 3) Clustering College Brown: % who plan to organize Age Normal EMR

8 Free Recall Organization Normal Group 43 Development of Meta-Memory Metamemory(Flavell) Even when young children may know a strategy (e.g., organization, rehearsal), they may not spontaneously use it Use strategy only when instructed to do so. Younger children cannot perform (some) strategies even when told to use them, and older children do not need to be told to use them Developmental Sequence Metamemory Can Use Strategy Do Use Strategy Very Young No No Middle Yes No Older Yes Yes 44 Development of Rehearsal (Lip reader) Age % Rehearsal Meta-Memory: Generalizing Generalization of Key-Word Technique Trained on city-product (Lock Haven - Newspaper) Transfer to Latin (mannus -pony) Recall of Latin Translations yrs yrs Control No Reminder Reminder Culture & LTM Some LTM effects vary across culture Serial Position Effect (Primacy & Recency) Cole & Scribner (1974): Kpellein Liberia, no relation between SP and memory Wagner (1980): Primacy effect stronger in schooled than nonschooled Moroccan children Lists of words Cole (1971): nonliterate Africans did poorly Scribner (1974): Educated Africans did well Memory for Stories (Oral Traditions) Ross & Millson(1970): Ghaniancollege students better than Americans 46 Processing Information Speed Adolescents faster than children Increase in speed of processing from age 10 through late teens 47 Cognitive Switching 48 Automaticity How much cognitive effort person needs to devote to processing Adolescents show more automatic processing than preadolescents Automaticity depends more on experience than age Metacognition and Self-Regulation Capacity to regulate responses increases during adolescence Control ADHD Trail-B 8

9 Stop-Signal RT 49 Information Processing & Driving 50 USA (2003) 50 University Students:Texting & Driving 51 Age, Dialing, & Event Detection Age vs Experience 53 Skin Conductance Response to Driving Hazards & Experience

10 55 Limitations of Information Processing 4. Practical Cognition Reductionism Breaking up phenomenon into separate parts to such an extent that meaning and coherence as a whole becomes lost Holistic Perspective Information-processing scholars have lost holistic perspective that characterized Piaget s work Keating (2004) Adolescence provides potential for critical thinking Wider range of knowledge available in LTM across various domains Ability to consider different kinds of knowledge simultaneously is increased More cognitive strategies are available for applying or gaining knowledge 56 Computer Analogy Flawed Computers have no capacity for self-reflection, no awareness of how their cognitive processes are integrated, organized, and monitored, which leaves the analogy insufficient and inadequate CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS DO NOT DEVELOP AUTOMATICALLY! Critical thinking requires a basis of skills and knowledge obtained in childhood along with an educational environment in adolescence that promotes and values critical thinking American educational system does a poor job of promoting critical thinking Adolescents & Decision Making Behavioral Decision Theory Choices Consequences (Desirability X Likelihood) Integrate Information = Decision Children < Adolescent < Adult e.g., Medical Procedures: Grade Risks 40% 50% 83% Consult 21% 46% 62% Consequences 11% 25% 42% But why do adolescents take greater risks than adults? Evaluate consequences differently: sensation seeking Analytic versus Heuristic (gut feeling) thinking Personality rather than cognitive factors: e.g., Impulsivity More susceptible to psychosocial factors (e.g., peers) or emotions 57 Seatbelt Use & Age (Scotland) Age Risk-Taking on Driving Simulator 59 Impulsivity & Risky Behaviors (Stanford et al, 1996)