Cognitive Developmental Change

Cognitive Developmental Change makes a fascinating contribution to the fields of developmental, cognitive and educational science by bringing together a uniquely diverse range of perspectives for analysing the dynamics of change. Connecting traditional Piagetian, information processing, and psychometric approaches with newer frameworks for the analysis of developmental change it provides the reader with an account of the latest theory and research at the time of publication. The contributors to the volume, all internationally respected experts, were asked when writing to consider three main aspects of cognitive change. Its object (what changes in the mind during development), its nature (how does change occur?) and its causes (why does change occur? Or, what are the internal and external factors responsible for cognitive change?). As a result chapters cover key theories of cognitive change, the factors that affect change including neurological, emotional and socio-cultural factors and methods for measuring and modelling change.

How do children acquire the vast array of concepts, strategies, and skills that distinguish the thinking of infants and toddlers from that of preschoolers, older children, and adolescents? In this new book, Robert Siegler addresses these and other fundamental questions about children's thinking. Previous theories have tended to depict cognitive development much like a staircase. At an early age, children think in one way; as they get older, they step up to increasingly higher ways of thinking. Siegler proposes that viewing the development within an evolutionary framework is more useful than a staircase model. The evolution of species depends on mechanisms for generating variability, for choosing adaptively among the variants, and for preserving the lessons of past experience so that successful variants become increasingly prevalent. The development of children's thinking appears to depend on mechanisms to fulfill these same functions. Siegler's theory is consistent with a great deal of evidence. It unifies phenomena from such areas as problem solving, reasoning, and memory, and reveals commonalities in the thinking of people of all ages. Most important, it leads to valuable insights regarding a basic question about children's thinking asked by cognitive, developmental, and educational psychologists: How does change occur?

Emerging Themes in Cognitive Development, Volumes I and II offer the full spectrum of current knowledge and research trends in cognitive developmental psychology. The first volume provides a foundation by describing key discoveries in new areas of research and by thoroughly examining fundamental aspects of the field, including several demonstrations of formal modeling; the gains in prediction and precision that can be won by such mathematical analyses are the hallmark of cognitive development as a maturing science. The second volume traces the development of cognitive competence - denoting a change or increment in cognitive proficiency, understanding, or mastery - and includes analyses of innovative and previously unpublished studies. The primary challenge issued by many of the authors in this volume is to ensure the incorporation of new knowledge into educational practices. These volumes, which are milestones in cognitive developmental psychology, interest every researcher in the field.

This highly regarded text has been completely rewritten to take account of recent work, particularly with regard to the educational implications of cognitive development theory. "Presents the essentials of both the Piagetian approach and the information-processing approach to cognitive development. Although several other volumes present the essentials of Piaget, this is the only one that presents both views and compares them. . . . Those familiar with the first edition will welcome the expanded coverage of Piagetian research." --Contemporary Psychology

Developmental changes in cognitive abilities in childhood have long been of interest to researchers across many fields, including behavioral sciences, communications, education, and medicine. With the publication of research findings showing individual differences in the development of children's learning skills has come the realization that models, methodologies, and analysis approaches that include consideration of individual differences are needed. It has brought an increase in research collaborations among experts in different fields who bring different approaches together in studies of cognitive abilities. This work has yielded a growing body of knowledge about how children with normal abilities and those with developmental disorders learn, gain skills in social competency, develop decision making and planning abilities, and acquire language skills and the skills needed for reading and writing. More recently, researchers have sought to use this body of knowledge as a basis for the early identification of children at risk for cognitive delays and for the development and evaluation of intervention approaches. The chapters in this book review literature in five areas of cognition, and provide theory- and research-based information on the applications of research findings and intervention approaches. Throughout the chapters, information on the interactions of different cognitive abilities and the role of individual differences in development that influences development assessments is included.

Discusses the way children remember and organize information in general, the acquisition of skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic, and the development of more complex reasoning as children grow to maturity. Also reviews some of the main areas relevant to individual differences in normal cognitive development, and examines three major models of cognitive developemnt.

This book and the symposium on which it was based were designed to cross the boundaries of subdiscipline and theoretical orientation to address four critical issues in understanding development: explanation of change and development; the nature and process of change; forms of variability in performance; and the promotion of change through application. The chapters suggest that change and development in target systems from cells to selves, may not be explainable, assessable, or promotable without careful reference to the context (social and otherwise) of the system, and that the process of change and development may involve variability of the system in addition to periods of stability. Together the chapters harken back to the spirit of the grand theory. Instead of proposing a grand theory, they provide an excellent foundation for considering the importance of an individual's (or particular group's) context and variability, and discussions to facilitate thinking about what still needs to be worked out.

Cutting-edge and "big-picture" in perspective, this popular introduction to cognitive development focuses on both the fascinating nature of children's thinking and the excitement and change in work in this area. Using an integrated topical approach, it explores the developmental aspects of social cognition, perception, memory, and language. Theoretically balanced, it considers the full spectrum of approaches--from Piaget's developmental stages, to information-processing (including connectionism), dynamic systems, contextual, theory-change, neo-Piagetian, evolutionary, neuroscience, and constraint approaches. Infant Perception. Infant Cognition. Representation and Concepts. Reasoning and Problem Solving. Social Cognition/Theory of Mind. Memory. Language. For anyone interested in child development, including parents, students, and those in psychology, social work, education, etc.