Mechanisms Of Cognitive Development

A study of mechanisms of cognitive development. It is part of the "Carnegie Mellon Symposia on Cognition Series" and focuses on behavioural and neural perspectives of cognitive development.

Cognitive Development from a Strategy Perspective recognises the outstanding scientific legacy of Robert S. Siegler as a pioneer of modern research on cognitive development throughout the lifespan. This volume presents a collection of essays written by leading scholars in the field, using cutting-edge research to illustrate how Siegler’s work and ideas lay the groundwork for much of the modern studies on cognitive development. The collection includes chapters which examine strategic aspects of lifespan cognitive development, change mechanisms underlying cognitive development, and numeracy acquisition with emphasis given to the application of new strategies for education. It explores conceptual and methodological frameworks to best study and understand development during childhood and adulthood, and the role of foundational core knowledge on development and acquisition. These foundational issues are examined from various angles and finally integrated in a concluding panoramic chapter written by Siegler himself. Cognitive Development from a Strategy Perspective offers valuable reading for graduates and researchers in cognitive development and mathematical cognition, as well as those at the interface of psychology and education.

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.

Aims to create a bridge across cognitive development and cognitive aging. This volume studies the rise and fall of specific cognitive functions, such as attention, executive functioning, memory, working memory, representations, and individual differences to find ways in which the study of development and decline converge on common mechanisms.

Traditional approaches to cognitive development can tell us a great deal about the internal processes involved in learning. Sociocultural perspectives, on the other hand, provide valuable insights into the influences on learning of relationship and cultural variables. This volume provides a much-needed bridge between these disparate bodies of research, examining the specific processes through which children internalize the lessons learned in social contexts. The book reviews current findings on four specific domains of cognitive development--attention, memory, problem solving, and planning. The course of intellectual growth in each domain is described, and social factors that support or constrain it are identified. The focus throughout is on how family, peer, and community factors influence not only what a child learns, but also how learning occurs. Supporting her arguments with solid empirical data, the author convincingly shows how attention to sociocultural factors can productively complement more traditional avenues of investigation.