Children's Thinking : Cognitive Development and Individual Differences

by Bjorklund,David F.

• ISBN13: 9780534622459
• ISBN10: 0534622453
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-05
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

A comprehensive book supported by extensive research studies and data, Bjorklund's text presents the broadest coverage of topics in cognitive development. Unlike other books, Bjorklund shows readers how developmental function can help explain individual differences in cognition by covering both the typical pattern of change in thinking observed over time and the individual differences in children's thinking in infancy and childhood. A major theme of this book is the continuous transaction between the child embedded in a social world: although a child is born prepared to make some sense of the world, his or her mind is also shaped by forces in the physical and social environment.

Author Biography

David F. Bjorklund: Florida Atlantic University

Table of Contents

An Introduction to Cognitive Development	p. 1
Basic Concepts in Cognitive Development	p. 2
Some Issues in Cognitive Development	p. 6
Changes That Occur in Cognitive Development	p. 20
Overview of the Remainder of the Book	p. 22
Summary	p. 23
Biological Bases of Cognitive Development	p. 26
Evolution and Cognitive Development	p. 28
Models of Gene-Environment Interaction	p. 33
The Development of the Brain	p. 43
Developmental Biology and Cognitive Development	p. 56
Summary	p. 57
The Social Construction of Mind: Sociocultural Perspectives on Cognitive Development	p. 60
The Role of Culture in Cognitive Development	p. 62
Implications for Education	p. 73
Sociocultural Theory and Cognitive Development	p. 75
Summary	p. 75
Piaget and the Neo-Piagetians	p. 78
Some Assumptions of Piaget's Theory	p. 79
Stages of Development	p. 83
The State of Piaget's Theory Today	p. 103
Neo-Piagetian Theories	p. 107
Summary	p. 113
Information-Processing Approaches	p. 118
Assumptions of Information-Processing Approaches	p. 119
Information-Processing Perspectives on Development	p. 123
Capacity and Cognitive Development	p. 129
Learning How Not to Respond: Inhibition and Resistance to Interference	p. 134
The Role of Knowledge Base in Cognitive Development	p. 140
Fuzzy-Trace Theory	p. 142
Connectionist Perspective of Developmental Change	p. 146
Summary	p. 147
Learning to Think on Their Own: The Role of Strategies in Cognitive Development	p. 151
The Development of Strategies	p. 152
Strategies and Metacognition	p. 167
Culture and Strategies	p. 171
How Do Children's Strategies Develop?	p. 172
Strategies in the Classroom	p. 178
Summary	p. 180
Infant Perception	p. 183
Basic Perceptual Abilities of Young Infants	p. 184
Some Methodologies Used to Assess Infant Perception	p. 185
Auditory Development	p. 187
The Development of Visual Perception	p. 190
Intermodal Integration	p. 199
Category Representation	p. 201
Infant Perception: A Successful Past and a Bright Future	p. 205
Summary	p. 206
Spatial Cognition	p. 208
The Development of Spatial Abilities in Infants and Toddlers	p. 209
Spatial Cognition Beyond Infancy	p. 220
Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition	p. 225
The Development of Spatial Abilities in Perspective	p. 230
Summary	p. 231
Representation	p. 233
Mental Representation Through Infancy	p. 234
Learning to Use Symbols	p. 241
Children's Theory of Mind	p. 248
Classification	p. 257
Summary	p. 262
Memory Development	p. 265
Memory Development in Infancy	p. 267
Implicit Memory	p. 276
The Development of Event Memory	p. 278
Children as Eyewitnesses	p. 282
Consistency and Stability of Memory	p. 294
Forgetting	p. 296
Summary	p. 297
Language Development	p. 299
What Makes a Communication System a Language?	p. 300
Describing Children's Language Development	p. 301
Some Theoretical Perspectives of Language Development	p. 318
Gender Differences in Language Acquisition	p. 331
Language and Thought	p. 333
Summary	p. 334
Problem Solving and Reasoning	p. 338
Problem Solving	p. 339
Tool Use	p. 344
Planning	p. 348
Reasoning	p. 351
Summary	p. 361
Social Cognition	p. 364
Social Learning	p. 365
Social Cognitive Theory	p. 368
Cultural Learning	p. 371
Social Information Processing	p. 374
The Development of a Concept of Self	p. 377
Cognitive Bases of Gender Identity	p. 379
How "Special" Is Social Cognition?	p. 388
Summary	p. 388
Schooling and Cognition	p. 391
The Development of Reading Skills	p. 392
Children's Number and Arithmetic Concepts	p. 404
Schooling and Cognitive Development	p. 421
Summary	p. 426
Approaches to the Study of Intelligence	p. 429
The Psychometric Approach to the Study of Intelligence	p. 430
Information-Processing Approaches to the Study of Intelligence	p. 440
Piagetian Approaches to the Study of Intelligence	p. 448
Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence	p. 449
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences	p. 454
Summary	p. 459
Origins, Modification, and Stability of Intellectual Differences	p. 461
A Transactional Approach to the Study of Intelligence	p. 463
Behavior Genetics and the Heritability of Intelligence	p. 465
Experience and Intelligence	p. 475
The Stability of Intelligence	p. 487
Summary	p. 495
Epilogue: Cognitive Development: What Changes and How?	p. 498
Seven "Truths" About Cognitive Development	p. 499
Diversity of Opinions, But a Single Science	p. 506
Glossary	p. 508
References	p. 522
Credits	p. 578
Author Index	p. 582
Subject Index	p. 595
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