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Chapter 9
Cognitive Development in the Preschool Years
Learning Objectives
Key Terms and Concepts
Chapter Outline
Lecture Suggestions
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Understanding Bilingual/Bicultural Young Children
Homeless Families and Children
How Kids Learn
Class Activities
Supplemental Reading List
Prentice Hall PowerPoints available online
Multimedia Ideas
Handouts
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading Chapter 9, students will know:
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Describe the advances and limitations of Piaget’s stage of preoperational thinking.
Evaluate Piaget’s approach to cognitive development.
Describe the information-processing approach to cognitive development.
Explain whether children make effective eyewitnesses.
Evaluate the information processing approach to cognitive development.
Describe Vygotsky’s view of cognitive development.
Evaluate Vygotsky’s approach to cognitive development.
Explain language advances during the preschool years.
Understand the influence of poverty on language development.
Describe early childhood education in terms of variety, effectiveness, and quality.
Understand why the United States lags behind other countries in relation to preschool.
Evaluate the effectiveness of Head Start.
Describe David Elkind’s approach to academic success.
Understand the influence of television on preschoolers.
Describe how parents can improve the academic readiness of their children without creating undue stress.
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
preoperational stage
operations
symbolic function
centration
egocentric thought
transformation
intuitive thought
conservation
autobiographical memory
zone of proximal development
scripts
developmentally appropriate educational practice
scaffolding
syntax
fast mapping
grammar
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private speech
pragmatics
social speech
child care centers
preschools (or nursery schools)
school child care
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Intellectual Development
A. Piaget’s Stage of Preoperational Thinking: During the stage that Piaget has described as
preoperational, children are not yet able to engage in organized, formal, logical thinking.
However, their development of symbolic function permits quicker and more effective
thinking as they are freed from the limitations of sensorimotor learning.
1. Piaget saw the preschool years as a time of both stability and great change.
2. Preschoolers are in the Preoperational Stage, from age 2 to 7, characterized by
symbolic thinking.
a. Mental reasoning and the use of concepts increases, but children are not
capable of Operations, organized, formal, logical mental processes.
b. A key aspect of preoperational thought is Symbolic Function, the
ability to use symbols, words, or an object to represent something that
is not physically present.
3. Symbolic function is directly related to language acquisition.
a. Language allows preschoolers to represent actions symbolically,
permitting much greater speed.
b. Language allows children to think beyond the present to the future.
c. Language can be used to consider several possibilities at the same time.
d. Addressing the question if thought determines language or if language
determines thought, Piaget argued that language grows out of cognitive
advances.
4. Centration—the process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus
and ignoring other aspects—is a major characteristic of preoperational thought,
and the major limitation of this period because it leads to inaccuracy of thought.
5. Preschoolers do NOT understand Conservation—the knowledge that quantity is
unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects.
6. Preschoolers are unable to understand the notion of Transformation—the
process in which one state is changed into another—because they ignore the
intermediate steps.
7. Egocentrism, the inability to take others’ perspectives, is the hallmark of
preoperational thinking.
a. Egocentric Thought takes two forms.
(1) Lack of awareness that others see things from different physical
perspectives.
(2) Failure to realize that others may hold thoughts, feelings, and
points-of-view different from one’s own.
b. Egocentrism is at the root of many preschool behaviors, for example,
talking to oneself and hiding games.
8. A number of advances in thought occur in the preoperational stage.
a. Intuitive Thought—the use of primitive reasoning—develops.
b. Children begin to understand functionality—the concept that actions,
events, and outcomes are related to one another in fixed patterns.
c. They begin to understand the concept of identity—that certain things
stay the same regardless of changes in shape, size and appearance.
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9.
B.
C.
Critics of Piaget’s theory argue that he seriously underestimated children’s
capabilities.
a. They argue that cognition develops in a continuous manner, not in
stages.
b. They believe that training can improve performance in conservation
tasks, and that conservation may appear earlier than he argued.
c. They also argue that Piaget focused too much on the deficiencies of
young children’s thought.
Information-Processing Approaches to Cognitive Development
1. Preschoolers may demonstrate a surprisingly sophisticated understanding of
number.
a. By age 4, most are able to carry out simple addition and subtraction
problems by counting.
b. Preschoolers are able to compare different quantities quite successfully.
2. Autobiographical Memory, memory of particular events from one’s own life, is
not very accurate until after age 3.
a. Preschoolers’ autobiographical memories fade, they may not be
accurate (depending when they are assessed), and they are susceptible
to suggestions.
b. Preschoolers have difficulty describing certain information and
oversimplify recollections.
3. According to information-processing approaches, cognitive development
consists of gradual improvements in the ways people perceive, understand, and
remember.
a. Preschoolers begin to process information with greater sophistication.
b. They have longer attention spans, attend to more than one dimension of
an object, and can better monitor what they are attending to.
Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development: A different approach to cognitive
development is taken by proponents of information processing theories, who focus on
preschoolers’ storage and recall of information and on quantitative changes in informationprocessing abilities (such as attention).
1. Vygotsky proposed that the nature and progress of children’s cognitive
development are dependent on the children’s social and cultural context.
a. Cognition proceeds because of social interactions where partners jointly
work to solve problems.
b. This partnership is determined by cultural and societal factors.
2. According to Vygotsky, children’s cognitive abilities increase when information is
provided within their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), the level at which a
child can almost, but not fully, comprehend or perform a task on his own.
3. The assistance provided by others has been termed Scaffolding, the support for
learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth.
4. Accomplished individuals provide learners with cultural tools, physical items
(e.g., pencils, paper, calculators, computer) and intellectual and conceptual
frameworks for solving problems.
5. Vygotsky’s view has become increasingly influential in the last decade.
a. His writings are more widely disseminated in good English translations.
b. His work had been banned until the breakup of the Soviet Union, when
it became freely available to the former Soviet countries.
c. His ideas are a consistent theoretical system that contributes to
increasing appreciation of the importance of social interaction in
cognitive development.
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d.
Criticism of Vygotsky centers on the lack of precision in his
conceptualization of cognitive growth.
e. Vygotsky was largely silent on how basic cognitive processes such as
attention, memory, and natural cognitive capabilities unfold.
II. Language Development: Children rapidly progress from two-word utterances to longer, more
sophisticated expressions that reflect their growing vocabularies and emerging grasp of grammar. The
development of linguistic abilities is affected by socioeconomic status. The result can be lowered
linguistic—and ultimately academic—performance by poorer children.
A. Language Advances During the Preschool Years
1. Between late 2’s and mid-3’s, sentence length increases.
2. Syntax, the ways words and phrases are combined to make sentences, doubles
each month.
a. By age 3, children use plurals and possessive forms of nouns
(boys/boy’s), employ the past tense (adding -ed), use articles (the/a),
and can ask and answer complex questions (“Where did you say my
book is?”).
b. By 6, the average child has a vocabulary of 14,000 words.
c. Preschoolers acquire a new word every 2 ½ hours, 24 hours a day.
3. They manage this feat through a process known as Fast Mapping, in which new
words are associated with their meaning after only one or two presentations.
B. Preschoolers begin to acquire the principles of Grammar, the system of rules that
determine how our thoughts can be expressed.
1. Preschoolers engage mostly in Private Speech, language not intended for others.
a. Vygotsky argues that private speech facilitates children’s thinking,
helps them control their behavior, solve problems and reflect.
b. Piaget suggests that private speech is egocentric.
2. Preschooler’s Pragmatics, the aspect of language relating to communicating
effectively and appropriately with others, also grows.
3. Social Speech, speech directed toward others, increases during the preschool
years.
C. The language children hear at home influences their language development.
1. Hart and Risley (1995) researched the effects of poverty on language.
2. Economic level was a significant factor in the amount of parental interactions,
types of language children were exposed to, and kinds of language used.
3. Poverty was also related to lower IQ scores by age 5.
III. Early Childhood Education
A. Three quarters of children in the U.S. are enrolled in some kind of care outside the home.
1. Major factor is working parents.
2. Evidence suggests that children can benefit from early educational activities.
B. There are a variety of early education programs.
1. Child Care Centers provide all-day care.
a. Some are home care.
b. Others are provided by organized institutions.
2. Preschools (nursery schools) provide care for several hours a day, and are
designed primarily to enrich the child’s development.
3. School Day Care is provided by some school districts.
C. There are pros and cons of attending early education programs.
1. Advantages might include increases in verbal fluency, memory, and
comprehension advantages, higher IQ scores than at-home children, and
advantages in social development.
2. Disadvantages found included children being less polite, less compliant, less
respectful of adults, and sometimes more competitive and aggressive.
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D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
The key factor in determining the effects of early education programs is quality.
1. Well-trained care providers.
2. Overall size of the group and the child-care provider ratio.
3. Curriculum.
4. The U.S. lags behind almost every other industrialized country in the quality of
its day care, as well as quantity and affordability.
The U.S. differs from other countries in their purpose for early education programs,
generally emphasizing independence and self-reliance.
In the U.S., the best-known program designed to promote future academic success is
Head Start.
1. Head Start began in the 1960s when the U.S. declared a “War on Poverty.”
2. It was designed to serve the “whole child,” including children’s physical health,
self-confidence, social responsibility, and social and emotional development.
3. Graduates of Head Start programs tend to:
a. Show immediate IQ gains, although these do not last;
b. Be better prepared for future schooling;
c. Have better future school adjustment;
d. Be less likely to be in special education classes or be retained in first
grade; and
e. Show higher academic performance at the end of high school, although
the gains are modest.
f. Detractors argue that there are other programs that children should be
exposed to which are much more cost effective.
David Elkind argues that U.S. society tends to push children so rapidly that they begin to
feel stress and pressure at a young age.
1. It is better to provide an environment where learning is encouraged, not pushed.
2. Children require Developmentally Appropriate Educational Practice that is
based on both typical development and the unique characteristics of a given
child.
Television: Learning From the Media
1. Average preschooler watches 20 to 30 hours of TV a week.
2. Consequences of TV viewing are unclear.
a. Children do not fully understand the plots.
b. They may have difficulty separating fantasy from reality.
c. Some information is well understood by young viewers, i.e., facial
expressions.
3. Yet, much of what is viewed is not representative of events in the real world.
4. Television may be harnessed to facilitate cognitive growth.
a. Sesame Street is the most popular educational program in the U.S.
b. Viewers had significantly larger vocabularies.
c. Lower income viewers were better prepared for school, scored higher
on tests of cognitive ability, and spent more time reading.
d. Critics of Sesame Street suggest that viewers may be less receptive to
traditional modes of teaching.
5. There are difficulties in assessing the effects of educational viewing, (e.g., the
effects may be related to parenting).
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LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
Use Developmental Psychology, Prentice Hall Lecture Launcher, DVD & textbook CD
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
You might use this with the “Let’s Share, Show or Recall” activity. (See Class Activities).
Young children sometimes have difficulty recalling information. A recent study suggests that drawing can
enhance children’s memories for events.
Santa Butler, of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, led a study involving 5- and 6-year-olds
that took a field trip to a fire station. While there, the children clambered on the fire engines, watched drills
performed by the firefighters, tried on the firefighting gear, and even watched as one of their chaperons slid
down the fire pole, much to the displeasure of the tour leader, who reprimanded her. (This event, and
several others, were prearranged ahead of time.) Both one day and one month later, the children were asked
about their outing. Those children who were asked to draw and describe the events of that day—how they
got there, what they saw, the events that transpired—accurately reported much more information than those
children who were simply asked to tell what happened. This effect was not observed among 3- to 4-yearolds, although among both groups drawing did not appear to increase errors in recall.
This research indicates that memory for pleasant events may be increased by coupling words and pictures. It
remains to be seen whether the same effect would hold for negative events. If so, this technique may hold
promise for boosting children’s recall of abuse, incest, or other traumatic events.
Source:
Staff (1995). Kids Draw on Their Memories. Science News, 148, p. 111. Reprinted from Giuliano, T &
Swinkels, A. (1996). Instructor’s Resource Manual for Understanding Psychology by C. G.
Morris. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
UNDERSTANDING BILINGUAL/BICULTURAL YOUNG CHILDREN
A lecture and/or discussion of linguistically diverse children might be of value, especially if there are a
number of education majors in your class. Meeting the needs of bilingual/bicultural children is a growing
challenge for educators. According to Soto, language minority students comprise an increasing proportion
of our young learners. Reports suggests that the number of non-English language background (NELB)
children ages birth to 4 years old rose from 1.8 million in 1976 to an estimated 2.6 million in 1990, and the
number of NELB children ages 5 to 14 are projected to rise from 3.6 to 5.1 million in the year 2000. In
response to this trend, the field of Bilingual Early Childhood Education has evolved primarily in two
directions. One emphasizes formal language learning instruction, while the other emphasizes natural
language acquisition. Most experts in the field suggest that educators need to incorporate practices that
enhance, enrich, and optimize educational opportunities for “speakers of other languages.” Soto’s article
discusses a variety of successful instructional approaches, a host of misconceptions about young learners,
and some practical applications for those working with preschoolers.
Source:
Soto, L. D. (1991). Understanding Bilingual/Bicultural Young Children. Young Children, 42, pp. 30–36.
(Reprinted in Child Growth and Development, Annual Editions 1995/1996. Guilford, CT:
Dushkin/Brown & Benchmark.)
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HOMELESS FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
Reports suggests that the face of homelessness has shifted since the early 1980s. Presently, 30 percent of the
homeless population is comprised of families, typically women with young children. One reason for this
change is the “baby boom,” which led to larger numbers of people competing for affordable living space.
Another reason, especially for the already poor, is having children that increase expenses and make it more
difficult to work. Ask your students about other possible reasons for increased homelessness among women
with children, for example substance abuse, domestic violence, unmarried mothers, non-contributing fathers
or mental illness. Of interest, a recent policy paper being prepared by APA Division 27 (Community)
concluded that poverty is the root of increases in homeless families, not individual factors. Have students
discuss some of the immediate and long term consequences of homeless families—for the homeless
children, mothers and/or fathers and also for society. What can or should be done to curb or prevent
homelessness?
Source:
DeAngelis, T. (1994). Homeless Families: Stark Reality of the 90s. APA Monitor, May, pp.1, 38.
(Reprinted in Child Growth and Development, Annual Editions 1995/1996. Guilford, CT:
Dushkin/Brown & Benchmark.)
HOW KIDS LEARN
Many of your students may be parents of preschoolers or entering the field of education. Recent arguments
suggest that children between the ages of 5 and 8 learn differently than older children. Young children learn
best through active, hands-on teaching methods like games or dramatic play, not from hours of workbooks
and homework. Kantrowitz and Wingert provide a thorough review of the current thoughts on educational
practices for young children and raise some interesting questions about “pressure versus challenge” and the
result for young minds. It is worth a discussion.
Source:
Kantrowitz, B. & Wingert, P. (1989). How Children Learn. Newsweek, April 17, pp. 50–56. (Reprinted in
Child Growth and Development, Annual Editions 1995/1996. Guilford, CT: Dushkin/Brown &
Benchmark.)
CLASS ACTIVITIES
VISITING CHILDREN: PIAGET AND MEMORY DEMONSTRATIONS
Some students have had little, if any, contact with preschoolers. It can be a real eye-opener to see
these youngsters in action. Invite three or four children to class. Ideally, the children’s ages should vary,
3–4 years, 5–6, or 7–8 years. (This will better illustrate the concept of development.) Bring various props to
class (e.g., different size clear containers, colored water, checkers, play dough, flashcards, children’s books,
doll, etc.). Begin to test the children. Can they conserve? Which row of checkers has more? What does the
doll see? What were the pictures on the flashcards? Can you remember what I read from the book? You
might have students take observational notes, much like an experimenter would. Afterwards, involve
students in class discussions.
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CHILDREN’S TV – LET’S TALK ABOUT IT
Record brief segments of various television shows children might watch. For example, Sesame Street,
Barney, The Wiggles, Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Berenstain Bears,
Teletubbies, Bob the Builder, Book of Pooh, Out of the Box, Rolie Polie Olie, and Madeleine, cartoons,
early evening sitcoms, reruns, the news (perhaps you have a campus media center that can help). Show the
segments to the class, and have them comment after each, compare the segments, and/or discuss these in
relation to child development. You might hand out a series of questions to facilitate discussion. (See
Handout 9–1.) If you cannot tape segments for use in class, you might have students do this as a take-home
project. Build your next class discussion around their findings and comments.
You might use the clips (or student projects) to move into a broad discussion about children and television
in general. Is it good or bad? Does it make them passive/active participants in their development? Does it
stimulate thinking? How does television viewing impact the parent-child relationship? Do parents monitor
their children’s viewing? Should TV programs be rated by the industry? What is the impact of violence on
TV? Do all children react the same? How do commercials influence young children (some parents may
have some interesting input here)?
LET’S SHARE, SHOW, OR RECALL
Target a class during the memory section and ask students to bring a photo of themselves as a preschooler,
preferably engaged in some activity or attending some event. If students are unable to locate an early photo,
ask them to make a note about their very earliest memory. At the beginning of class you might break the
students into groups and have them share as much as they can remember about what was going on when
their photo was taken. Can they remember the place, who took the photo, how old they were, the time of
year, anything special about the clothes they were wearing or any props in the photo? Similarly, have
students describe their earliest memory. Encourage students to interpret their memories in light of
knowledge about young children’s cognitive development.
Draw the class into a discussion about memory capabilities of preschoolers, especially autobiographical
memory. Note that memories are not very accurate until after 3, and that they are susceptible to suggestions.
Also discuss the fact that preschoolers have difficulty describing certain information and tend to
oversimplify recollections. You might also discuss whether preschoolers can “learn” to remember? What
strategies might parents or preschool teachers employ to facilitate children’s memory? (See Lecture
Suggestions.) Have the students share if they felt their memories of those earlier times had been influenced.
How? Ask them if they have learned to improve their ability to remember information? How? You might
engage in a more in depth discussion of information processing theory (e.g. sensory memory, short term
memory, long term memory, etc.) as well as metacognitive strategies (e.g. rehearsal, mnemonic devices).
DESIGN AN EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM
Assign students into small groups, and tell them their task is to design an education or care program for
preschoolers. You will probably want to allow some time during several class periods for groups to get
together. Students might also meet on their own. Have students prepare a brief written report as well as a
class presentation describing their program. You might have students address the following: Name of school
or center. Why? Architectural design or layout? Is it appropriate, safe and/or conducive to preschoolers?
Type of program? Philosophy, purpose or objectives of the program? What about the number of children,
teachers, and ratios? Provide an example of a “typical day,” sample menus for meals or snacks, and an
example of their curriculum. Types of toys, materials, supplies or playground equipment needed. Are their
ideas consistent with the concepts, issues, and suggestions discussed in the text?
VYGOTSKY’S VIEW IN LIGHT OF PRESENT DAY AMERICAN SOCIETY
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In the spirit of Vygotsky’s views, ask students to consider what is “important and meaningful to members”
of present day American society. How might this be predicting or influencing cognitive development, which
according to Vygotsky “proceeds as the result of social interactions in which partners jointly work to solve
problems”? (See Handout 9–2.) This could be used both as an in-class group discussion or an individual
assignment.
ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Children’s books offer a great resource for studying themes in early childhood development. You might
have students create an inventory of books intended for the preschool or young school-aged child, perhaps
listing a minimum of 10. Then ask students to analyze or discuss the books (or a selected few of them) in
terms of developmental themes or principles. You might suggest that they look at the books in terms of
content. For example, many children’s books attempt to strengthen children’s development with respect to
moral development (e.g., lying, stealing), coping with adversity or stress (e.g., death, divorce), enhancing
cognitive development (e.g., vocabulary, information), teaching skills, social development (e.g., sharing,
self-esteem), or tolerance to diversity (e.g., racial or religious differences). Suggest also that they look at the
books in terms of gender, stereotypes, artwork, intended messages, possible unintended interpretations,
attention span or memory, and any other developmentally related themes (e.g., Is the book designed for the
fine motor skills of the reader?).
Adapted from:
Using Children’s Books to Illustrate Developmental Principles, in Giuliano, T. & Swinkels, A. (1996).
Instructor’s Resource Manual for Understanding Psychology by C. G. Morris. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
PRESCHOOLERS AND COMPUTERS
As a variation on the above assignment, have students examine and analyze some current computer software
programs designed for young children.
SUPPLEMENTAL READING LIST
Hall, G. C. N. & Barongan, C. (2002). Multicultural Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Healy, J. M. (1994). Your Child’s Growing Mind: A Practical Guide to Brain Development and Learning
from Birth to Adolescence. New York: Bantam Doubleday.
Heim, C. & Nemeroff, C. B. (2001). The Role of Childhood Trauma in the Neurobiology of Mood and
Anxiety Disorders: Preclinical and Clinical Studies. Biological Psychiatry,49, pp. 1023-1039.
Phillips, J. L. (1981). Piaget’s Theory: A Primer. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Pinel, P. J. P. (2003). Biopsychology (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
149
Reis, H. T., Collins, W. A., & Berscheid, E. (2000). The Relationship Context of Human Behavior and
Development. Psychological Bulletin, 126 (6), pp. 844-872.
Walker, M. (2005). Critical Thinking: Challenging Developmental Myths, Stigmas, and Stereotypes. In
Comstock (Ed.), Diversity and Development: Critical Contexts That Shape our Lives and
Relationships. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Woititz, J. G. (1983), Adult Children of Alcoholics: Expanded Edition. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health
Communications, Inc.
Zinn, M. B., & Eitzen, D. S. (1990). Diversity in Families, 2nd edition. New York: HaperCollins
Publishers, Inc.
PowerPoints are available for download from the Web site for this textbook
MULTIMEDIA IDEAS
Developmental Psychology: Prentice Hall Lecture Launcher, DVD
Cognitive Development (Insight Media, 30 minutes)
Using examples of the child’s cognitive skills at various stages, the program provides an overview
of Piaget’s theory and also addresses aspects being questioned by other researchers.
The Developing Child (Discovering Psychology series, Annenberg/CPB, 1990, 28 minutes)
Explores the contributions of heredity and environment to early development, and addresses a
variety of concepts and research areas including habituation, Piagetian ideas, and temperament.
The Development of the Human Brain (Pennsylvania State University, 46 minutes)
Describes the development of the brain from conception to age 8.
The Elementary Mind (Insight Media, 1992, 30 minutes)
Robert Sternberg and Rochel Gelman discuss Piaget’s views of memory, cognition, and
intelligence. Also shown are experiments related to developing cognition.
Language Development (Discovering Psychology series, Annenberg/CPB, 1990, 28 mm.)
Explores how children develop complex language skills and how they learn to use language in
social communication.
Piaget’s Developmental Theory: An Overview (Insight Media, 1989, 30 min)
Using both archival footage of Piaget and new footage of Dr. Elkind interviewing children, the
film describes Piaget’s theory.
Preschoolers: How Three and Four Year Olds Develop (Learning Seed, 24 minutes)
This video looks at cognitive and social developmental milestones during the third and fourth years
of life from an intuitive perspective.
Vygotsky’s Developmental Theory: An Introduction (Davidson Films, 1994, 28 minutes)
Examines the life, vocabulary, and concepts of Vygotsky. Details the four basic concepts integral
to his work.
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HANDOUT 9–1
Use this handout as an activity for students to consider the effects of children’s TV.
HANDOUT 9–2
This handout can be used as a class exercise on the effects of culture on cognitive development using
Vygotsky’s theory.
HANDOUT 9–3
In this reflective journal exercise students can choose to explore either their earliest memories or their
preschool experience.
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HANDOUT 9–1
Children’s TV: Let’s Talk About It
For each television show or clip viewed, answer as many of the following questions that apply:
Give the title or a brief description of the television program or scene.
1.
Is the television program designed specifically for young children? How do you know? Did it intentionally aim
at providing an educational message? If so, what was the intended message? If not, what do you think a
preschooler would have learned from viewing the show?
2.
Identify several stimuli (e.g., characters, acoustics, colors, themes) that you think a preschooler would most
readily attend to, and explain why? What image or message would they have learned from these salient features
of the show?
3.
How many aggressive or violent acts are in the show? Briefly describe one. Try and explain this scene through
the eyes of a preschooler (e.g., what might he or she be thinking or concluding). Did anything occur that you
think might promote fear or distress for a young viewer? Why?
4.
How many prosocial or humorous acts are in the show? Briefly describe one. Try and explain this scene through
the eyes of a preschooler (e.g., what might he or she be thinking or concluding).
5.
Are references made to both males and females? How is each portrayed? Were there any role or cultural
stereotypes? Was there any comment, scene or action that might send a message about social norms or
expectations (e.g., discipline, materialism, relationships)?
6.
Would you let your own preschool child view this television show? Explain why or why not.
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HANDOUT 9–2
Vygotsky’s View In Light of Present Day American Society
Feldman notes that Vygotsky believed that, “by emphasizing particular tasks, culture and society shape the nature of
specific cognitive advances. Unless we look at what is important and meaningful to members of a given society, we
may seriously underestimate the nature and level of cognitive abilities that ultimately will be attained” (p. 261).
Consider present day America, and list at least five particular tasks, skills, abilities, expectations, or norms that exist.
Comment as to how you think these might be shaping an individual’s cognitive focus or development. For example,
one of the most commonly asked questions when people first meet, “What do you do for a living?” How might this
influence or shape cognitive or personal development? What about new technologies, such as computers, the
Internet, ATMs?
1.
Describe a particular social task, skill, ability, expectation or norm, and explain how this influence might shape
cognitive or personal development.
2.
Describe a particular social task, skill, ability, expectation or norm, and explain how this influence might shape
cognitive or personal development.
3.
Describe a particular social task, skill, ability, expectation or norm, and explain how this influence might shape
cognitive or personal development.
4.
Describe a particular social task, skill, ability, expectation or norm, and explain how this influence might shape
cognitive or personal development.
5.
Describe a particular social task, skill, ability, expectation or norm, and explain how this influence might shape
cognitive or personal development.
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HANDOUT 9–3
Reflective Journal Exercise #9
Choose one of the following to reflect about your preschool cognitive development:
1.
What is your earliest memory? How old do you think you were? Reflect on why you think you recall this event.
2.
Did you attend preschool or nursery school? Do you have any memories of this time? What do you recall?
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