PSYC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Prefrontal Cortex, Bonobo
Document Summary
Symbolic understanding begins in infancy and continues into childhood. Not all aspects of symbolic reasoning appear at the same time in development tho. Using symbols is not unique to humans, bonobo monkeys use them too. Symbol : something that intends to stand for something other than itself. Anything can be a symbol, if someone has the intention to use it referentially. Bw 9 and 18 mo, after that it is replaced by pointing. All infants do it, even if they have never seen a photo. Problem : the lack of knowledge about pictures as symbols! Then they develop a picture-concept as objects of contemplation and not exploration. Realism matters: errors with pictures depends upon their realism! The more high res it is, the more they try to play with it. For word learning, very schematic/ iconic drawings are helpful for children.
