PSYC 304 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Cognitive Flexibility, Headache, Deductive Reasoning

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 304
• Professor: Stephan Gaskin

Document Summary

Integration of these mental structures allows organization of information into coherent whole: revolutionary changes in thought occur three times over lifespan - 2, 7, 11yo, cognitive development into 4 stage: Formal operational stage: 11yo onward: stages in cognitive development, sensorimotor stage: infant progresses from simple reflex actions to symbolic processing. 4-8 months infant show greater interest in the world paying more attention to objects. 8 months reach a watershed: onset of deliberate intentional behavior. Understand that objects exist independently: object permanence - start from 8 months onward a-not-b error: babies reach for an object at the first location not the second location. Infants do not have full understanding of object permanence until 18 months. By 18 months most start to talk and gesture - emerging capacity to use symbols. Once can use symbols can begin to anticipate consequences of actions mentally instead of having to perform them: preoperational stage: use of symbols to represent objects and events.