According To Piaget's Theory, What Is A Schema?

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Psychology 301: Fall 2012
Review Sheet for Exam 2

You are responsible for EVERYTHING covered in lecture. In addition, you are responsible for the following concepts from the textbook (many of which overlap with things discussed in lectures). Any concept from the book that is not on this review sheet will not be on the exam. Once again: all concepts covered in lecture, even if they are not on this list, can be covered on the exam.
There will be approximately 25 questions from each of the two chapters.

Chapter 5
1. What is maturation?
Orderly sequence of biological growth processes, relatively influenced by experience.
2. In Piaget’s theory, what are the stages of cognitive development?
Sensory motor- Experiencing the world through senses and actions(Object permanence, stranger anxiety)
Pre-Operational- Representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning(Pretend play, egocentrism)
Concrete Operational- Thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations(Conservation, mathematical transformations.)
Formal Operational- Abstract reasoning (Abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning)
3. According to Piaget, what is a schema?
A concept, mental mold, that organizes and interprets information; where we pour our experiences.
4. What is assimilation? When does it occur?
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas (see a moose and call it a cow)
5. What is accommodation? When does it occur?
Adjusting our schemas to incorporate information of our new experiences.(there are more four-legged animals than just cows)
6. How does the child acquire information about the world during the sensorimotor stage?
Through their senses and actions- looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping.
7. What kind of cognitive abilities does the child acquire during the sensorimotor stage?
They acquire object permanence and stranger anxiety.
8. What do the findings which show that babies have a basic understanding of principles of physics and math mean for Piaget’s theory?
Piaget underestimated young infants' competence.
9. What is object permanence? What kinds of things can a child do after acquiring object permanence that s/he could not do before?
Knowing that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible. They can look for a toy that has been covered by a blanket.
10. What do the findings that show that babies look longer at impossible figures than possible figures indicate about Piaget’s view of infancy?
He underestimated their competence. Babies have a more intuitive grasp of simple laws of physics that Piaget realized.
11. What kind of cognitive abilities does the child acquire during the stage of preoperational development?
Child can represent things in words and images, uses intuitive rather than logical reasoning, and begins to develop a theory of mind.(Pretend play and egocentrism)
12. What is conservation? What kinds of things can a child do after acquiring object permanence that s/he could not do before?
The understanding that an object can retain a property under transformations. Quantity remains the same despite changes in shape. They know each glass contains the same amount.
13. What is egocentrism? What kinds of things can a child do after acquiring object permanence that s/he could not do before?
The child's difficulty taking another's point of view. A child can say that his brother also has a brother.
14. What is theory of mind? What kinds of things can a child do after acquiring a theory of mind (losing egocentrism) that s/he could not do before?
It is people's ideas about their own and others' mental states about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.
15. How are the concepts of egocentrism and theory of mind related? egocentrism doesn't let them develop a theory of mind.
16. What kind of cognitive abilities does the child acquire during the stage