Cognitive
Development in
Middle Childhood
Piaget’s Theory:
The Concrete Operational Stage
 Conservation


Decentration
Reversibility
 Classification
 Seriation

Transitive inference
 Spatial reasoning


Directions
Maps
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Piagetian
Class Inclusion Problem
Figure 9.3
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Piaget’s Theory: Limitations of
Concrete Operational Thought
Mental operations work best with
objects that are concrete.

Problems with abstract ideas
Continuum of acquisition

Master concrete operational tasks
gradually
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Follow-Up Research on
Concrete Operations
Culture and schooling affect performance
on tasks.
Neo-Piagetians suggest informationprocessing helps.


Automatic cognitive schemes free up working
memory.
Central conceptual structures help children
think more effectively in a range of situations.
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Information-Processing
Perspective
 Between ages 6 and
12, increase in
information-processing
speed and capacity
 Gains in inhibition
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 Both may be related to
brain development.
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Attention in Middle Childhood
Attention becomes
more:
Selective
 Adaptable
 Planful

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Development of
Attentional Strategies
1.
2.
3.
4.
Production deficiency
Control deficiency
Utilization deficiency
Effective strategy use
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Children With ADHD
Symptoms


Cannot stay task focused for more than a few minutes
Often ignore social rules and lash out when frustrated
Origins


Highly heritable, but also associated with environmental
factors
Correlated with a stressful home life
Treatment


Stimulant medication reduces symptoms in 70% of
children; however, these drugs have risks.
Medication combined with interventions that model and
reinforce appropriate behavior work best.
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Development of
Memory Strategies
Rehearsal –
Organization –

Knowledge base helps organization
Elaboration –

Meaningful chunks of information
Schooling promotes using these memory
strategies.

But those in non-Western cultures may not
benefit from instruction in memory strategies.
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Theory of Mind
in Middle Childhood
 View mind as active, constructive
 Understand more about sources of knowledge


Mental inferences
False beliefs
 Consider interactions of
variables
 Schooling promotes developing
theory of mind.
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Promoting Cognitive
Self-Regulation
 Point out special demands
of tasks.
 Encourage use of
strategies.
 Emphasize value of selfcorrection.
 Self-regulatory skills help
develop a sense of
academic self-efficacy.
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Information-Processing
and Academic Learning
Reading


Whole-language approach
Phonological awareness

A combination of the two
approaches, along with
excellent teaching
practices, shows the best
results in literacy progress
for 1st graders.
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Defining and Measuring
Intelligence
IQ becomes more stable around age 6 and can
predict


school performance.
educational attainment.
IQ tests provide a general score that represents
general intelligence and reasoning ability.


But not all types of intelligence are measured on
current tests.
Test designers use factor analysis.
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IQ Tests
Group Tests
 Allow testing of large
groups
 Require little training
to administer
 Useful for
instructional planning
 Identify students who
need further
evaluation
Individually
Administered Tests
 Examiners need
training and experience.
 Provide insights about
accuracy of score
 Identify highly intelligent
and children with
learning problems
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Test Items Like
Those
Commonly Used
on Children’s
Intelligence
Tests
Figure 12.3
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Types of Tests
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition


Age 2 to adulthood
Assesses general knowledge, quantitative reasoning,
visual-spatial processing, working memory, and basic
information processing
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV



Ages 6 to 16
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of
Intelligence–Revised (for younger children)
Measures verbal reasoning, perceptual (or visualspatial) reasoning, working memory, and processing
speed
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Recent Efforts to
Define Intelligence
 Processing speed is
moderately correlated
with IQ scores.
 Inhibition, selective
attention, and
sustained attention are
other predictors of IQ.
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Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of
Successful Intelligence
Figure 12.4
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Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences
 Linguistic
 Logico-mathematical
 Musical
 Spatial
 Bodily-kinesthetic
 Naturalist
 Interpersonal
 Intrapersonal
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Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence:



Ability to process and
adapt to emotional
information
Modestly associated with
IQ
Positively associated with
self-esteem, empathy,
prosocial behavior, and life
satisfaction
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Lessons that teach emotional understanding are
becoming more common in the classroom.
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Explaining Differences in IQ
Genetics

Accounts for about half of differences
Environment
SES
 Culture

 Communication
styles
 Cultural bias in test content

Secular trend toward generational rise
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Effects of Stereotype Threat
on Performance
Figure 12.5
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Dynamic Assessment
and Test Scores
Figure 12.6
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Educational Philosophies
Class Size
Traditional v. constructivist classrooms
New philosophical directions

Social-constructivist


Reciprocal teaching
Communities of learners
Teacher–student interaction

Self-fulfilling prophesies
Grouping practices



Homogenous
Multigrade classrooms
Cooperative learning
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Average
Mathematics
Scores by
15-Year-Olds
Figure 12.9
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