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Chapter 7: Problem 5

Summarize the information-processing approaches to cognitive development in the preschool years. 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 information processing abilities (such as attention).

Short Answer

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The information-processing approach to cognitive development during preschool years focuses on how children's abilities to store, recall, and process information improve with age. As preschoolers' brains develop, they exhibit improvements in attention span, information processing, recall, thinking, and problem-solving abilities.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Information Processing Approaches

Information processing theory explains how humans receive, think about, remember, and process information. The brain is likened to a computer system where the input (information) is converted through sensory registers and mental processes (thinking) to develop an output such as a response or a memory.
02

Applying to Cognitive Development

In the context of cognitive development during the preschool years, this approach emphasizes how children's cognitive processes change with age. The theory suggests that as children grow older, their brains become better at processing information. There are improvements in perception, attention, memory, thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
03

Changes in Preschool Years

During preschool years, children's cognitive abilities undergo a significant transformation. They gradually develop increased attention span, better capacity to process records and recall information, more elaborate thinking, and sophisticated problem-solving skills. For example, they become more adept at maintaining focus on a task and shift attention from one task to another more effectively as they grow. Their memory storage capacity expands, allowing them to retain more information for longer periods and recall information more efficiently.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Summarize how Piaget explains cognitive development during the preschool years. 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. According to Piaget, children in the preoperational stage engage in intuitive thought for the first time, actively applying rudimentary reasoning skills to the acquisition of world knowledge.

Distinguish the typical educational programs available to children in the preschool years. Early childhood educational programs, offered as centerbased or school-based child care or as preschool, can lead to cognitive and social advances. The United States lacks a coordinated national policy on preschool education. The major federal initiative in U.S. preschool education has been the Head Start program, which has yielded mixed results.

Describe Vygotsky's view of cognitive development in the preschool years. Lev Vygotsky proposed that the nature and progress of children's cognitive development are dependent on the children's social and cultural context.

Summarize how preschool children's brains develop. Brain growth is particularly rapid during the preschool years, with the number of interconnections among cells and the amount of myelin around neurons increasing greatly. The halves of the brain begin to specialize in somewhat different tasks - a process called lateralization.

Summarize the effects television and other media have on preschoolers. The effects of television are mixed. Preschoolers" sustained exposure to emotions and situations that are not representative of the real world have raised concerns. On the other hand, preschoolers can derive meaning from such targeted programs as Sesame Street, which are designed to bring about cognitive gains.
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