Introduction to Cognitive Development

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

The articles on Introduction to Cognitive Development, The Social Construction of Mind: Sociocultural Perspectives on Cognitive Development, Bronfenbrenner’s five system and Cognitive Development: Not an Automatic Process; focus on the topic of The Relationship of Sociocultural and Cognitive Development. Cognitive Development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child’s development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning and other aspects of brain development and cognitive psychology. The results from this study help one to understand children’s behavior and its development and understand them better.
Cognition refers to the process where knowledge is acquired and manipulated. It is never measured directly but inferred from the child’s behavior that can be observed. Cognitive includes the child’s conscious and unconscious attempt at solving problem in their daily lives. Vygotsky (1978) believed that two levels of mental functions exist: elementary and higher mental functions. The first are functions that individuals are born with (i.e., no learning is required for their use). These functions require no thought and are naturally occurring such as hunger and sensing. Conversely, higher mental functions include the creation and use of self-generated stimulation such as memory, attention, thinking, and language. The transition from elementary to higher mental functions is made through the use of cultural tools. Vygotsky’s view is that human beings create cultures through the use of tools and symbols. Culture (and in turn society) then dictates what is valuable to learn and how it is learned. Society, then, is the driving force behind cognitive development.
Development is related to changes in structure or function over time. Structure means the mental knowledge that underlies intelligence while function denotes actions related to the structure. However, a...