Cognitive Brain Development

For the past two weeks, I decided to continue research on my project, but focused on a different subject. This week I decided to research cognitive brain development and function, and i wanted to focus on the differential aspects between that of a child's brain and a adult's brain.
I thought that this subject would be important as I am trying to develop my own video game for my final product. My initial plan was to create my video game and incorporate different aspects so that it would specialize in different cognitive brain needs.

First of all, the basic definition of 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 skills, language learning, and other aspects of brain development and cognitive psychology compared to an adult's point of view. " ( Cited)

Another important thing i researched into was the Piaget's theory. This is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence. Piagetian and Neo-Piagetian theories of human cognitive abilities attempt to describe what happens developmentally leading up to the mature state. They describe this almost entirely in terms of the psycho-social factors involved. But, cognitive functions and changes are more readily and more accurately understood and described if attention is also, if not first, paid to the facts of brain growth. That understanding also permits parents and teachers to see ways to enhance children's cognitive development. Broken down to a basic cycle, there are four main "cognitive development stages" and I will describe a little of each stage in what I learned of my research.According to psychologist Jean Piaget, children progress through a series of four key stages of cognitive development. Each stage is marked by shifts in how kids understand the world. Piaget believed that children are like "little scientists" and that they actively try to explore and make sense of the world around them. I never knew about this theory and found it really interesting.

Stage One = Sensorimotor Period ( 0-24 months) 

• infant's knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities
• behavior is limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli
• reflexive stage- simple reflex activity such as grasping, sucking
• opening and closing fingers repetitively
• kicking feet to move a mobile
• discovery of new ways to produce the same goal, such as toddlers pulling a ball toward him so he can roll it
• invention of new means through mental combination

Stage Two = Pre-operational Period ( 2- 7 years) 

• not yet able to think logically 
• the child is able to represent the world through mental images and symbols, but in this stage, these symbols depend on his own perception and his intuition beginnings of symbolic rather than simple motor play 
• can think about something without the object being in front of them by using language to describe it 
• only sees through the child's point of view 
• questioning/investigating new things (Curiosity) 
• children's thoughts differ the most from adult's thoughts 
• Increased use of verbal representation, but speech is egocentric 

Stage Three = Concrete Operations Period ( 7-11 years) 

• evidence for organized, logical thought
• ability to classify many tasks, order objects in a logical sequence, and comprehend the principle of conservation 
• thinking becomes less egocentric 
• child is capable of concrete problem-solving able to perform mental operations 
• able to reverse their actions and think about what they did previously 
• conservation as the ability to see that objects or quantities remain the same despite 
• change in their physical appearance 

Stage Four = Formal Operations ( 12 + year) 

• deals with the present, the here and now can think about the future, the abstract 
• the hypothetical marks the start of abstract thought and deductive reasoning 
• thought is more flexible, rational, and systematic 
• can now conceive all the possible ways they can solve a problem, and can approach a problem from several points of view 
• think about such abstract concepts as space and time 
• develops an inner value system 
• has a sense of moral judgment 
• necessary "mental tools" for living the rest of their life 
• thinking becomes less tied to concrete reality

 I found it really interesting how much and how rapidly the brain changes, especially in the times of childhood and adolescents. I never knew there was so much of a change directed to just the brain.

So far, each of my blog post I have focused on different subjects so that I am able to increase my knowledge more about my 20 Time project.
I think my main problem so far has been the procrastination. However, I have kept up with my research and decided that I will start my basic plan/design of my video game by the next blog post. My method of researching  only on on subject per two weeks has been more effective as it allows me to stay more focused.