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Cognitive development.

The duality of the mind and body has no scientific premise. In fact all data points toward the co-evolution of the brain with our complex cultural context (Richerson & Boyd, 2005). Since all developmental forces are intertwined in the course of human development it is difficult to attribute causational variance separately to biology or culture. Without culture our fine complex brain would have no substance, but of course without our hardwired brain capacities there would be no culture in the first place. Experience plays a role in the evolution of brain structures given sufficient time as humans adapt to increasingly complex social environments. In summary culture plays a universal role in human cognition as the accumulated social inheritance is made available to the each generation and is a modifier in the ongoing interaction between the child and the material and ideological inheritance.

Cognitive development is hardwired to some extent if we accept Piaget’s genetic epistemology (Piaget, 1972). As we discussed in chapter 5 on language four sequential cognitive developmental stages are proposed over the course of the child’s development: The sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete, and formal stages. At each stage the child incorporates the thought processes of the previous structures. Movement from one cognitive stage to the next occurs as a result of assimilation where the child incorporates new cognitive elements or accommodation which refers to the changes that occur as the child adapts cognition to new situations

The antecedents of cognition according to Piaget are the biological imperatives of the nervous system. However, cognition is also based on socialization influences that support the child’s adaptation to society. Finally, cultural transmissions through education and social institutions that differ between cultures influence cognition in the child.

While Piaget argued for the invariance of the stages of cognitive development in all cultures there is some evidence for the universality of the sensorimotor stage, however the review of the existing literature is complex and controversial (Segall, Dasen, Berry, & Poortinga, 1999). The stage invariance seem to run counter to what we know of cultural influences on language and other cultural processes and the current research does not fully lend support to such an inflexible stand. Our common biology would support the presence of the universal cognitive hardware and perhaps the sequence of stages, but only if understood within the context of a given culture. The rate of cognitive achievement of participants from non-western cultures has often been interpreted as a form of cognitive deficit. However, if cognitive development has a reference to the local culture there is no basis for drawing value judgment or conclusions (Cole & Scribner, 1977).

While cross-cultural research generally lends support to the presence of the stages of cognitive development research does not support the invariance in the sequence of stages. The approach of this book is to acknowledge that psychological processes are not the same everywhere, however neither are they totally dominated by cultural variances. It is the interaction of culture with neurophysiological processes that produces cognitive development. Some researchers have revised Piaget’s theory by considering both the cultural and the environmental context. These theorists look for salient structural universals in cognition while acknowledging the importance of the situational or cultural context (Case, 1992).



This has led to the consideration of both different and additional stages than those advocated by Piaget. The advantages of neo-Piagetian approaches are that cognitive invariants are independent of Western logical thinking and can be applied directly to culturally salient and valued domains including for example emotions and moral development (Dasen & Ribaupierre, 1987). The last mentioned authors propose that culturally relevant tasks are necessary in order to measure valid progress of stage development in naturalistic settings. Unfortunately, we have seen few studies that have taken these essential considerations into account in measuring cognitive stage development in different cultures (Fiati, 1992).


Date: 2015-01-11; view: 815


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