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Room
Gartensaal
Thursday, September 13  »  16:00 - 17:15
Invited Symposium 2
New Trends in Developmental Cognitive Psychology
Host
Claudia M. Roebers (University of Berne)
Chair
Alexander Grob (University of Basel), Claudia M. Roebers (University of Berne)
Discussant
Alexander Grob (University of Basel), Claudia M. Roebers (University of Berne)
In the symposium, four distinct and innovative empirical approaches in the field of developmental psychology will be introduced. Although all of these presentations will emphasize at least one aspect of cognitive development, the symposium will give attention to a broad range of contemporary research questions addressing development during childhood. Results from new and ongoing studies, all realized in Switzerland, will be discussed: the emergence of knowledge about the physical world before entering school, intraindividual variability in different aspects of basic cognitive functioning applying a microgenetic approach of working memory and executive functioning, development and differentiation of working memory and attention, and assessment and early identification of developmental risks in psychomotoric, cognitive, socio-emotional, and motivational functions. Thereby, all four contributions will focus on development within the age range of 4 to 10 years. Although different perspectives are taken and experimental and observational methods are used, all contributors discuss issues of continuity in development, stability of individual differences over time, and/or developmental progression as increasing differentiation of cognitive functions.
Speakers
Evelyn Bertin
Children’s Sensitivity to Time-Speed-Distance Interrelations
Authors
Evelyn Bertin (University of Zurich)
Friedrich Wilkening (University of Zurich)
Numerous situations in children’s everyday life require them to make judgments about time, speed, and distance. Early research revealed that correct answers regarding speed and distance of objects in motion were given at an earlier age (around 11 years) than those for time. Other studies demonstrated that a functional understanding of time and speed emerges already at about 5 years of age. These studies will be addressed as well as studies showing that children do not readily apply this function knowledge to all contexts.
While children’s understanding of time-speed-distance interrelations has received some research efforts, this issue is virtually unexplored in infancy. Utilizing the violation-of-expectancy paradigm—where infants are exposed to events in which objects behave either in accordance with the functional relationships that exist between time, speed, and distance or events in which they behave inconsistently with these physical laws—we found that 9-month-old infants allocate increased visual attention to events that violate the physical laws as opposed to the ones that confirm their physical expectations. Such findings suggest that by 9 months of age, infants are sensitive to some aspects of the time-speed-distance interrelations tied to the motion concept. The ontogenetic origin and developmental course of this particular physical knowledge spanning from infancy to childhood will be discussed.
Claudia M. Roebers
The Development of Working Memory and Attention
Authors
Claudia M. Roebers (University of Berne)
Individuals’ mental capacity, that is, individual’s working memory and attentional abilities are increasingly discussed as fuelling cognitive development in a variety of other areas. While there is now consistent empirical evidence that individual differences in working memory is an important predictor for school achievement in different domains for children aged 5 years and above, the role of attention, its facets (sustained attention, selective or focused attention, distractibility) and its relationship to working memory is much less clear. Moreover, reliable and valid measurement of these two complex theoretical constructs in different age groups of children is also a current issue of research in cognitive development. In the presentation, focus will lie on the measurement and interdependence of working memory and attentional skills in 5 to 10 year old children. Data will be presented from a research project aiming to disentangle attentional processes from working memory tasks through factor analyses and a specific training study. Preliminary results will also be presented concerning the measurement and development of different aspects of attention that stem from an innovative research paradigm (eye tracking).
Anik de Ribaupierre
Beyond the mean: Variability in cognitive performance and its value to study lifespan development
Authors
Anik de Ribaupierre (University of Geneva)
Delphine Fagot (University of Geneva)
Catherine Ludwig (University of Geneva)
To this day, most developmental studies have used the mean to describe, explain and understand human development; this rests on the implicit assumption that effects observed at the group level - the average behaviour - are present in all individuals. However, differential psychology has long argued for the need to consider interindividual differences to better capture cognitive development. Further, there is growing evidence that, not only interindividual variability, but also intraindividual variability may be valuable indicators of developmental trends. The actual relevance of additionally considering these two types of variability in developmental research will be illustrated by results from several studies conducted in our laboratory, but more particularly from a presently ongoing study. Inter- and intraindividual variability in response times and accuracy are studied in different age groups across the lifespan, using a large battery of cognitive tasks varying in complexity (from reaction time tasks to inhibition and working memory tasks). In congruence with the other presentations in the symposium, the focus will be placed on the results obtained with children, aged 9 to 12 years. Results will illustrate the necessity to acknowledge variability as a fundamental characteristic; they will also be discussed from an applied perspective.
Alexander Grob
Intelligence and Development Scales for Children
Authors
Alexander Grob (University of Basel)
Christine Meyer (University of Basel)
Priska Hagmann (University of Basel)
Research in developmental psychology during the first two decades of life focuses on various functional domains, i.e., psycho-motoric, cognitive, socio-emotional, motivational. In each of these domains, a large body of knowledge is available which results from longitudinal, experimental, observational and intercultural studies. However, there exists a misfit between the rich body of domain specific knowledge and its application in practice.
In this contribution we merge the scientific and the practical perspective by presenting a new constructed test. In the tradition of Alfred Binet and referring to experimental as well as longitudinal research of domain specific development, we construed the "Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS)". The IDS assess psycho-motoric, cognitive, language, mathematical, socio-emotional and motivational functioning of children between ages five and ten. The test has an advantage over others, providing not only an IQ-value but also a detailed developmental profile. By adopting the IDS risk constellations for further development are identifiable. It enables psychologists to intervene appropriately at an early stage and helps to answer questions for example of school readiness.
We will present the conceptual background of the IDS, scales and subscales of the functions illustrated by test items, results from the pilot study and the design of the norm study in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
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