Technology's Affects on Children's Cognitive Abilities
What are cognitive abilities?
Cognitive abilities are the skills that occur, grow, and develop in the brain. Some people believe that cognitive skills and social skills are the same thing, but they are different. Cognition is more about our thinking, reasoning, and the understanding of the things/people around us. Cognition takes care of how we process certain things within our brain.
Example of Cognitive Abilities/Skills
Perception: Ways that we interpret and understand
Attention
Memory
Language
Visual and spatial processing: Being able to see and process where an object will be
Executive Functions: There are many executive functions but some of them include problem solving, decision making, and emotional self regulation
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist. He came up with a theory of how children go through stages to reach their full human intelligence. You can watch this video and compare his thoughts and ideas to how technology/media could have an affect on each stage. Piaget's thoughts were just a theory and may or may not be correct, but it is interesting to hear about Piaget's process.