Dynamic Systems Approach Effect Of Prior Experience On...

R Dynamic Systems Approach: Effect of Prior Experience on Location Memory Throughout Development Mikaela S. Cuevas University of California Davis Abstract A study by Smith, Thelen, and colleagues questioned Piaget’s A-not –B errors which happens when babies make errors when trying to remember where an object is hidden and revert to where they last remember the object being not at the current location. Smith, Thelen, and colleagues believe it is more of a dynamic systems approach, than an error of stage IV of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development which is titled the object concept. Smith and colleagues believe that the error in the task mentioned above wasn t specific to a certain developmental stage. Smith and colleagues†¦show more content†¦Following a ten second interruption, the child is permitted to hunt for the toy and naturally does so correctly. After many hide and seek games for the same object at location A, it is buried at another location-location B. Babies ages eight to ten months generally returned to search for the object at location A when it had just been hidden at the new location. Thi s error is defined by Piaget as stage 4 which is development of the object concept. This fault shows not only important progress made in stage 4 of development but, also a problem in linking up object representation to the child’s prior knowledge of location. Psychologist have revealed many different explanations for this result. Examples of this are in terms of the egocentric representation of space (e.g., Acredolo, 1985; Bremner, 1978; BremnerBryant, 1977), the immaturity of the prefrontal cortex (e.g., Diamond, 1990a, 1990b; DiamondGoldman-Rakic, 1989), and the fragility of object memory (e.g., Munakata, 1998; Munakata, McClelland, Johnson, Siegler, 1997), and others. All of these studies share the commonality that this error results in the baby’s brain at a specific point in development. Smith and colleagues find justification of the error through multiple processes that result in self motivated actions, like reaching for an object at a familiar location thr oughout development; error is not specific to a set time in