The Role of the Interconnection between Global and Domain-Specific Processes and Universally Available Experience in Children’s Cognitive Development

Cognitive development, a major aspect of child development, includes memory, perception, language, information processing, and thinking. Both brain development and the  social world play significant roles in cognitive development. The child needs to adapt to the environment in which he lives in order to continue his life. Although brain at birth is already somewhat adapted to the environment, additional experience enhances adaptation to specific circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to discuss two questions related to cognitive development in children; one is, does cognitive development include global and domain-specific processes, and the other is whether universally available experience is sufficient for cognitive development? Understanding the interconnection between global and domain-specific processes and the impact of social environment in cognitive development can help parents and teachers to encourage children to improve different aspects of cognition and to guide them to achieve learning gains.

Keywords –childhood, cognitive development, the importance of experience, social environment