Oakton Community College Psychology Essay
Description
Assignment 4: Toys for Cognitive Development
As a parent, friends, or family members of young children, we are often in the position of buying,
playing with, and recommending toys. Many toys are “just for fun,” but increasingly there are
also toys that have educational claims made about them. Some of these claims are directly
backed by research – studies that show that using the toy affects children’s knowledge or
cognition – but that’s rare. More often, toys are “inspired by” research and claim (without review
by scientists) that they enhance – or at least target – particular aspects of children’s cognitive
development.
To Do:
• Your job in this assignment is to find a toy that makes a strong claim with respect to
supporting cognitive development. In regular times, I would have you visit a toy store in
person. But given Covid-19, you should “visit” some of the countless online toy retailers.
o Does the claim fit in with theories or results we’ve discussed in class?
o Is there research that would back the claim?
o Is there a study that would help test the claim directly? If so, describe the design of
the study (making sure to highlight what the manipulation and measure are).
o Please adequately describe the claim and toy (include a photo of the toy if possible).
Guidelines:
• Reflections should be approximately two pages (double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman, 1-
inch margins)
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