ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an updated overview of the basic landmarks of cognitive development during early childhood. First, the so-called classical theories, which marked the beginning of the scientific study of cognitive development, are presented. The contributions made by Piaget’s genetic epistemology and Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theory are explored and the historical origins of developmental scales are expounded. Finally, the section will outline the most important contributions made by information processing theories. The second section analyses the early progress of basic cognitive processes as prerequisites for developing higher-level cognitive functions. The third section pays special attention to executive functions and their cross-cutting nature in the cognitive, emotional and behavioural self-regulation domains. The fourth section analyses the development of language and theory of mind, which, while sharing common areas, nevertheless develop differently. The fifth section presents and discusses the implications of all the previous findings for preventive-educational interventions focusing on cognitive development and its optimisation within different development contexts.
