Cognitive Development: The Stage Theory of Jean Piaget Overview Jean Piaget (18961980) Swiss psychologist
Believed child to be active explorer of his environment child scientist Developed one of the most influential theories of cognitive development to date Background of the Theory
Proposed that children put new information into schemas through assimilation or accommodation Divided cognitive development into four stages: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational Definitions Schemacognitive framework or category
Example: A child has a schema for dog, which includes a Golden Retriever Assimilationincorporating new information into existing schemas Example: Child encounters a new dogDalmationand classifies it in the same schema as the Golden Retriever Definitions Continued
Accommodationrefers to the process of creating new schemas to fit new information Child sees a horse for the first time Does not fit into existing schemas Must create new schema for Horse Equilibrationdriving mechanism of cognitive development Balances schemas to fit the needs of the environment Stage One: Sensorimotor
Birth2 Years Old Children up to eight months old do not have a sense of object permanencethe concept that an object continues to exist even when it is out of sight Children learn primarily through senses and play Sensorimotor Stage Continued
Develop Representational Thoughtwell-formed mental representations Mental images of toys or objects Usually develops between 18 months and 24 months of age Example of Object Permanence: Generally enter Preoperational Stage at age 2 years Stage Two: Preoperational
Age 2- 7 years Further development of mental representations Communication progresses Children are egocentricself-centered and incapable to taking another persons point of view A child may cover their eyes and believe they are invisible Stage Three: Concrete Operational
Usually occurs between age 7 and 12 Children begin to develop the concepts of conservation and reversibility Conservationchild recognizes that despite a change in physical appearance, the amount of an object is constant Example: Concrete Operational Continued
Reversibilityability of a child to reverse a physical operation Example:A child can see that the amount of water remains constant if you pour it into a different size glass, and then pour it back in the original glass Children at this stage can think logically, but they are limited in abstract thinking Stage Four: Formal Operational
Fourth and final stage Usually occurs around age 12 and beyond Children develop the ability to think abstractly about hypothetical concepts The End The End