Cognitive Development in Infancy and Childhood: Piaget’s Cognitive Stages

Do Kids think differently than adults? Question to ponder Do Kids think differently than adults? Do freshmen think differently than Seniors?

Children think differently than adults Cognition All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering Children think differently than adults

Jean Piaget (pee-ah-ZHAY) Developmental psychologist who introduced a stage theory of cognitive development

Stage 1- Sensorimotor Stage From birth to about age two Child gathers information about the world through senses and motor functions Child learns object permanence

“Out of sight, out of mind” Object Permanence The awareness that things continue to exist even when they cannot be sensed “Out of sight, out of mind”

Object Permanence

Stage 2- Preoperational Stage From about age 2 to age 6 or 7 Children can understand language but not logic Fantasy Play

Preoperational Symbolic functioning – is that a child uses to represent something that is not physically present like the use of mental symbols, words, or pictures

Preoperational - Egocentrism The child’s inability to take another person’s point of view Includes a child’s ability to understand that symbols can represent other objects

Stage 3- Concrete Operational Stage From about age 7 to 11 Child learns to think logically and understands conservation Present oriented

Concrete operational Decentering – this is where a child considers all aspects of a problem to solve it Elimination of egocentrism – kids can begin to see the others point of view

Conservation An understanding that certain properties remain constant despite changes in their form The properties can include mass, volume, and numbers.

Conservation

Conservation

Conservation

Types of Conservation Tasks

Stage 4- Formal Operational Stage Child can think logically and in the abstract About age 12 on up Can solve hypothetical problems (What if…. problems)

Assessing Piaget’s Theory Piaget underestimated the child’s ability at various ages. Children can comprehend, but may not be able to report the information Piaget’s theory doesn’t take into account culture and social differences.