1 3: Cognitive Development - Piaget Outline –What is cognition? –Piaget’s Theory Overview Features of the theory Sensorimotor stage Preoperational stage Concrete operations stage Formal operations stage –Problems with the theory –Learning Outcomes

2 What is cognition? Virtually everything we do involves thinking or cognitive functioning –Recalling a phone number –Remembering a list –Following directions –Reading your watch (how much time until…?) How do children become able to do all these things? Why are some better at some tasks? Why are some quicker to develop?

3 Overview of Piaget’s theory Very influential Stage theory –1) Sensorimotor stage 0-2 years –2) Preoperational stage 2-7 years –3) Concrete operational stage 7-11 years –4) Formal operation stage 11+ years Stages are invariant and universal

4 Features of Piaget’s theory genetic epistemology biological approach structuralism Mechanisms of development –Cognitive organisation –Cognitive adaptation Assimilation Accomodation –Cognitive equilibriation

5 Sensorimotor stage 6 substages: –Modification of reflexes (0-1 month) –Primary circular reactions (1-4 months) –Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months) –Coordination of secondary schemes (8-12 months) –Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months) –Mental combinations (18-24 months)

6 Trends in sensorimotor stage Rigidity  flexibility –Behaviour adapts to larger range of stimuli Isolation  coordination –Series of different actions can be performed on an object Reactivity  intentionality –Progression to planned behaviour Overt actions  mental representations –Objects and people are represented symbolically

7 Object permanence Objects are tied to infant’s awareness of them –“out of sight, out of mind” Hidden toy experiment –4 months: no attempt to search for hidden object –4-9 months: visual search for object –9 months: search for and retrieve hidden object A-not-B task (Diamond, 1985) –9 months: A/B error after 1/2 second delay –12 months: 10 second delay needed to produce error

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10 Preoperational stage Egocentrism –3 mountains Rigidity of thought –Cannot mentally reverse sequences Therefore no addition or subtraction Semilogical reasoning –Transductive reasoning “I haven’t had my nap so it isn’t afternoon” Limited social cognition –Lack of awareness of intentions in others

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12 Concrete operations stage Seriation –mentally arrange items along a dimension (e.g. height, weight, time or speed) Classification –Sort objects into groups –Class inclusion Number concepts –Numbers are arbitrary –Invariance of number Conservation

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14 Formal operations stage Reasoning about abstractions –Hypothetical and abstract notions Future ‘other worlds’ Applying logic –Deductive reasoning (“if … then…”) Advanced problem solving –Systematic Pendulum task

15 Problems with Piaget Did Piaget underestimate children’s abilities? –Object permanence in 3-month-olds (Bower, 1974) –Number conservation in 4 year olds (McGarrigle & Donaldson, 1974) Does development take place in stages? –Domain specficity vs. domain generality Perspective-taking –Perceptual –Affective –Cognitive

16 Problems with Piaget What about culture? –Piaget’s tasks are culturally biased –Schooling and literacy affect rates of development e.g. Greenfield’s study of the Wolof –Formal operational thinking is not universal e.g. Gladwin’s study of the Polynesian islanders

17 Learning outcomes Demonstrate an understanding of Piaget’s theory. Be familiar with the experiments carried out by Piaget Show an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the theory.

18 Reading Just about every book on developmental psychology has a section on Piaget. –e.g.: –Bee, H. (2000). The developing child. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Ch. 6 –Bukatko, D. & Daehler, M. W. (2001). Child development. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Ch. 8 –Dworetzky, J. P. (1996). An introduction to child development. St Paul, MN: West. Ch. 9. –Seifert, K. L., Hoffnung, R.J. & Hoffnung, M. (2000). Lifespan development. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. –Smith, P. K. & Cowie, H. (1992). Understanding children's development. Oxford: Blackwell