Cognitive Development: The Stage Theory of Jean Piaget

Overview Jean Piaget (1896—1980) 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 Schema—cognitive “framework” or category Example: A child has a schema for dog, which includes a Golden Retriever Assimilation—incorporating new information into existing schemas Example: Child encounters a new dog—Dalmation—and classifies it in the same schema as the Golden Retriever

Definitions Continued… Accommodation—refers 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 Equilibration—driving mechanism of cognitive development Balances schemas to fit the needs of the environment

Stage One: Sensorimotor Birth—2 Years Old Children up to eight months old do not have a sense of object permanence—the 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 Thought—well-formed mental representations Mental images of toys or objects Usually develops between 18 months and 24 months of age Example of Object Permanence: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjBh9ld_yIo Generally enter Preoperational Stage at age 2 years

Stage Two: Preoperational Age 2- 7 years Further development of mental representations Communication progresses Children are egocentric—self-centered and incapable to taking another person’s point of view A child may cover their eyes and believe they are invisible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OinqFgsIbh0&feature=related

Stage Three: Concrete Operational Usually occurs between age 7 and 12 Children begin to develop the concepts of conservation and reversibility Conservation—child recognizes that despite a change in physical appearance, the amount of an object is constant Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLj0IZFLKvg

Concrete Operational Continued… Reversibility—ability 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

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