cognitive development: the stage theory of jean piaget
DESCRIPTION
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 dateTRANSCRIPT
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