A Brief Introduction to Piaget’s Theory

A Brief Introduction to Piaget’s Theory

Prof. Jack BauerUniversity of Dayton

Prof. Jack BauerUniversity of Dayton

First Things to KnowFirst Things to Know• One of 20th century’s most influential

theorists in the sciences & beyond• Piaget’s interests:

• Knowledge (epistemology)• Knowledge is a system of mental representations

• Dev’t of knowledge (“genetic epistem.”)

• Not to be confused with David Letterman

• One of 20th century’s most influential theorists in the sciences & beyond

• Piaget’s interests: • Knowledge (epistemology)

• Knowledge is a system of mental representations

• Dev’t of knowledge (“genetic epistem.”)

• Not to be confused with David Letterman

What Knowledge DoesWhat Knowledge Does

• Organization: Brings order to experience

• Adaptation: Helps to interact with and adjust to the world• Assimilation: Compare & contrast one’s past knowledge to new info• Accommodtion: Reconstruct one’s past knowledge to incorporate new info

• Organization: Brings order to experience

• Adaptation: Helps to interact with and adjust to the world• Assimilation: Compare & contrast one’s past knowledge to new info• Accommodtion: Reconstruct one’s past knowledge to incorporate new info

How Knowledge DevelopsHow Knowledge Develops• Knowledge emerges from action• Child actively constructs knowledge

– Not “absorbs” it

• Cog. abilities develop progressively• What is cognitive development?

– Increasing capacity to differentiate & integrate information

– Increasing capacity to generate knowledge

• Knowledge emerges from action• Child actively constructs knowledge

– Not “absorbs” it

• Cog. abilities develop progressively• What is cognitive development?

– Increasing capacity to differentiate & integrate information

– Increasing capacity to generate knowledge

Overview of Four StagesOverview of Four Stages• Sensorimotor Stage

• Born with reflexes, not thoughts• Actions & perception get more complex• Traces of memory become more permanent

• Preoperational Stage• Simple knowledge (what things are)• Fuzzy or sporadic logic

• Concrete Operations Stage• Logical reasoning for observable world

• Formal Operations Stage• Logical reasoning for abstract world• Complex possibilities, underlying motives

• Sensorimotor Stage• Born with reflexes, not thoughts• Actions & perception get more complex• Traces of memory become more permanent

• Preoperational Stage• Simple knowledge (what things are)• Fuzzy or sporadic logic

• Concrete Operations Stage• Logical reasoning for observable world

• Formal Operations Stage• Logical reasoning for abstract world• Complex possibilities, underlying motives

Sensorimotor StageSensorimotor Stage• Start w/ reflex motions (not thoughts!) • With experience, those motions come under

control & are combined with different stimuli • Then planned actions in present moment• Gradual acquisition of object knowledge

• i.e., knowledge/memory that things exist• More familiar things 1st, then less familiar

• Object permanence in 2nd year of life• Mental representations formed routinely for all things

• Overall: Traces of procedural “knowledge” build into enduring mental representations

• Start w/ reflex motions (not thoughts!) • With experience, those motions come under

control & are combined with different stimuli • Then planned actions in present moment• Gradual acquisition of object knowledge

• i.e., knowledge/memory that things exist• More familiar things 1st, then less familiar

• Object permanence in 2nd year of life• Mental representations formed routinely for all things

• Overall: Traces of procedural “knowledge” build into enduring mental representations

Preoperational StagePreoperational Stage

• Roughly ages 2-7 (more at: pre-school years)

• Child knows what things are but has limited logic for how they operate• e.g., “fantasy play” w/ toys & story characters

• Egocentrism: Limited perspective-taking • Stage ends with conservation

• General understanding that things can change form but still be the same thing

• Roughly ages 2-7 (more at: pre-school years)

• Child knows what things are but has limited logic for how they operate• e.g., “fantasy play” w/ toys & story characters

• Egocentrism: Limited perspective-taking • Stage ends with conservation

• General understanding that things can change form but still be the same thing

Concrete Operations StageConcrete Operations Stage

• Roughly ages 7-12 (grade-school years)• Child can reason logically about the

concrete (i.e., observable) world• Interested in how things, people etc. work• Classifies everything into categories, rules, roles

• Stage ends when child generally thinks logically about the abstract world also

• Roughly ages 7-12 (grade-school years)• Child can reason logically about the

concrete (i.e., observable) world• Interested in how things, people etc. work• Classifies everything into categories, rules, roles

• Stage ends when child generally thinks logically about the abstract world also

Formal Operations StageFormal Operations Stage

• Roughly ages 12 on up• Can think about complex possibilities &

alternatives• Hypothetical/deductive reasoning

• Can ask “if...then...” about abstract things, like:

• variables• complexities of relationships• underlying values and ideologies• self in the distant future

• Roughly ages 12 on up• Can think about complex possibilities &

alternatives• Hypothetical/deductive reasoning

• Can ask “if...then...” about abstract things, like:

• variables• complexities of relationships• underlying values and ideologies• self in the distant future

Discontinuous Stages?Discontinuous Stages?

• This is how Piaget’s theory is often characterized by people who aren’t specialists in Piaget

• This is how Piaget’s theory is often characterized by people who aren’t specialists in Piaget

Sen-mot

Pre-op

Con-op

Form-op

Not-So-Discontinuous Stages Not-So-Discontinuous Stages

Sen-mot

Pre-op

Con-op

Form-op

• This is closer to how Piaget described his own stages—with substages

• This is closer to how Piaget described his own stages—with substages

Continuous StagesContinuous Stages

Sen-mot

Pre-op

Con-op

Form-op

• The line represents purely gradual/continous dev’t• The ovals represent points along the line where

functioning starts to look different than before

• The line represents purely gradual/continous dev’t• The ovals represent points along the line where

functioning starts to look different than before

Stages: Continuity & DiscontinuityStages: Continuity & Discontinuity

Sen-mot

Pre-op

Con-op

Form-op

• This is how I tend to think of Piaget: Gradually increasing capacities to differentiate and integrate yield qualitatively advanced capacities to think

• This is how I tend to think of Piaget: Gradually increasing capacities to differentiate and integrate yield qualitatively advanced capacities to think

Final Notes on PiagetFinal Notes on Piaget

• Focus on sequence of stages, not age• Especially for personality development in adulthood

• Dev’t to next stage is indicated by routine functioning of the next stage’s abilities, not by the first signs of it

• Dev’t is not about how much info one has• Rather, it’s about how complexly and integratively one knows

• Focus on sequence of stages, not age• Especially for personality development in adulthood

• Dev’t to next stage is indicated by routine functioning of the next stage’s abilities, not by the first signs of it

• Dev’t is not about how much info one has• Rather, it’s about how complexly and integratively one knows