Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development

8/7/2019 Jean Piagets Stage Theory of Cognitive Development

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` Jean Piaget believed that children pass through a series

offour qualitatively different stages of cognitive

development from infancy to adulthood.

` Each of these stages is broken down into substages as

well.

` Also we have processes of cognitive development in

Piagets theory.

` (processes meaning characteristics of the childs mindthat cause cognitive abilities to change)


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` According to Piaget each person strives to make

sense out of the experiences that life provides.

` We do so by organizing the world into concepts, or

schemas.

` These schemas give the person a general way of

categorizing perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors

that simplifies the worlds complexities.

` (An example of an early schema is sucking)


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` The processes of Cognitive Development are:

` 1.Assimilation the process of adding new

information to existing schemas.

` E.g. an infant discovering that his/her thumb canbe included in the schema of suckable objects, he

is assimilating new information into an existing

schema.


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` 2. Equilibrium :A state of balance when the

knowledge of a child fits existing schemas.

(as long as the child is able to deal with all newexperiences by incorporating them into existing

schemas, he is in a comfortable state of balance).


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` Accomodation: The process of adding new information

that forces a child to modify existing schemas.

` For example, the childs initial sucking schema might

classify all objects as things that can be sucked.

Parents are very careful to keep objects that are not safe

to suck out of the reach of infants, so the child does notinitially come into contact with anything that is not

pleasurable to suck. Later on the child will try to suck

teddy bears or shoes coated in this way he/she will

discover that his schema must be accommodated- to fit

this new information.


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` Four stages of Cognitive Development

` First stage: Sensorimotor Stage Lasts from birth until about two years of age

Babies learn through their senses and actions duringthis stage.

Babies are completely egocentric.

During the sensorimotor period a baby learns the

important concept ofobject performance.


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` lasts from about the age of two to seven.

` Children think about everything in terms of their

own activities and what they see and hear at themoment.

` The name of this stage comes from the fact that

the child cannot perform logical mental operations.


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` Other ways in which the cognition of the

preoperational child is distinct is:

x The young childs thought is egocentric or self-centered.

(not meaning that the child is selfish but that the child is simply

not able to understand that she/he is not the center of the

universe)

For example: egocentrism leads young children to believe that

inanimate objects are alive, just as they are (known as

animism).

At this time it is difficult for the child to distinguish real fromimaginary.


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` Children also begin to understand abstract terms

like love and beauty.

` Problems are solved by pretending or imitating

rather than thinking them through.


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` Learning stage from seven to eleven years.

` The stage that marks the beginning of the stage is

the increased ability to reason logically.

` Childs thinking becomes less egocentric, more

logical and more complex.


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` The child still cannot fully understand or reason

with abstract concepts ( justice, infinity or themeaning of life; however the child can deal with

concrete concepts such as: animals, pollution etc.

` Children can understand that pouring water fromone container to another does not change the

amount.

` Children also learn to classify objects into

categories.


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` Begins at age eleven and continues throughoutadulthood.

` Children become capable of abstract thinking.

(they can think about what might happen or whatmight have been the cause without really

experiencing it).

` This stage allows problem solving just by thinking.


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` Such abstract thinking allows adolescents to make

more realistic future plans and goals.

` Adolescents also form ideals and understanddouble meanings.

` They do not automatically accept everything that

is said or read but think things through criticallyfirst.


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` To summarize Piaget has shown that adult

intelligence has its origins in infancy.

` However his work also shows that attempts toimpose adult ideas on children are bound to fail.

Why?

` older children can learn through using words

and numbers to represent ideas.


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` The Developing Child Bk. By Holly Brisbane

` 1988, Published by Mc Graw Hill pgs 210-214

` Psychology Bk. An Introduction by BenjaminLahey 1989, Published by C.Brown Publishers,

pgs 301-304

`

Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development

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