HD 1.1a Cognitive Development - Piaget

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Cognitive development includes transformations in a child’s

thought, language, and intelligence

Piaget’s theory proposes that cognitive development begins with, and that development is a result of a child’s innate ability

to adapt to the environment

Piaget’s theory proposes that cognitive development is a result of the child’s interface with

the physical world, social experiences, and physical maturation.

4 stages of Piaget’s cognitive development

1. Sensorimotor

2. Preoperational

3. Concrete operations

4. Formal Operations

Conservation is a conceptual tool that allows a child to recognize that

when altering the appearance of an object, the basic properties do not change.

When the child’s response is

“The row on top has more buttons”

This is an example of

Lack of conservation skills in concept of numbers

When the child’s response is

“The one on the bottom is longer.”

This is an example of

Lack of conservation skills in concept of length

(the same amounts of juice are poured into two

different glasses)

When the child’s response is

“The taller glass has more juice.”

This is an example of

Lack of conservation skills in concept of liquid

(rolling one ball of clay into a log)

When the child’s response is

“The log has more clay.”

This is an example of

Lack of conservation skills in concept of matter

Two fundamental cognitive concepts of adaptations in Piaget’s stages of development are

Assimilation, accommodation

Assimilation

When children fit new knowledge into template of existing schemes

Preschool calls a lion “doggie” because child only knows one type of four-legged animals

Example of assimilation

Accommodation

When children take existing schemes and adjust them to fit their experience

A preschool child plays the keys on piano to hear different sounds of musical notes. On electric keyboard, learned that keyboard must be turned on before it can be played. Child learned to accommodate this new info to fit the experience.

Example of accommodation

Stage 1 of Piaget’s Cognitive Development is called

Sensorimotor period: infancy

Stage 1 Age

Birth through 2 years

Stage 1 Characteristics

Egocentrism, sensorimotor, object permanence

Sensorimotor

As a baby, you experience the world through touch (sensory) and physical actions (motor)

Object exists even when not visible

Object permanence

Stage 2 of Piaget’s Cognitive Development is called

Preoperational period: Early childhood

During stage 2 of Piaget’s Cognitive Development, children’s logic is based on

Their own personal knowledge of the world so far

Stage 2 Age

2 - 7 yo

Stage 2 Characteristics for 2-4 years old (Logic and Reasoning)

Causal reasoning - own thoughts cause action

Transductive reasoning - reason from specific to specific

Struggles with centration - can only focus on one piece of info / time

Egocentric

not to be able to take the perspective of others, and instead the child thinks that everyone sees, thinks, and feels just as they do

Ten year-old Keiko’s birthday is coming up, so her mom takes 3 year-old Kenny to the toy store to choose a present for his sister. He selects an Iron Man action figure for her, thinking that if he likes the toy, his sister will too.

Example of egocentrism in preoperational

Centration

preoperational, can only focus on one piece of info at a time

Causal reasoning

preoperational, child believes his thoughts can cause an action

Symbolic thought

preoperational, think in images and symbols

Stage 2 Characteristics for 5-7 years old
Personal and social perception
Thinking (2)
Language (2)

No longer egocentric, intuitive and representational thought, fast-mapping, drastic language development

5-7 year-olds are more curious, creative and cognitively developed through their _____ and _____ thought

Intuitive, representational thought

Intuitive thought

Preoperational, learn about the world by asking lots of why questions

Representational thought

Preoperational, make their own representations of objects (ex: using hands as phones)

Fast mapping

Concrete operation, using context to determine meaning of words

Stage 3 of Piaget’s Cognitive Development is called

Concrete operations Period: Middle childhood

Stage 3 Age

7 - 11 yo

Stage 3 Characteristics (Logic and Reasoning)

Concrete - use logic to solve problems in physical world

Metacognition

Stage 3 Characteristics (Thinking about Objects)

Mastered conservation

Can categorize (classification) and arrange objs (seriation)

Understand reversibility, transitivity

Classification

concrete operational, classify and divide objects in sets

Seriation

concrete operational, arrange objects in logical progression

A child arranges sticks in order from smallest to largest.

Example of seriation

Transitivity

concrete operational, drawing conclusions about 2 objects, knowing the third obj

Stage 4 of Piaget’s Cognitive Development is called

Formal operations period: Adolescence

Stage 4 Age

12 yo - adult

Stage 4 Characteristics (Types of Reasoning)

Abstract, hypothetical-deductive, logical, moral

A state of balance; Development is motivated by the search for a stable balance toward effective adaptations.

Equilibrium

Children make errors in their thinking because they cannot understand that an operation moves in more than one direction and original state can be recovered

Irreversibility

If Emma plays with a ball of clay, she believes that the clay must always be in this same form to remain the same amount. When a classmate plays with the clay and gives it back as a long, narrow piece, Emma thinks she’s getting back less.

Example of irreversibility

the ability to form ideas about “what might be.”

Hypothetical-deductive reasoning

Tommy makes a general observation that short students are not selected for the school basketball team. Since Tommy is short, he deduces that he will not be selected.

Example of hypothetical-deductive reasoning

Drawing conclusions from specific examples to make a general conclusion, even when the conclusion is not accurate (concrete operations).

Inductive reasoning

All of the balls on the school playground are round. By developing a mental schema, a child may reason that all balls are round. This would be an inaccurate conclusion since a football is not round.

Example of inductive reasoning (concrete operation)

When a child fails to understand the true relationships between cause and effect

Transductive reasoning

Bill was mean to his little sister. His sister got sick. Bill reasoned that he made his sister sick.

Example of transductive reasoning

The child uses words and images (symbols) to form mental representations to remember objects without the objects being physically present.

Symbolic Function Substage

A child’s dog is lost, so the child scribbles a picture of the dog; or the child pretends that a stuffed animal is the missing dog.

Example of symbolic function substage

Educational Implications of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development (Children as learners)

Children are NOT passive learners, they actively move through operational stages

Educational Implications of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development (Testing)

He quantified the conceptual learning process → children’s cognitive milestones are predictable and orderly and can be tested

Educational Implications of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development (Children’s mind seeks)

State of equilibrium, each stage they form new ways to operate and adapt

Educational Implications of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development (Teaching)

Teachers can avoid presenting materials that is beyond the child’s cognitive ability