A2 - Intellecutal Development Across The Life Stages

Jean Piaget

Psychologist famous for his work on child development and his theory on cognitive development.

Schemas

Different categories of learning that we use to understand the world around us. Building blocks of knowledge.

Assimilation

Where we change new information to fit into a schema

Accommodation

Changing an existing schema, or building a new one, when information does not fit.

Example Of Assimilation

When a child learns the word dog, they might call all four-legged animals dogs even horses

Examples Of Accommodation

When an adult tells them that this is a dog and differentiate between a dog and all four-legged animals

Conservation

Understanding that quantity can stay the same when appearance changes

Object Permanence

Objects still exist when they leave the room

Object Representation

Drawing of themselves and families

Egocentric

Thinking about yourself and being unable to understand or consider other people’s viewpoints

What Are The Four Different Stages Of Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor

2. Preoperational

3. Concrete Operational

4. Formal Operational

What Is the Age Range For Sensorimotor Stage

0 - 2

What Is The Age Range For The Preoperational Stage

2 - 7

What Is The Age Range For The Concrete Operational

7 - 11

What Is The Age Range For The Formal Operational Stage

12+

What Are The Properties Of The Sensorimotor Stage

→ Infants learns through senses and movement
→ They repeat actions and explore cause-and-effect
→ Object permanence develops
→ Schemas are built from repeated experiences

What Are The Properties Of The Preoperational Stage

→ They learn through role play
→ Language and symbolic play expand rapidly
→ Egocentrism makes another person’s viewpoint harder to understand → They develop object representation

What Are The Properties Of The Concrete Operational Stage

→ Logical thinking improves when dealing with real or familiar objects / situations
→ Conservation is usually understood
→ Classification and ordering skills improve
→ Children are better able to consider more than one feature at a time

What Are The Properties Of The Formal Operational Stage

→ Abstract and hypothetical thinking becomes possible
→ Young people can consider “what if?” questions and competing explanations
→ Planning, systematic problem solving and moral reasoning can become more complex
→ Not every person uses formal reasoning equally in every context

What Are Some Strengths For Piaget’s Theory

→ Shows that children’s thinking changes qualitatively with age
→ Generated influential evidence about schemas, conservation and logical reasoning
→ Useful for planning age-appropriate learning and active discovery
→ Recognizes children as active learners rather than passive recipients

What Are Some Limitations For Piaget’s Theory

→ Stage ages are approximate and development may be less rigid
→ Some tasks may underestimate children if language / instructions are difficult
→ Social interaction, culture and teaching can influence performance
→ Different cognitive abilities may develop at different rates
→ Only 3 children used in the experiment so small sample that did not represent the population