Cognitive Theory of Development Quiz and Stages

Cognition

Mental processes by which knowledge is acquired, elaborated, stored, and retrieved, and used to solve problems.

Cognitive development

Changes that occur in humans' mental skills and abilities over time.

Schemas

Represent the way people organize and understand things around them.

Basic Tendencies of Thinking by Jean Piaget

Organisation, schemes, adaptation, equilibration.

Organization in Cognitive Theory

People are born with the tendency to organize thinking processes into psychological structures.

Development of Simple Structures

Simple structures are continually combined and coordinated to become more effective.

Schemes

The way people organize and understand the things around them.

Adaptation

People also have the tendency to adapt to their environment.

Assimilation

Using existing schemes to make sense of events in the world.

Understanding New Things through Assimilation

Trying to understand new things by fitting into what we already know.

Accommodation

Change of existing schemes to respond to a new situation.

Change Required by Accommodation

Adjustment of thinking rather than adjustment of information.

Equilibration

The process of balancing assimilation and accommodation.

Imbalance from Assimilation and Accommodation

Imbalance - disequilibrium /ation.

Disequilibrium

It is a state that oc­curs when a person realizes that his or her current ways of thinking are not working to solve a problem or un­derstand a situation.”