Theory of cognitive development

Jean Piaget’s theory

recognised that children’s cognition differs to that of adults and that as children mature, their intellectual skills change

schemata

experiences of the world organised as mental structures

schemata in infant

Piaget believed that infants aare born with few schemata based on innate reflexes like sucking and rooting. soon after birth, infants start to develop schemata based on the interaction between sense and motor skills, and schemata utilises cognitive skills.

cognitive development involves

the growth and interrelating of schemata that occurs through the processes of assimilation and accomodation

assimilation

integrating new information into existing schemata without the schemata being altered

most new info an individual is exposed to can be dealt with using process of assimilation alone.

gathered through interacting with world, individuals are kept in a state of balance of equilibrium

no cognitive changes occur because schemata has not been altered

but, wh

accomodation

changing existing schemata to integrate new info or the creation of a new schema when integration is not possible

how is new info exposure deat with?

most new info an individual is exposed to can be dealt with using process of assimilation alone.

gathered through interacting with world, individuals are kept in a state of balance of equilibrium

no cognitive changes occur because schemata has not been altered

but, when exposed to new info and unable to assimilate it into an existing schema, state of disequilibrium, mental imbalance is experienced

mismatch between prior knowledge and new info is instinctively dissatisfying.

to return to equilibrium state, process of accomodation “stretches” existing schemata by incorporating conflicting info or creates schema if info differs too greatly to be amalgamated.

this involves cognitive change

adaptation in Piaget’s terms

continual natural drive to seek equilibrium through assimilation and accomodation, causing intellectual growth

equillibrium

the state experienced when existing schemata (based on prior knowledge) can account for new information

disequillibrium

the state experienced when existing schemata are unable to account for new information

stages and developmental changes

Piaget suggested that children move through 4 stages and in order to pass from one stage to the next, they need to be physically mature and exposed to appropriate experiences

exposure allows to reach to full potential

each child regardless of culture passes through stages without going back, except due to brain damage

numerous accomplishments need to be made in order to move to the next stage

stages

sensorimotor

preoperational

concrete operational

formal operational

sensorimotor

0-2

fine and gross motor skills are used with a combination with the senses

accomplishment: object permanence

object permanence: understanding that an object still exists even if it cannot be touched or seen.

object permanence test

having child watch an object being covered with tea towel

if they lift it up to retrieve the object, they understand that it still exists even if it is not visible

testing object permanence with invisible displacement

extension of simple test previously described

child witnesses object being covered by container and then it being swapped with a second, empty container

child lifts cup covering object, they were able to track item and have accomplished advanced version of object permanence

pre-operational stage

2-7

children use symbols to represent ideas, such as through language, and engage in pretend place

symbolic thinking: the use of symbols such as words or objects to represent alternative concepts (e.g pretend cake with mud)

centration: the ability to only focus on one aspect of a situation at any given time, while disregarding the rest (child focusing on the number of biscuits she and her friend have but not the size of the biscuits)

seriation: the ability to arrange a colleciton of items or situations in a logical series

characteristics identified

• egocentrism: the inability to understand the perspective of another person

• animism: the belief that an inanimate object is alive and has feelings

testing centration

two rows of coins, both with. same number

ask if both rows have same number or if one has more or less

slide top row horizontally so they are further apart

ask again if both rows are qual. child in preop stage will tell u that top row has more, because they are unable to comprehend that number of coins has not changed just because they were moved further apart (conservation).

centration has prevented the child from focusing on one+ concept at a time. can only focus on space the coins in the row take up, assuming there must be more coins irrespective of the fact that none were added.

testing seriation

a child could be provided with collection of objects and asked to order them according to size,

testing egocentrism: three mountains task

child is shown model of mountain range consisting of one topped with snow, one with a hut on top, one with a cross on top. child is asked to walk around it and look at is closely

experimentor places a doll facing model in multiple locations, and for each location, child is shown ten pics of various views of model then asked to select the picture that shows how the doll would view it

child continually selects picture that matches their own views, then they are unable to consider viewpoint other than their own so they are egocentric

concrete operational

7-11

children begin to reason about mathematics and can perform concrete operations and start to grasp the concept of conservation

conservation: mass and volume remain unchanged when the form of an object is altered

how are centration and conservation related

children who focus their full attnetion on one aspect of a situation annd disregard the rest would find it difficult to grasp the notion that changing papearance of substance does not alter its basic properties

testing conservation of mass

while child is watching, make two ball sof plasticine of same size. asking if one ball is made of more or the same amount. role one into nsake shape and ask if either is made up of of more or the same

if they say they are the same, then they have accomplished conservation of mass

testing conservation of volume

while child is watching, pour the same amount of liquid into two short glasses of the same size

ask if one glass has more than the other or if thye have the same

pour one glass of liquid into a tall, skinny glass. ask child if one glass has more or the same

if the child says that skinny tall glass and short wide one has same, they have accomplished conservation of volume

formal operational stage

11+ years

children begin to make predictions by reasoning out what might occur, as well as imagining hypothetical possibilities

abstract thinking: using the mind to visualise and consider complex concepts that are not tangible.

testing abstract thinking

test demonstration of logical reasoning

tasked with working out which of the followign causes a penendulum to swing at different rates: mass hanging from string, legnth of string, or height at which is released

when child selected deendent variable and can use abstract thinking to hypothesise what will occur when alt indepenent variables are systematically tested one at a time, then abstract logical reasoning has been demonstrated.

strengths of theory

providing understanding of difference between way child and adults learn helped shaped education

education tends to be based on cognitive developmental stages, so more suitable catering to developmental needs

great deal of cognitive developemtn research has since taken place, largely inspired by Piaget’s findings

Limitations

criticised language in tasks, statign that the repetivie questions beign asked by experiemnter may caus children to wonder why they are being asked the question over and over fi the answer has not changed

does not give feedback to child as to wehther they responded appropriately. child assumes first response is incorrect and changes it to please experimenter, so cognitive competence is underestimated due to social pressure

sample of children used to develop 4 stages were his own three children and children of his collegues, all of which were well educated and of high socioeconomic status. results cant be generalised

Applications of theory

can be applied to childrens education regarding learning strageies and educational programs

measurement of individual student understanding as oppposed to measiring student performance as a part of combined peer group taks is an example of Piaget’s influence of education