Copy_of_Lesson_1_-_Cognitive_Development_-_Piaget_s_Theory

Chapter 6: Cognitive Developmental Approaches

• Focus on individuals actively constructing their thinking.

• Emphasis on how thinking evolves across developmental stages

Objectives

• Understand Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development.

Cognitive Developmental Approaches

• Highlights how individuals construct thinking.

• Introduces the developmental approach of Jean Piaget.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Three Basic Assumptions

1. Children are like scientists: they generate hypotheses, conduct experiments, and draw conclusions.

2. Children learn important lessons independently, without relying heavily on adult instruction.

3. Learning is intrinsically motivated; children do not require external rewards.

Cognitive Organization as Children Age

• Children strive to organize experiences to understand their world better.

Organizing Experiences

• Schemes: Organized patterns of behavior or mental representations that structure knowledge.

Disequilibrium and Equilibrium

• Children experience disequilibrium when existing schemes do not align with new experiences.

• To restore equilibrium, children must assimilate and accommodate.

Maintaining Equilibrium

• Assimilation: Understanding new experiences in terms of existing cognitive structures.

  • Example: A baby uses the grasping scheme to grasp different objects, extending its understanding.

• Accommodation: Modifying existing schemes based on new experiences.

  • Example: A toddler creates a new scheme for round objects after learning that balls roll, whereas blocks do not.

Knowledge Development Stages

Piagetian Approach

• Children pass through four universal stages in a fixed order:

  1. Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years)

  2. Preoperational (2 to 7 years)

  3. Concrete Operational (7 to 12 years)

  4. Formal Operational (12 years and beyond)

Stage Transitions

• Movement from one stage to the next occurs with appropriate maturation and relevant experiences.

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 Years)

Substages of Sensorimotor Development

1. Simple Reflexes (Birth to 1 month): Infants primarily use reflexes for interaction.

2. First Habits and Primary Circular Reactions (1 to 4 months): Infants coordinate separate actions.

3. Secondary Circular Reactions (4 to 8 months): Major cognitive advancements; infants act on the outside world.

4. Coordination of Secondary Reactions (8 to 12 months): Infants exhibit goal-directed behavior.

5. Tertiary Circular Reactions (12 to 18 months): Active experimentation; infants explore varied outcomes.

6. Beginnings of Thought (18 months to 2 years): Initiation of symbolic thought and mental representation.

Major Advancement: Object Permanence

• Understanding that objects continue to exist even when not seen.

Evidence of Object Permanence

• Infants show surprise and search behavior when an object disappears — indicating object permanence.

Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years)

Characteristics of Preoperational Thinking

• Represents experiences through language and imagery.

• Limitations include:

  • Egocentrism: Difficulty in seeing perspectives other than their own.

  • Animism: Attribution of life to inanimate objects.

  • Centration: Focus on one aspect of a situation while neglecting others.

  • Lack of Conservation: Difficulty understanding quantity changes.

  • Transductive Reasoning: Jumping between topics without logical connections.

Egocentrism Examples

• A child believes that if they cannot see someone, they cannot be seen.

Animism Examples

• Beliefs such as clouds crying or inanimate objects behaving with intention.

Centration and Conservation Tasks

• Children perceive only one dimension of a situation, like length or volume, leading to misconceptions about quantity.

Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 12 Years)

Characteristics

• Capable of logical reasoning about concrete objects/events; can solve conservation tasks.

• No longer egocentric; understand appearances versus reality.

Skills Developed

• Understanding of reversibility and reciprocity in situations.

• Classification and organization skills improve significantly.

Formal Operational Stage (12 Years and Beyond)

Characteristics

• Ability to think abstractly and hypothetically.

• Capable of deductive reasoning; can reason about possibilities beyond concrete examples.

Examples of Responses to Hypothetical Situations

• Responses to questions, such as where to place an additional eye, vary between concrete and formal operational thinkers.

Critiques of Piaget's Approach

1. Children’s thinking appears less consistent than the stage model suggests.

2. Infants may be more cognitively competent than Piaget acknowledged.

3. Underestimates the influence of the social world on cognitive development.

4. Vague about cognitive processes leading to thought and cognitive growth.