- Information
- AI Chat
Piaget - notes for psyc
Psycology 101 (psyc101)
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Preview text
Jean Piaget's Theory of
Cognitive Development
By Saul McLeod, published June 06, 2018
Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive development explains how a child
constructs a mental model of the world. He disagreed with the idea that
intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process
which occurs due to biological maturation and interaction with the
environment.
Piaget was employed at the Binet Institute in the 1920s, where his job was to
develop French versions of questions on English intelligence tests. He became
intrigued with the reasons children gave for their wrong answers to the
questions that required logical thinking. He believed that these incorrect
answers revealed important differences between the thinking of adults and
children.
Piaget (1936) was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive
development. His contributions include a stage theory of child cognitive
development, detailed observational studies of cognition in children, and a
series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities.
What Piaget wanted to do was not to measure how well children could count,
spell or solve problems as a way of grading their I. What he was more
interested in was the way in which fundamental concepts like the very idea
of number, time, quantity, causality, justice and so on emerged.
####### Before Piaget’s work, the common assumption in psychology was that children
####### are merely less competent thinkers than adults. Piaget showed that young
####### children think in strikingly different ways compared to adults.
####### According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure
####### (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and
####### knowledge are based.
Piaget's theory differs from others in
several ways:
####### The goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which
####### the infant, and then the child, develops into an individual who can reason and
####### think using hypotheses.
####### To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental
####### processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience.
####### Children construct an understanding of the world around them, then
####### experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they
####### discover in their environment.
####### 1. It is concerned with children, rather than all learners.
####### 2. It focuses on development, rather than learning per se, so it does not
####### address learning of information or specific behaviors.
####### 3. It proposes discrete stages of development, marked by qualitative
####### differences, rather than a gradual increase in number and complexity
####### of behaviors, concepts, ideas, etc.
"a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component
actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core
meaning."
####### In more simple terms Piaget called the schema the basic building block of
####### intelligent behavior – a way of organizing knowledge. Indeed, it is useful to
####### think of schemas as “units” of knowledge, each relating to one aspect of the
####### world, including objects, actions, and abstract (i., theoretical) concepts.
####### Wadsworth (2004) suggests that schemata (the plural of schema) be thought
####### of as 'index cards' filed in the brain, each one telling an individual how to react
####### to incoming stimuli or information.
####### When Piaget talked about the development of a person's mental processes, he
####### was referring to increases in the number and complexity of the schemata that
####### a person had learned.
####### When a child's existing schemas are capable of explaining what it can perceive
####### around it, it is said to be in a state of equilibrium, i., a state of cognitive (i.,
####### mental) balance.
####### Piaget emphasized the importance of schemas in cognitive development and
####### described how they were developed or acquired. A schema can be defined as a
####### set of linked mental representations of the world, which we use both to
####### understand and to respond to situations. The assumption is that we store
####### these mental representations and apply them when needed.
####### For example, a person might have a schema about buying a meal in a
####### restaurant. The schema is a stored form of the pattern of behavior which
####### includes looking at a menu, ordering food, eating it and paying the bill. This is
####### an example of a type of schema called a 'script.' Whenever they are in a
####### restaurant, they retrieve this schema from memory and apply it to the
####### situation.
####### The schemas Piaget described tend to be simpler than this - especially those
####### used by infants. He described how - as a child gets older - his or her schemas
####### become more numerous and elaborate.
####### Piaget believed that newborn babies have a small number of innate schemas -
####### even before they have had many opportunities to experience the world. These
####### neonatal schemas are the cognitive structures underlying innate reflexes.
####### These reflexes are genetically programmed into us.
####### For example, babies have a sucking reflex, which is triggered by something
####### touching the baby's lips. A baby will suck a nipple, a comforter (dummy), or a
####### person's finger. Piaget, therefore, assumed that the baby has a 'sucking
####### schema.'
####### Similarly, the grasping reflex which is elicited when something touches the
####### palm of a baby's hand, or the rooting reflex, in which a baby will turn its head
####### towards something which touches its cheek, are innate schemas. Shaking a
####### rattle would be the combination of two schemas, grasping and shaking.
####### Equilibration is the force which drives the learning process as we do not like to
####### be frustrated and will seek to restore balance by mastering the new challenge
####### (accommodation). Once the new information is acquired the process of
####### assimilation with the new schema will continue until the next time we need to
####### make an adjustment to it.
Example of Assimilation
####### A 2-year-old child sees a man who is bald on top of his head and has long
####### frizzy hair on the sides. To his father’s horror, the toddler shouts “Clown,
####### clown” (Siegler et al., 2003).
Example of Accommodation
####### In the “clown” incident, the boy’s father explained to his son that the man was
####### not a clown and that even though his hair was like a clown’s, he wasn’t wearing
####### a funny costume and wasn’t doing silly things to make people laugh.
####### With this new knowledge, the boy was able to change his schema of “clown”
####### and make this idea fit better to a standard concept of “clown”.
Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive
Development
####### Piaget proposed four stages of cognitive development which reflect the
####### increasing sophistication of children's thought:
1. Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2)
2. Preoperational stage (from age 2 to age 7)
3. Concrete operational stage (from age 7 to age 11)
4. Formal operational stage (age 11+ - adolescence and adulthood)
####### Each child goes through the stages in the same order, and child development
####### is determined by biological maturation and interaction with the environment.
####### Although no stage can be missed out, there are individual differences in the
####### rate at which children progress through stages, and some individuals may
####### never attain the later stages.
####### Piaget did not claim that a particular stage was reached at a certain age -
####### although descriptions of the stages often include an indication of the age at
####### which the average child would reach each stage.
Sensorimotor Stage (Birth-2 yrs)
Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)
####### The main achievement during this stage is object permanence - knowing
####### that an object still exists, even if it is hidden.
####### It requires the ability to form a mental representation (i., a schema) of the
####### object.
####### During this stage, young children can think about things symbolically. This
####### is the ability to make one thing - a word or an object - stand for something
####### other than itself.
####### Thinking is still egocentric, and the infant has difficulty taking the viewpoint
####### of others.
####### government in 1966 was based strongly on Piaget’s theory. The result of this
####### review led to the publication of the Plowden report (1967).
####### Discovery learning – the idea that children learn best through doing and
####### actively exploring - was seen as central to the transformation of the primary
####### school curriculum.
####### 'The report's recurring themes are individual learning, flexibility in the
####### curriculum, the centrality of play in children's learning, the use of the
####### environment, learning by discovery and the importance of the evaluation of
####### children's progress - teachers should 'not assume that only what is measurable
####### is valuable.'
####### Because Piaget's theory is based upon biological maturation and stages, the
####### notion of 'readiness' is important. Readiness concerns when certain
####### information or concepts should be taught. According to Piaget's theory
####### children should not be taught certain concepts until they have reached the
####### appropriate stage of cognitive development.
####### According to Piaget (1958), assimilation and accommodation require an active
####### learner, not a passive one, because problem-solving skills cannot be taught,
####### they must be discovered.
####### Within the classroom learning should be student-centered and accomplished
####### through active discovery learning. The role of the teacher is to facilitate
####### learning, rather than direct tuition. Therefore, teachers should encourage the
####### following within the classroom:
o Focus on the process of learning, rather than the end product of it.
o Using active methods that require rediscovering or reconstructing
"truths."
o Using collaborative, as well as individual activities (so children can
learn from each other).
o Devising situations that present useful problems, and create
disequilibrium in the child.
o Evaluate the level of the child's development so suitable tasks can
be set.
Critical Evaluation
Support
- The influence of Piaget’s ideas in developmental psychology has been
####### enormous. He changed how people viewed the child’s world and their
####### methods of studying children.
####### He was an inspiration to many who came after and took up his ideas.
####### Piaget's ideas have generated a huge amount of research which has
####### increased our understanding of cognitive development.
- His ideas have been of practical use in understanding and
####### communicating with children, particularly in the field of education (re:
####### Discovery Learning).
Criticisms
- Are the stages real? Vygotsky and Bruner would rather not talk about
####### stages at all, preferring to see development as a continuous process.
####### Others have queried the age ranges of the stages. Some studies have
####### shown that progress to the formal operational stage is not guaranteed.
####### For example, Keating (1979) reported that 40-60% of college students
####### fail at formal operation tasks, and Dasen (1994) states that only one-
####### third of adults ever reach the formal operational stage.
####### researcher and compared the results afterward to check if they are
####### similar (i., have inter-rater reliability).
####### Although clinical interviews allow the researcher to explore data in more
####### depth, the interpretation of the interviewer may be biased. For example,
####### children may not understand the question/s, they have short attention
####### spans, they cannot express themselves very well and may be trying to
####### please the experimenter. Such methods meant that Piaget may have
####### formed inaccurate conclusions.
- As several studies have shown Piaget underestimated the abilities of
####### children because his tests were sometimes confusing or difficult to
####### understand (e., Hughes, 1975).
####### Piaget failed to distinguish between competence (what a child is capable
####### of doing) and performance (what a child can show when given a
####### particular task). When tasks were altered, performance (and therefore
####### competence) was affected. Therefore, Piaget might have underestimated
####### children’s cognitive abilities.
####### For example, a child might have object permanence (competence) but
####### still not be able to search for objects (performance). When Piaget hid
####### objects from babies he found that it wasn’t till after nine months that
####### they looked for it. However, Piaget relied on manual search methods –
####### whether the child was looking for the object or not.
####### Later, research such as Baillargeon and Devos (1991) reported that
####### infants as young as four months looked longer at a moving carrot that
####### didn’t do what it expected, suggesting they had some sense of
####### permanence, otherwise they wouldn’t have had any expectation of what
####### it should or shouldn’t do.
- The concept of schema is incompatible with the theories of Bruner
####### (1966) and Vygotsky (1978). Behaviorism would also refute Piaget’s
####### schema theory because is cannot be directly observed as it is an internal
####### process. Therefore, they would claim it cannot be objectively measured.
- Piaget studied his own children and the children of his colleagues in
####### Geneva in order to deduce general principles about the intellectual
####### development of all children. Not only was his sample very small, but it
####### was composed solely of European children from families of high socio-
####### economic status. Researchers have therefore questioned the
####### generalisability of his data.
- For Piaget, language is seen as secondary to action, i., thought
####### precedes language. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978)
####### argues that the development of language and thought go together and
####### that the origin of reasoning is more to do with our ability to
####### communicate with others than with our interaction with the material
####### world.
How to reference this article:
####### McLeod, S. A. (2018, June 06). Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive
####### development. Retrieved from
####### simplypsychology/piaget.html
####### development: Foundations of constructivism. New York: Longman.
####### Plowden, B. H. P. (1967). Children and their primary schools: A
####### Report (Research and Surveys). London, England: HM Stationery Office
Piaget - notes for psyc
Course: Psycology 101 (psyc101)
University: University of KwaZulu-Natal
- Discover more from:
