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Strengths and weaknesses of each stage of cognitive development
Summary of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
Summary of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
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Introduction
The purpose of this study is to analyse, in a practical way, the theories and concepts of cognitive development, across different age-related stages. Using Piaget’s theory of development, the cognitive ability of two subjects, aged 4 and 18 years, are examined against the milestones of the respective preoperational and formal operational development stages. Cognitive ability is determined by focusing on the subject’s capability and rationale to group 20 different objects. Based on the research outcomes, comparisons will be made to Piaget’s theory and the expected learning ability at their age-related development stage.
Jean Piaget was considered a pioneer in cognitive research. Piaget developed his theory of cognitive development based on the sequence of changes that occur to the cognition of a person as they mature. Piaget believed that older children not only know quantitatively more than younger ones, but actually think in qualitatively different ways. Children and adults are thought to possess an inbuilt ability to experiences organise their knowledge and into schemes (Lambert, 2007). Jean Piaget defined schemes as both internalised behavioural patterns and mental understanding (Piaget, 1963, as cited in Berk, 2009). People are thought to actively seek knowledge and information from the surrounding environment and absorb or process this information using schemes. New knowledge is built on existing knowledge and as a person becomes older these schemes become increasingly more complex. This knowledge adds to a person’s intelligence providing them with an adaptation to succeed or survive in the world (Piaget, 1963, as cited in Berk, 2009).
Through this reasoning, Piaget determined that learning occurred across ...
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941844/
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http://home.gwu.edu/~mcorry/corry2.htm
Cognitive development focuses on the person’s ability to intellect, perceive and process information. (35589) defined the cognitive ability as the process in which people learn, think and use language; it is the progression of their mental capacity from being irrational to rational (35589). Piaget and Vygotsky are two cognitive theorists whom were interested in the cognitive development of a person across their life span and its relation with social and environmental factors. Piaget is the most known cognitive theorist who affected the world of psychology greatly, and was a great influence to many psychologists out there; however his main intention was the innate maturity process and, unlike Vygotsky, he underestimated the role of language and social interaction and his theory wasn’t useful in the teaching field. However, both theorists believed that a person goes through a sequential process during their development. They were also both aware that one gains knowledge through experience and not through passive learning.
How human children’s intelligence develops as they go through their adolescent stages in their early life has been a wonder to many researches and theorists. Jean Piaget is a stage theorists which means that he believes that there are a series of four main qualitatively different periods (or stages) that children go through in a certain and stable order and that any information or experiences that they gain in one stage is going to stay with them and prepare them for their next one. Piaget believes that children are active participants in their own development from stage to stage and that they construct their own mental structures through their interactions with their environments that begin just
Jean Piaget theorizes that children go through four different stages in cognitive development; sensorimotor stage, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. He states that by age 7, a child belongs to the concrete operational stage. At this time they begin to think logically like adults do, moving away from abstract thoughts to concrete thoughts. Additionally, children acquire the skill of reversibility. For example, adding 6 and 3 gives you 9. A child in the concrete operational stage would know that since 6 and gives you 9, then subtracted from 9 would give you 6 or 6 subtracted from 9 would give you 3. Therefore, they are able to show flexibility. Children are also aware of persons having different perspectives. Whereas, children are less self-centered and are open to other viewpoints. Here they are able to focus on more than one aspect of given object or situation (decentration). With Piaget’s conservation tasks, children are able to recognize that objects remain the same no matter how they are
McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Child development and education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
This theory is crafted by Jean Piaget (1896– 1980) and his work concentrated on seeing how kids see the world. Piaget trusted that from outset, we have the fundamental mental structure on which all ensuing information and learning are based and because of natural development and ecological experience, the mental procedures will have a dynamic rearrangement. Piaget's presumption was that kids are dynamic takes part in the advancement of information and they adjust to nature through currently looking to comprehend their condition. He proposed that cognitive advancement occurs in four phases, 0 to 2 years being the sensori motor, 2 years to 7 years the preoperational, 7 to 12 years the solid operations, and 12 years or more the formal operations.
... (2009) The science of development. In R.V. Kail & A. Barnfield (Eds.), Children and their development (pp. 8 – 22). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Piaget’s stage theory of cognitive development demonstrates a child’s cognitive ability through a series of observational studies of simple tests. According to Piaget, a child’s mental structure, which is genetically inherited and evolved, is the basis for all other learning and knowledge. Piaget’s
Jean Piaget is a Switzerland psychologist and biologist who understand children’s intellectual development. Piaget is the first to study cognitive development. He developed the four stages of cognitive development: the sensori-motor stage, preoperational stage, the concrete operational and the formal operational stage. Piaget curiosity was how children cogitate and developed. As they get mature and have the experience, children’s will get knowledgeable. He suggested that children develop schemas so they can present the world. Children’s extend their schemas through the operation of accommodation and assimilation.
Peterson, Candida C., James L. Peterson, and Diane Seeto. Child Developement. Vol. 54. N.p.: Blackwell Publishing, n.d. JSTOR. Web. 29 Sept. 2011.
Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development suggests that children have four different stages of mental development. The main concept of Jean Piaget’s theory is that he believes in children being scientists by experimenting with things and making observations with their senses. This approach emphasizes how children’s ability to make sense of their immediate everyday surroundings. Piaget also proposed that children be perceived to four stages based on maturation and experiences.
Piaget was biologist and psychologist that is known for “constructing a highly influential model for child development and learning”. Piaget’s theory is based on the premise that the developing child “builds cognitive structures”. These structures are things like mental maps, “schemes, or networked concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences within a child’s environment.” Piaget further demonstrates that a child’s “cognitive structure increases in sophis...
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development describes his belief that children try to actively make sense of the world rather than simply absorbing knowledge as previously thought. Piaget’s theory claims that as children grow and develop they experience four different cognitive stages of life. As a child grows through each stage they not only learn new information but the way he or she thinks also changes. “In other words, each new stage represents a fundamental shift in how the child thinks and understands the world” (Hockenbury, page 368).The first stage of Piaget’s theory, known as the sensorimotor stage, begins at birth and continues on until about age 2. As the name suggest, this stage is when children begin to discover
Piaget’s Cognitive theory represents concepts that children learn from interactions within the world around them. He believed that children think and reason at different stages in their development. His stages of cognitive development outline the importance of the process rather the final product. The main concept of this theory reflects the view th...
Jean Piaget(1929), widely known as one of the pioneers in investigating child development, has developed his theory on the basis of cognitive stages. He presents four aspects of the child `s concept formation: sensorimotor ,preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. All of these stages suggest the emergence of development precedes the ability to learn. Moreover, It is emphasised on the intellectual development regardless of the cultural influences and specific individual differences. Therefore, human cognitive development is regarded as universal for all human species. On the one hand, Piaget sees the human internal conception in interaction with external world messages conveyed. On the other hand, a child`s ability to perceive cognitive information in an effective way is not clearly defined. Resulting from this, old experiences receive new names. According to Piaget th...