Analysis Of Piaget's Cognitive Development

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Poor Tarzan’s (Tony Goldwyn) parents are murdered by a ruthless panther when he was a baby. He grows up in the isolated African wilderness, raised by the kind gorilla Kala (Glenn Close) and her Gorilla family. At first, the group is reluctant about letting him live with them until they later on accept him as their own. When a British expedition finds the jungle that they live in, Tarzan encounters the stunning Jane (Minnie Driver) and soon understands that, like her, he is a human being. Tarzan and Jane fall in love, and Tarzan becomes torn between staying with the family h has known his entire life, or embracing civilization. In the end, his home becomes threatened by the selfish hunter named Clayton (Brian Blessed), who then dies and Tarzan saves his family, along with being able to stay with Jane on the island. …show more content…

This is where he goes through the first stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Development, the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years). He uses touch to feel Kala, which inevitably becomes his mother. He cannot distinguish himself from his environment. He has no concept of past or future and all he is aware of is what is occurring here and now. The child relies entirely on its senses. As a baby, he does not understand that his parents at some point were in the same room as him and use to exist and exhibits signs of Object Permanence. He uses touch to explore his surroundings and is a relaxed child since he is so accepting of everything that is going on around him. He also displays secure infant attachment by forming a bond with Kala his new caregiver who he recognizes as his mother. He is also in the first stage of Erikson’s Theory, Trust vs. Mistrust. Tarzan trusts Kala as soon as he meets her, which is simply amazing. Since his parents were murdered he can be considered abandoned by them. Kala helps Tarzan by loving him and nurturing him which gives him a trustful and secure based relationship with

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