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Cognitive development theory by Erikson
Cognitive development theory by Erikson
Essay on stages of cognitive development
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An analytical review of two child development theories, comparing their contribution to play therapy For this assignment I have chosen Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland. His father modelled an ardent commitment to his studies, a characteristic that Piaget followed from an early age. Piaget was known to have described his mother as being inclined to regular neurotic outbursts. Eric Erikson (1902-1994) was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He never knew his own father and was raised by his mother and stepfather. He struggled with his identity during youth as he never felt fully accepted by his stepfather. However he did adopt his …show more content…
His theory stated that “children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development”. Each stage being dependent on age and comprising of particular ways of thinking. Through observation of children he developed these four stages, believing that all children go through them consecutively during their lifetime. • In the first stage, sensorimotor, the child starts to build an understanding of its world by synchronising sensory encounters with physical actions. They become capable of symbolic thought and start to achieve object permanence. • In the second stage, preoperational, the child begins to exemplify the world with words and images that show increased representative thinking. They improve at symbolic thought, though they can’t yet reason. • In stage three, concrete operational, the child now rationalises logically about concrete, real experiences. They have the ability to mentally reverse actions and are able to focus simultaneously on different features of a problem. • In stage four, formal operational stage, the adolescent reasons in conceptual, idealistic and rational ways. They can imagine and reason about hypothetical …show more content…
Piaget believed that young children’s cognitive processes are intrinsically different from adults and that when they moved from a position of egocentrism to sociocentrism (during adolescence) that they had reached their potential in cognition. There has been a fifth stage of cognitive development suggested by many developmental psychologists, known as the post formal stage (Basseches, 1984; Commons & Bresette, 2006; Sinnott, 1998). In this stage, it is believed, that decisions are made based on situations and circumstances. Logic is integrated with emotion as adults develop principles that depend on contexts. The difference between adult post formal and adolescent formal operation thought can be noted in how they handle emotionally charged issues. Piaget stated that children function in a concrete world and therefore are unable to use language in an abstract way until about eleven years old. Consequently language does not afford young children the structure for appropriate self-expression. Piaget believed that children design symbols to communicate their wishes, ideas and emotions. This system of symbols characterises symbolic play (Piaget & Inhelder,
The formal operational stage is the fourth and final stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Piaget believed that at this point, teens develop the capability of thinking about abstract and hypothetical ideas and that what he referred to as "hypothetico-deductive reasoning" was essential at this stage of rational development. They often ask the question, "what-if", and are now able to think about multiple solutions or possible outcomes. At this point in development, thinking becomes much more sophisticated and advanced. Kids can think about abstract and theoretical concepts and use logic to come up with creative solutions to problems.
Preoperational stage starts around age two through seven when the child enters pre-school level, begins talking in two word sentences and is beginning to experience “a more complete understanding of object permanence where the child's image-based thinking improves and develops with a capacity called representation and de-centration in which the child advances from centration to a more objective way of perceiving the world.”(para.1)
The first stage is called sensorimotor which defines behaviors associated with infants up to two years of age. During the sensorimotor stage, children are seeking everything in which they can obtain a new taste, sound, feeling, and sight. Generally, children do not have understanding of these new experiences; it is more of exposure. The second stage is called preoperational which includes children from ages two through seven. “Children at this stage understand object permanence, but they still don’t get the concept of conservation. They don’t understand that changing a substance’s appearance doesn’t change its properties or quantity” (Psychology Notes HQ, 2015, Section Preoperational Stage). Piaget conducted an experiment with water, two identical glasses and a cylinder. Piaget poured the same amount of water in the two glasses; the children responded that there was indeed the same amount of water in the two glasses. He then took the two glasses of water and poured them into the cylinder. When asked if the tall beaker contained the same amount of water, the children responded that the beaker had more water than the glass. However, by the age of seven years of age, children can understand more complex and abstract concepts. At this point, the child is operating in the concrete operational stage. Children also can learn different rules; sometimes, they lack the understanding associated with those rules. When a child
This can be identified as the four stages of mental development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and the formal operational stage. (Cherry, 2017) Each stage involves a difference of making sense in reality than the previous stage. In the sensorimotor stage, the first stage, infants start to conduct an understanding of the world by relating sensory experiences to a motor or physical action. This stage typically lasts from birth until around two years of age. A key component of this stage is object permanence, which simply means to understand an object will exist even when it can’t be directly visualized, heard, or felt. The second stage was the preoperational stage. This stage dealt more so with symbolic thinking rather than senses and physical action. Usually, the preoperational stage last between two to seven years old, so you can think of this as preschool years. The thinking in infants is still egocentric or self-centered at this time and can’t take others perspectives. The third stage or the concrete operational stage averagely lasts from seven to eleven years of age. This is when individuals start using operations and replace intuitive reasoning with logical reasoning in concrete circumstances. For example, there are three glasses, glass A and B are wide and short and filled with water while glass C is tall and skinny and empty. If the water in B is
Piaget proposed that cognitive development from infant to young adult occurs in four universal and consecutive stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations (Woolfolk, A., 2004). Between the ages of zero and two years of age, the child is in the sensorimotor stage. It is during this stage the child experiences his or her own world through the senses and through movement. During the latter part of the sensorimotor stage, the child develops object permanence, which is an understanding that an object exists even if it is not within the field of vision (Woolfolk, A., 2004). The child also begins to understand that his or her actions could cause another action, for example, kicking a mobile to make the mobile move. This is an example of goal-directed behavior. Children in the sensorimotor stage can reverse actions, but cannot yet reverse thinking (Woolfolk, A., 2004).
The second is the Preoperational Stage which spans from age 2 until 7 years old. The milestones of this stage are symbolic representation, egocentrism, centration, and conservation concept. The symbolic representation milestone is reached when a child can comprehend an object in a symbolic nature to stand for something else. An example for this is when a child may use an object such as a bowl as a pirate boat. Later in this development a child may recognize universal symbols such the flag as a symbol of
clearly. Therefore, much about what experts know about mental and cognitive development is based on the careful observation of developmental theorists and their theories, such as Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which we discussed.
The last phase is noted as the formal operational stage. Intelligence is established through the logical use of symbols linked to hypothetical approach. This form of logic includes assumptions that have no crucial relation to reality. Currently, the individual is competent of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. Meanwhile, people establish the ability to think about complex images. Piaget stated that "hypothetic-deductive reasoning" becomes critical during the formal operational stage. This form of logic involves hypothetical "what-if" situations that are not always established in reality, i.e. incorrect logic. Abstract thoughts arrive during the formal operational stage. Children tend to think very precisely and specifically in previous stages, and start to acknowledge possible conclusions and importance of actions.
A well-known psychologist, Jean Piaget is most famous for his work in child development. In his theory of cognitive development, Piaget presents four stages of mental development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Piaget explains the adaptation processes that allow transition from one stage to the next. He also emphasizes the role of schemas as a basic unit of knowledge.
Stage two consists of concepts such as individualism and exchange. At this stage children recognize that there is not one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints(McLeod). Children account for individual points of view and act based on how it may serve individual needs. The main priority is typically to serve ones interest. Stage two reasoning shows little interest in oth...
The second stage is autonomy verses shame and doubt. This occurs from about 18 months of age to 3 years old. The basic virtue of this stage is will; can they do things on their own or do they require the help of others? Erikson believed that children around this age wanted to develop a greater sense...
“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.” (McLeod 2009). Piaget purposed that we move through stages of cognitive development. He noticed that children showed different characteristics throughout their childhood development. The four stages of development are The Sensorimotor stage, The Preoperational Stage, The Concrete operational stage and The Formal operational stage.
Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that children's cognitive development took place in stages. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149). However they were distinguished by different styles of thinking. Piaget was the first t reveal that children reason and think differently at different periods in their lives. He believed that all children progress through four different and very distinct stages of cognitive development. This theory is known as Piaget’s Stage Theory because it deals with four stages of development, which are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P. 26).
The child has a hard time realizing that though there are many other people and things in their world, none of them are more important than the child himself. The child believes that his point of view is the only point of view of the world. This is caused by his inability to put himself in someone’s else’s shoes (Smith). The concrete operational period, spanning between the ages of 7 and 11, is marked by the onset of logic in the young mind. The child is able to mentally manipulate objects and events.
The two theories that will be discussed throughout this paper are Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. The major themes and concepts of the two theories share both differences and similarities. Specific emphasis will be placed on the earliest years of life and will also be related to separation, individuation, and attachment theory.