Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Ms. Carmelitano

Jean Piaget Swiss Biologist turned Psychologist Studied child brain development His participants were primarily his children Responsible for theories on cognitive development Developed the idea that children develop in specific stages based on their age

Basis of Findings As children age the way they think changes Physical maturation is just as important as the social environment when it comes to psychological development Interaction with the environment changes people, and cognitive development is dependent on how the individual child interacts with the social and physical world – constructionist approach

Piaget’s study Began by observing his 4 children and making baby diaries based on observations and discussions with the children His goal was to determine the motivation behind his children’s behaviors Used open-ended conversations to gain insight into children’s judgments and explanations of what they were doing

Piaget’s theory on knowledge Knowledge consists of cognitive schemas These schemas develop or change naturally as children grow Children’s first responses are based off of limited schemas – sucking, reaching, grasping They are modified as a result of experience: “adaptation” Children actively construct knowledge themselves when they interact and interpret objects

Adaptation Two forms: Assimilation: happens when new information can be integrated into existing cognitive schemas Accommodation: occurs when existing cognitive schemas have to be altered because they no longer match new experiences

Piaget’s Stages of Development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational

The Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years) Newborns rely on innate reflects and have limited knowledge In this state children learn through movements and sensations Knowledge arises from looking, touching, hearing, sucking, grasping, and putting things in their mouth The child will come to have an idea of what different objects are like Child will develop control over their body, and learn movements have consequences – like bashing a toy At this stage, Piaget argues that children develop object permanence

Object permanence 8 moths old: Children will develop the idea that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer seen Piaget found that at 4 months old, a child will not look for an object that is hidden “out of sight out of mind” An 8 month old will look for a hidden object Between 8 and 12 months, the child will keep looking in the place he or she found it last, even if the child watched someone hide it in a new place 18-24 months they will develop full object permanence

Blanket and ball study Aim: Piaget (1963) wanted to investigate at what age children acquire object permanence. Method: Piaget hid a toy under a blanket, while the child was watching, and observed whether or not the child searched for the hidden toy. Searching for the hidden toy was evidence of object permanence. Piaget assumed that the child could only search for a hidden toy if s/he had a mental representation of it. Results: Piaget found that infants searched for the hidden toy when they were around 8-months-old. Conclusion: Children around 8 months have abject permanence because they are able to form a mental representation of the object in their minds.

Pre-Operational Stage (2-7 years old) The child will learn how to speak Children will become capable of thinking in symbolic thinking They can form ideas but can only focus on one aspect of an object or situation at a time, and cannot transfer knowledge from one situation to another Understanding of the world is egocentric – the child can only see the world from his or her point of view The child does not understand that others see the world differently Cognitive limitation: the children cannot understand that someone might think differently

Limitation: thinking is dominated by appearance of things Pre-operational children cannot understand the concept of conservation. That physical properties remain the same even if the object appearance is changed Children at this stage focus on the most visible change, and do not understand mentally that the amount of liquid is the same even if the glass is different

3 mountain task Aim: Piaget and Inhelder (1956) wanted to find out at what age children decenter - i.e. become no longer egocentric. Method: The child sits at a table, presented in front are three mountains. The mountains were different, with snow on top of one, a hut on another and a red cross on top of the other. The child was allowed to walk round the model, to look at it, then sit down at one side. A doll is then placed at various positions of the table. The child is then shown 10 photographs of the mountains taken from different positions, and asked to indicate which showed the dolls view. Piaget assumed that if the child correctly picked out the card showing the doll's view, s/he was not egocentric. Egocentrism would be shown by the child who picked out the card showing the view s/he saw. Findings - Four-year-olds always chose a picture which matched their own view, while six-year-olds showed some awareness of alternative perspectives. Only seven- and eight-year-olds consistently chose the correct picture. Conclusion - At age 7, thinking is no longer egocentric as the child can see more than their own point of view.

The Concrete Operational stage (7-12 years) Children begin formal schooling At this stage they will develop full understanding of the conservation They start to use rules of logic in problem solving but only when dealing with concrete tasks Children need images for support when problem solving

Conservation of numbers Aim: To test when children develop the ability to understand the conservation of numbers Piaget placed a set of counters in front of children. He then placed the same amount of counters in front of himself, however spread the counters apart. He asked the children who had more counters By age 7, children were able to determine that they both had the same amount of counters.

Conservation of liquids task Aim: Piaget wanted to test when children would develop an ability to understand the conservation of liquids Method: Children were shown two containers of water. The child was able to determine that they held the same amount of water The researcher then poured one of the containers into a larger container The child between the ages of 4-7 argued that the larger container held more water At age 7, children being to develop the ability to understand that the water is the same in both containers

Formal Operational Stage (12 and up) By the end of this stage adolescents and adults can use formal abstract logic They can mentally manipulate ideas, concepts, or numbers, and can think hypothetically They can think about what could happen or would never happen They will problem solve in a systematic way Reach the end by age 20

The Pendulum Task Piaget gave children material to make a pendulum: string and weights Children had to use them to create the fastest pendulum they could 9 year olds use trial and error, with no logical thought put into the task 11 and 12 year olds logically thought through the tasks, using the scientific method to change one variable at a time

The Third eye test Piaget asked children where they would put a third eye if given a chance 9 years old repeatedly said they would place it in the middle of the forehead 11 and 12 years olds put more thought into their answers. Many of them stated they put it on the hands, that way they could look around corners without anyone seeing them This showed that they logically thought about their answers before deciding.

Postformal stage (adulthood) More recent psychologists challenge Piaget. They believe cognitive development does not end with the formal operational stage of development Postformal thought is more flexible, logical, and dialectical (reasoned) than formal operational thought In this stage, a person is able to make decisions based on individual circumstances and situations they are in They use logic as well as emotions to make decisions. People are better able to conceive of multiple logics, choices, or perceptions to understand complexities and inherent biases in truth (Griffin et al, 2009) People tend to be able to logically think about relationships, work, politics, etc People are able to use past experiences to make decisions

Youtube links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1VK2iawS34 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1VK2iawS34