Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget n Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist –Born: 1896 –Died: 1980 –Studied children and how they learn

Piaget’s Theory n Piaget developed a theory of how we, as humans, develop mentally, with the ability to learn

n Piaget broke his theory up into four stages –Sensorimotor –Pre-operational –Concrete operational –Formal operational

Sensori-Motor Stage (0-2 years) n Sensory contact understanding. n The child explores the world surrounding them using it’s senses n Initially sucking/grasping reflex and moving onto reaching for objects out of reach.

Object permanence……… n Major development within this stage. n Initially the baby cannot understand a object exists out of sight. n As the baby reaches around 7/8 months a child will begin to understand the object/person still exists when out of sight.

Pre-Operational Stage n This is the Second stage of Piaget’s theory that is broken up into two levels –(L1) Preoperational Phase (2-4 years) Egocentric thinking n The “I’m always right syndrome” –(L2) Intuitive Phase (4-7 years) Egocentric thinking fades; still errors in logical thought

Concrete Operational n Occurs between the ages of 7-11 –Characterized by appropriate use of logic –Ability to perform multiple classification tasks –Order objects in logical sequences –Comprehend the principle of conservation

–Some reversibility possible n 3+4=7 and 7-4=3

Formal Operational n Ages: 11+ n Final stage of Piaget’s theory –Linked to ability of abstract thought –Ability to reason logically –Ability to use information to draw appropriate conclusions

–Puberty occurs during this stage –Ability to understand terms such as: love, shades of gray, and values

Quick Review