Theory of Cognitive Development Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development

Schemas, schemas, schemas! Born with innate schemas Based on natural reflexes As child interacts with environment, these are modified Constantly built, used and updated Children actively construct knowledge!

Assimilation Interpret new experiences in terms of our current schemas Make the new information “fit” Interpret the world around you in ways you are comfortable with & already know.

Accommodation Adjust our schemas to incorporate information from new experiences Information doesn’t “fit!” Initially confusing update and/or creating new schemas Growth & new knowledge Progress through stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor Stage Birth-2 years  Infants try to make sense of the world using innate skills i.e. looking, sucking, grasping, and listening Knowledge of the world limited to: sensory perceptions motor activities Object Permanence- understanding that things can exist when they aren’t seen/heard Reflexes Behaviors  limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli

Preoperational Stage Ages 2-7 Language Development   Language Development Not just words, begin to classify Egocentrism- can’t take the point of view of other people What will someone think is in a piggy bank? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OinqFgsIbh0&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLj0IZFLKvg

Preoperational Stage (Continued) Theory of Mind Ability to infer other people’s mental states Develops between 3 ½ and 4 ½

Preoperational Stage (Continued) Animism- belief that everything that exists has some kind of consciousness. Artificialism- belief that natural phenomena are created by human beings Symbolism- something is allowed to stand for or symbolize something else Children can not: understand concrete logic mentally manipulate information

Concrete Operational Stage Ages 7-11 Begin to have : Logical thought about concrete events don't understand abstract/hypothetical concepts Inductive logic- going from a specific experience to a general principle difficulty with deductive logic- going from a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event Conservation- ability to understand that redistributing material does not affect its mass, number or volume Use reversibility- awareness that actions can be reversed My dog is a Labrador, a Lab is a dog, and a dog is an animal. 7 + 8 = 15 so 15 – 7 = 8 Problem solving is generally random! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA04ew6Oi9M&feature=related

Formal Operational Stage Begins around ages 11-15 - adulthood   New thought processes emerge: Abstract thought Logical thought Deductive reasoning Problem-solving (instead of trial and error) Systematic planning Long Term planning Can appreciate nuanced conversation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjJdcXA1KH8&feature=related

“If a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other side.”  Which cards do I need to turn over to test the rule?

The Answer… The E and the 7. The E must have an even number on the back -- that much is obvious.  The 7 is odd, so it cannot have a vowel on the other side -- that would be against the rule The rule says nothing about what has to be on the back of a consonant such as the K Nor does it say that the 4 must have a vowel on the other side

Criticisms Assumption that we automatically progress from stage to stage What about the effect of the environment? Education, culture, birth order, etc Only used his own children Recent research suggests that timing is wrong: Children understand object permanence at a younger age Children of 4-5 years do understand their own mental processes as well as other peoples aka less egocentric than Piaget thought Some of Piaget’s tasks asked questions twice (conservation) which made children think he wanted a different answer!