1. (1896 – 1980) Considered the father of modern developmental psychology
Farrell Grehan/ Corbis
Cognitive Development and Jean Piaget
Cognition: all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
According to Piaget, cognitive development unfolds in a series of the four stages as the brain develops
Automatic animation
While working on intelligence tests, Piaget became intrigued by children’s wrong answers, which, he noted, were often strikingly similar among children of a given age. After a half-century spent working with children, Piaget demonstrated that these “mistakes” were really intelligence at work.
In essence, a child’s mind is not a miniature model of an adult’s mind. Piaget’s studies led him to believe that a child’s mind develops through a series of stages—from newborn reflexes to, eventually, the adult’s abstract reasoning power.
Piaget carefully observed his own children as he developed his theory on cognitive development. According to Piaget, cognitive development unfolds in a series of the four stages you see in this table.   
APA Learning Goal 1: Knowledge Base of Psychology
Jean Piaget
(1896 – 1980) Considered the father of modern developmental psychology

2. Schemas
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Over time schemas become more complex
These 2 probably fit into your concept (schema) of a model.
Right now in your head, picture a model.
But does this one?
Learning Target: I will be able to explain and apply schema, assimilation and accommodation

3. Adjusting Schemas
Assimilation - Interpreting information based on past experiences
Accommodation - Modifying our current schemas to incorporate new information.
Create new schemas with new experiences
Assimilation = schema stays the same. Accommodation = schema mist be changed or altered.

5. Bambi’s Schemas, Assimilation and Accommodation
What was Bambi’s original schema for bird? How did he assimilate? How did he accommodate?
Learning Target: I will be able to explain and apply schema, assimilation and accommodation

6. Bambi’s Schemas, Assimilation and Accommodation
Bambi’s schema for bird is something that flies.
He assimilates it to the butterfly and assumes that’s a bird
He accommodates by changing his schema of bird and adding a schema for butterfly
Learning Target: I will be able to explain and apply schema, assimilation and accommodation

7. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

8. Stage 1: Sensorimotor Though (birth-2 years)
Babies are stuck in the HERE AND NOW world
they “know the world only in terms of their own sensory input (what they see, smell, taste, touch, and hear) and their physical or motor actions on it (e.g. sucking, reaching, grasping)

9. ObJeCt PeRmAnEnCe
the fact that objects, events, or even people continue to exist when they are not in the infants direct line of sensory or motor action
FAMILY GUY

10. PREOPERATIONAL THOUGHT
Stage 2 (2-7 years)
Use language to represent objects, but cannot think logically
Have not yet mastered conservation

11. REALLY JIMMY? Centration
Object permanence. Develops in Substage 4 of the sensorimotor stage (Siegler, p. 34) roughly 8-12 months
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12. Egocentrism hide and seek fails Self-centering point of view
The inability to realize there are other viewpoints besides their own
The world “revolves around child” and was invented for them
“The only reason bees make honey is so I can eat it”
hide and seek fails
egocentrism
Timmy’s egocentrism prevents him from seeing Davie’s perspective… Timmy would draw the big mountain
So let’s quickly walk through the physical development before moving into the real focus of this chapter, developmental psychology. At conception, that one cell quickly halves to become two, which halve to become four and so on until 9 months later a baby is born with approximately 100 trillion cells. Now to get from there to here, there are a few things I need to point out.
The first stage in the prenatal developmental progress is that of the zygote. The highlights of this stage are the first cell divisions, the attaching of the zygote to the uterine wall and the transition into the embryo.
The embryonic stage is marked by continued growth, organ formation, the heart begins to beat, the liver makes red blood cells, and gender is determined.
The final stage is that of the fetal stage – which is the longest, lasting from 8 weeks to birth. At about the fourth month, mom will begin to feel movement. At about 5 months, doctors can usually determine the gender of the baby. By the end of the 6th month, the stomach and other vital organs are up and running (thus, a premature baby could at this point survive birth).
Little Timmy sees the big mountain and Davie the Doll “sees” the smaller mountain

13. Symbols in Play “Don’t throw my doll dad, you’re hurting her!”
Symbolic play: use one object to stand for another
can be recognized with drawings or words
Fantasy play: pretend to be something, or pretend activities that are impossible
Make-believe play: use toys as props
Can you hear me now?
UP, UP, AND AWAY
Poopy Animism
“Don’t throw my doll dad, you’re hurting her!”

14. Piaget: (2) Preoperational Stage
Theory of Mind - People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict
4 to 5 years old
Seek to understand
Why their playmate is angry
Why their sibling will share
Why their parent would buy a toy
Autism- disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others’ states of mind.
Autistic children have trouble interacting with others and do not appreciate that playmates and parents might view things differently.

15. Autism

16. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
About age 7 to 11
Simple and concrete fact based thinking
Ability to solve word problems using deductive reasoning and logical thinking
Lack abstract thinking
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Stage 3
Reversibility
Mathematical transformations
Formal Operational
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 33

17. Concrete Operational Milestones
Conservation
Ability to logically determine that a certain quantity will remain the same despite adjustment in shape of objects
Reversibility
Relationships involving equality or identity can be reversed
So let’s quickly walk through the physical development before moving into the real focus of this chapter, developmental psychology. At conception, that one cell quickly halves to become two, which halve to become four and so on until 9 months later a baby is born with approximately 100 trillion cells. Now to get from there to here, there are a few things I need to point out.
The first stage in the prenatal developmental progress is that of the zygote. The highlights of this stage are the first cell divisions, the attaching of the zygote to the uterine wall and the transition into the embryo.
The embryonic stage is marked by continued growth, organ formation, the heart begins to beat, the liver makes red blood cells, and gender is determined.
The final stage is that of the fetal stage – which is the longest, lasting from 8 weeks to birth. At about the fourth month, mom will begin to feel movement. At about 5 months, doctors can usually determine the gender of the baby. By the end of the 6th month, the stomach and other vital organs are up and running (thus, a premature baby could at this point survive birth).

18. Concrete Operational Milestones
Mental Operations
Solving problems by manipulating images in one’s own mind
For example, a child might be able to recognize that his or her dog is a Labrador, that a Labrador is a dog, and that a dog is an animal
So let’s quickly walk through the physical development before moving into the real focus of this chapter, developmental psychology. At conception, that one cell quickly halves to become two, which halve to become four and so on until 9 months later a baby is born with approximately 100 trillion cells. Now to get from there to here, there are a few things I need to point out.
The first stage in the prenatal developmental progress is that of the zygote. The highlights of this stage are the first cell divisions, the attaching of the zygote to the uterine wall and the transition into the embryo.
The embryonic stage is marked by continued growth, organ formation, the heart begins to beat, the liver makes red blood cells, and gender is determined.
The final stage is that of the fetal stage – which is the longest, lasting from 8 weeks to birth. At about the fourth month, mom will begin to feel movement. At about 5 months, doctors can usually determine the gender of the baby. By the end of the 6th month, the stomach and other vital organs are up and running (thus, a premature baby could at this point survive birth).

19. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
About Age 12 and on
Abstract thoughts and reasoning appears
Actual experience meets imagined realities and symbols
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Stage 4
Abstract logic
Deductive reasoning
Potential for mature moral reasoning
Formal Operational 33

20. 1. Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
“ability to plan systematic tests to explore multiple variables”… HUH?
IT MEANS SCIENTIFIC
REASONING!!!
(Littlefield Cook & Cook, 2005/2009, p. 167)

21. “Thought about things that are not real or tangible”
2. Abstract thought
“Thought about things that are not real or tangible”
What do you
think this
Painting is saying?

22. 3. Reflective Thinking
Thinking about your own thinking

26. Sensorimotor Piaget on Death
Children at this stage would not know or understand what death is. They would not have the cognitive capability to respond to death
Sensorimotor
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27. Formal operational Piaget on Death
Children hold an understanding of death as an inevitable, universal final stage in the life cycle of all living things, characterized by the cessation of bodily functions.
Formal operational
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

28. preoperational operational
Piaget on Death
Children think of death as a temporary or reversible state, and tend to characterize death with respect to concrete behaviors such as being still or having closed eyes, or departing.
preoperational operational

29. concrete operational Piaget on Death Children recognize that
all living things must die and that death is irreversible, however they consider death to be caused by concrete elements originating from outside the body and do not recognize death as an intrinsic and natural part of the life cycle.
concrete operational
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007