1. Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development
Stage: Developmental period during which a child demonstrates “new” behaviors and capabilities

2. Cognitive Development
Progress in child’s way of thinking, ability to reason, remember, and problem solve

3. How do we study cognitive development?
Longitudinal studies: test one group of participants over a period of time
Measure vocabulary of 50 six-year olds at ages 6, 8, 10
More accurate and sensitive to developmental changes
Longer, more difficult, and more expensive
The marshmallow test…. And future success

4. How do we study cognitive development?
Cross-sectional studies: test and compare groups of participants of different ages at a single point in time
Compare vocabulary of 50 six-year olds, 50 eight year olds, 50 ten year olds
Quicker, easier and cheaper
Less accurate and sensitive to developmental changes
Jean Piaget

5. Piaget and his Theory
“My real concern is the explanation of what is new in knowledge from one stage in development to the next.”

6. The Importance of Schemas
Piaget argues that children are constantly developing new schemas in every stage (a mental framework that allows you interpret concepts or events)
Schemas are what we already know about a topic.

7. The Importance of Schemas
Schemas affect how children see the world in two ways:
Assimilation: Make new information fit an existing schema
Calling a zebra a “horse”
Accommodation: Change existing schemas or create new ones
Zebra is a different animal, so a new “zebra” schema is created
Evidence of development

8. How do three year olds see the world differently than a ten year old?
In Groups…
How do three year olds see the world differently than a ten year old?

9. Stage 1: The Sensorimotor Period
Birth to Age 2

10. Stage 1: Sensorimotor Period
Develop schemas through senses and action
Form mental images (favorite toy)
Start to understand object permanence around 8 or 9 months
“A-not-B error” committed until 12 months old

11. Stage 2: The Preoperational Period
Ages 3-7

12. Stage 2: Preoperational Period
Child uses language, but not concrete logic
Development of symbolic thought
Imagination and pretend
Still does not understand conservation
quantities remain the same despite change in shape or appearance

14. Stage 2: Preoperational Period (cont’d)
Focus on constraints during this period:
Centration Egocentricism
Irreversability Animism
Seriation

15. Stage 3: The Concrete Operational Period
Ages 7-12

16. Concrete Operational Period
Improved cognitive understanding of concrete objects/events only
Capable of reversibility, decentration, hierarchical classification (roses = flowers)
Problem-solving is trial and error
Less egocentric
Mastery of conservation

17. Stage 4: The Formal Operational Period
Ages 12+

18. Formal Operational Period
Understanding abstract concepts
Deductive reasoning
More systematic, logical, reflective in problem-solving

19. Our Piaget Kids Day

20. Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
Underestimated young children
Individual differences
Changes are too abrupt
Ignorance of cultural factors

21. Did Piaget Underestimate Infants?
Habituation: child is used to something (shows little surprise)
Dishabituation: child shows obvious surprise or curiosity because he/she is seeing something new
Kids understand object permanence at younger ages than Piaget thought
Baby math

22. Infant shows habituation (lack of surprise) at this expected outcome
Criticisms of Piaget
Infant shows habituation (lack of surprise) at this expected outcome
Infant shows dishabituation (surprise, stare longer) at this impossible outcome

23. Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory
What are the implications of Piaget’s theory for parents and teachers?
Children build understanding of the world through interaction
Kids are not passive “buckets” waiting to be filled with a teacher’s knowledge!
Young people are incapable of adult logic!