1. Cognition and Development
Piaget’s Stages of Intellectual Development

2. Background to the study - Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget thought that intellectual development happened in stages, and that a child would only go on to the next stage once it had completely mastered the first one. Each stage is seen as a kind of 'building block' for the next stage to rest on.

3. Background to the study - Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget argued that younger children do not have the capabilities to think in the same way as older children.
And that children have to go through a process of cognitive development in order to achieve the abilities of an older child or adult.
Piaget believed that there are a number of stages that all children go through in the same order.
Piaget is therefore arguing that these stages are innate.

4. The stages

5. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Piaget suggested there are 4 stages of intellectual development
Each stage signifies a different ability in terms of reasoning.
He believed that a child had to complete one stage before they could begin another stage.
All children developed through the same sequence of stages.

6. Sensori-motor stage – 0 – 2 years approximately
Key features:
Baby’s focus is on physical sensations and development of motor skills.
They learn control of their body through trial and error and that they can eventually move other objects.
These two years see the infant learning that they are separate from others and some basic language skills.
By 6-8 months they also acquire some OBJECT PERMANANCE

7. OBJECT PERMANENCE
This is the ability to realise that an object still exists even when it is out of sight. They are unable to hold a representation of that object as being in another place other than where they have experienced it.
Before 6-8 months old, Piaget believed that children were unable to do this and that once an object is out of an infants visual field, the infant is no longer aware of it’s existence.
This is why peek-a-boo is so funny to a baby!
(Stewie from Family Guy does object Permanence)

8. Sensorimotor
The infant only knows the world via its immediate senses and the (motor) actions it performs
The infant lacks object permanence – fails to see or act on ‘hidden’ objects
At 0-5 months an object that was visually hidden is not searched for
At 6-8 months children will search for the object but will tend to search in places it has seen the object hidden before – even though the object is visually moved to a new hiding place

9. Pre-operational stage (2-7 years approx)
Key features:
By this stage the toddler is mobile and is using language but there are still some errors in reasoning.
In other words children are thinking differently from adults and so making mistakes in some of their tasks.
These are as follows:

10. Pre-operational Children start copying others
Symbolic play-using one object to represent different objects e.g. using a banana as a phone.

11. CONSERVATION
This is the ability to realise that quantity can stay the same despite what it looks like. So the appearance can change but the quantity can remain the same.
Piaget developed a very clever experiment to illustrate this.
It consisted of two beakers of water that were exactly the same level. The question would be asked of the child if the two beakers had the same, less or more amount of water in them
When the children had replied the same. The researcher took one of the beakers and poured into a different shaped beaker so the levels appeared different. This was in full view of the child so they knew that none of the water was lost.
The researcher then asked the child if the beakers contained the same amount of water.
The pre-operational child replied that the amount of water was different. If it was a longer, thinner beaker the child would say that there was more water in that one.
This is because they were unable to conserve that quantity stayed the same despite the appearance.

12. What is conservation?
Piaget argued that the inability to conserve is due to the child's failure to understand that things remain the same (constant) despite changes in their appearance (how they look). Piaget believes this is an example of centration.
“Are they the same?”
Roll one of the play dough balls into a sausage shape

13. EGOCENTRISM
Egocentrism is the child’s tendency to only see things from their own point of view. Pre-operational children are unable to hold mental representations of another’s perspective as well as their own.
This can apply both to physical objects and points of view in terms of their own perspectives in an argument.
Piaget demonstrated this through his famous 3 mountains task

14. Pre-operational
Egocentrism – the difficulty in understanding that others do not see, think and feel things like you do. h?v=OinqFgsIbh0&feature=relat ed
Three Mountains Study
Lack of Conservation – the inability to realise that some things remain constant or unchanged despite changes in visible appearance h?v=YtLEWVu815o&feature=rel ated

15. Three mountains task
Piaget showed children a large model of 3 mountains, each with 3 different features – a cross, a house or snow. A doll was placed facing the scene but so that it would have a different view from the child. From a range of different pictures of the model the child was asked to choose what the doll would see. Pre-operational children often chose the picture that represented their own perspective rather than that of the dolls.

16. In conclusion: In the pre-operational stage children are unable to:
Recognise that quantities remain the same despite appearances - conserve
Take another’s perspective – egocentric
Recognise subsets of categories – class inclusion

17. CONCRETE OPERATIONS – (7-11)
Key features
Piaget found that by 7 years approx. most children were able to master the skills outlined above.
They are able to think logically and can apply that to different situations. Eg – I might be sick again if I eat too many sweets.
They have also gained the skill of reversability (2X4 = 4X2)
However, they are unable to think in abstract terms or for imagined objects. They are unable to reason“what might be” for situations outside their experience.

18. Concrete operational
The child is able to carry out mental operations on the world and de-centre.
The child can conserve and complete class inclusion tasks and the three mountains task successfully (overcoming egocentrism)
However these operations cannot be carried out in the child’s head – the physical (concrete) presence of the objects being manipulated is needed.
Therefore the child would be able to conserve if they see the physical transformation of the objects / liquid
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19. FORMAL OPERATIONS (12+) Key Features
From this age Piaget believed that children were able to start reasoning about things that were outside their experience and not get distracted by the content of arguments.
Smith et al (1998) used a syllogism
Premise: All yellow cats have two heads. I have a yellow cat called Charlie.
Question: How many heads does Charlie have?
Correct answer: Two.
Piaget argued that it was only when children reached the formal operations stage that they were able to follow this abstract argument through.
Concrete operational children became too distracted by their own knowledge that cats didn’t really have two heads.

20. Formal operational
Ideas can be manipulated in the head and reasoning deductions can be carried out on verbal statements, without the aid of visual / concrete examples.
They can think about hypothetical problems
Can think about abstract concepts
Consequences considered and things are planned
Stop using trial and error learning use logical thinking to solve problems
Approach problems in a systematic and organised way:
‘Edith is fairer than Susan, Edith is darker than Lily. Who is the darkest?’
This can be answered without needing to use dolls or pictures to help.
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21. Make and fill in this grid
Stage
Age
Things children can do
Difficulties they have
Sensorimotor Stage
Pre-operational Stage
Concrete Operational Stage
Formal Operational Stage

22. Physical sensations and linking what they can see to what they can do is the stage called…
Pre-operational.
Sensorimotor.
Formal operations.
Concrete operational.
When children can understand the perspective of objects in their presence they are in the stage called…
When children have become capable of formal reasoning and can understand abstract ideas it’s called…
When children are still too young to think in an operational way, but may appear to from the outside, they are in the stage called…
Can I outline Piaget’s stages?
Can I apply Piaget’s stages?
Can I evaluate Piaget’s stages?