Lakhasly

introduction:
Jean Piaget (1896 -1980) devised a theory of intellectual (cognitive)
development. He stated that personality is the result of interrelated cognitive
and emotional (affective) functions. Growth is an increasing intellectual ability
to organize and combine experiences. Piaget observed that behaviors occurred
in steps at a certain age-groups, so he divided these patterns in to four main
stages of intellectual growth.
Definition of cognitive development:
It is the construction of thought process including remembering, problem
solving and decision making from childhood to adulthood.
Basic components to Piaget's theory: -
 Schemas:

• (building blocks of knowledge)
  that is defined as a set of linked
  mental representations of the world, which we use both to understand and to
  respond to situations. The assumption is that we store these mental
  representations and apply them when needed.
   Adaptation processes that enable the transition from one stage to another
  (equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation).
  Jean Piaget viewed intellectual growth as a process of adaptation to the
  world through: -

1. Assimilation: -Using an existing schema to deal with a new object or
   situation." Ex: - a 2-year child sees a man who is bald on top of head and has
   frizzy hair on the sides .to his father's horror, the toddler shouts" clown, clown.Accommodation: The existing schema doesn't work and needs to be changed
   to deal with new object or situation.
   Ex. In the “clown” incident, the boy’s father explained to his son that the man
   was not a clown and that even though his hair was like a clown’s, he wasn’t
   wearing a funny costume and wasn’t doing silly things to make people laugh
   with this new knowledge, the boy was able to change his schema of “clown”
   and make this idea fit better to a standard concept of “clown”.


2. Equilibration: this is the force which moves development along. It occurs
   when the child's schemas can deal with newest information through
   assimilation. However, UN pleasant state of disequilibrium occurs when new
   information can't be fitted into existing assimilation.
    Stages of cognitive Development:
    Sensory

• motor,
   Preoperational,
   Concrete operational,
   Formal operational.
  Stages of Cognitive Development:

1. Characteristics of Piaget’s Stages:


2. Each stage is a structured whole and in a state of equilibrium


3. Each stage derives from the previous stage and incorporates and transforms to prepare for the next stage.


4. There is no skipping stage.Culture does not impact the stages. Children everywhere go through the
   same stages no matter what.


5. There is a gradual progression from stage to stage.


6. Stages of cognitive development:
   1-Sensorimotor stage (Birth to 2 Years): Infants learn about the world by
   input obtained through the senses and by their motor activity. Six sub-stages
   are characteristic of this stage.
   1-Use of reflexes (birth to one month).
    The infant begins life with a set of reflexes such as sucking, rooting, and
   grasping. By using these reflexes, the infant receives stimulation via touch,
   sound, smell, and vision.
    The reflexes thus pave the way for the first learning to occur.
   
   Development occurs as the reflex behaviors are applied to a wider variety
   of stimuli and events (assimilation)
    Example: If a nipple is put into baby's mouth, he will reflexively suck on
   it.
   2-Primary circular actions (1-4months).
   Once the infant responds reflexively, the pleasure gained from that response
   causes repetition of the behavior.
   For example, if a toy grasped reflexively makes noise and is interesting to watch, the infant will grasp it again3-Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months): -
   Awareness of the environment grows as the infant begins to connect cause and
   effect. The sounds of bottle preparation will lead to excited behavior. If an
   object is partially hidden, the infant will attempt to uncover and retrieve it
    For example, a child will purposefully pick up a toy to put in his hand or
   mouth.
   4-CO-ordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12months):-
    Intentional behavior is observed as the infant uses learned behavior to obtain
   objects, create sounds, or engage in other pleasurable activity.
    Object permanence (the knowledge that something continues to exist even
   when out of sight) begins when the infant remembers where a hidden object is
   likely to be found; it is no longer “out of sight, out of mind.
   5-Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 month):

 Curiosity, experimentation, and exploration predominate as the toddler tries out
actions to learn results.
 Objects are turned in every direction, placed in the mouth, used for banging,
and inserted in containers as their qualities and uses are explored
 Trial-and-error activity
 Stronger associations (links between objects and ideas)
For example, tries several ways of positioning puzzle pieces to put puzzle together correctly6-Symbolic/ mental representation (18 -24 months): -
 Language provides a new tool for the toddler to use in understanding the world.
 Language enables the child to think about events and objects before or after
they occur. Object permanence is now fully developed as the child actively
searches for objects in various locations and out of view.
 The child who has had successful separations from the parents followed by
return, such as hours spent in another’s home or childcare center, begins to
understand that the missing parent will return.
For example, a child may try out different sounds or actions as a way to attract
attention from caregiver
2-Preoperational Stage (2 to about 7 years): -
 The young child thinks by using words as symbols, but logic is not well
developed.
 During the preconception sub-stage (2 to 4 years), vocabulary and
comprehension increase greatly, but the child shows egocentrism (that is, an
inability to see things from the perspective of another).
 In the intuitive sub-stage (4 to 7 years), the child relies on transductive
reasoning (that is, drawing conclusions from one general fact to another).
 Has difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality (ex: cartoon characters are
real people), but by 6 years, can distinguish between current appearance and reality)
 Can’t understand conservation of matter3-Concrete operational stage (Ages 7 to 12 years):
 Transductive reasoning has given way to a more accurate understanding of
cause and effect.
 The child can reason quite well if concrete objects are used in teaching or
experimentation.
 The concept of conservation (that matter does not change when its form is
altered) is learned at this age.
 Child is more logical and able to complete task not able to in Pre-Operation
period.
4-Formal Operational Stage (12 to adulthood)
 Fully mature intellectual thought has now been attained.
 The adolescent can think abstractly about objects or concepts and consider
different alternatives or outcomes. A
certain amount of idealism, however, is
characteristic at this age.
 The child becomes increasingly “adult-like” with regards to their cognitive
abilities
Criticism of Piaget's theory:

1. Piaget's theory lacks scientific control


2. Piaget used his own children for the study


3. The subjects were not studied across the entire lifespan


4. Piaget's theory does not discern between competency and performance


5. Theory does not account for the influence of motivation and emotion.