Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget
- 1. JEAN PIAGET’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT THEORY BY ARSHMAH HUSSAIN AUG 1896 – SEPT 1980
- 2. JEAN PIAGET , a Swiss biologist, developed a keen interest in child and cognitive psychology. He was a Radical Constructivist. He along with his wife devoted almost all the previous years of their early married life to studying the intellectual development of their own three children by making them the subjects of their laboratory studies. Based on his studies, Piaget stated that the child is born with a few practical instincts and reflexes like sucking, looking , reaching and grasping etc.
- 3. Cognitive Development – Refers to stages and processes involved in child’s intellectual development. Consist of a series of stages, characterised by certain behaviours and certain ways of thinking and problem solving. Child is born with mental or cognitive structures which develop maximum growth around 14 - 15 years. Children grow and develop rapidly in their early childhood years across the four main areas of development. These areas are motor (physical), language and communication, cognitive and social/emotional.
- 4. ASPECTS OF HUMANMIND :- 1) Cognitive Structure. 2) Cognitive Functioning. 1) COGNITIVE STRUCTURE :- Every child is born with few reflexes like sucking , looking, reaching and grasping. Initial cognitive structures is incorporated with those cognitive abilities which help them to do these activities. These abilities are named as Schema. 2) COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING :- Cognitive structure plays a vital role in its functioning. Therefore schemas decide how a person is going to respond to any particular stimuli.
- 5. Some important keywords :- 1) SCHEMA :- Mental models through which child represent the world. 2) ASSIMILATIAON :- To broaden up existing schema so that new information can be included. 3) ACCOMODATION :- Modification in existing ways of thinking , one has to learn new ways of thinking and behaving. 4) EQUILIBRATION :- The cognitive balancing of new information with old one.
- 7. Stages of cognitive development :- I. Sensorymotor stage :- 0 - 2 years of age. II. Preoperational stage :- 2 – 7 years of age. III. Concrete operational stage :- 7 – 11 years of age. IV. Formal operational stage :- 11 – 15 years of age. TRICK TO REMEMBER :- S P CF
- 9. 1. SENSORY MOTOR STAGE :- (0 – 2 years) It is the first stage or infancy stage. It is characterized by the absence of language. Object permanence. Out of SIGHT , Out of MIND. 2) PREOPERATIONAL :- The pre operational stage can be seen in children ages 2 to 7. Memory and imagination are developing but thinking is done in an illogical manner.
- 10. Children at this age are egocentric , self – centered, transductive (false reasoning). This phase is crucial for language development. Unable to do reversible things. Also known as pre childhood age or toy age. 3. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE :- This stage is of logical thinking and concrete operations. Reversibility develops. Ex – 2 + 5 , 5 + 2 Logic develops along with transitivity, ascending – descending and classifications
- 11. Also known as later childhood or pre gang age. 4) FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE :- Abstract thinking develops. They can now deal with imaginary or hypothetical situations. This age is of divergent / convergent / creative thinking. Deductive reasoning develops like from complex to easy. Ex – logics like A > B, B > C , relation between A and C.