jean piaget and the theory of cognitive development complete

1 Running Head: JEAN PIAGET AND THE THEORY OF COGNITIVE

Jean Piaget and the Theory of Cognitive Development Rebekah Lockaby Ivy Tech Community College

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Jean Piaget and the Theory of Cognitive Development The theory of cognitive development develop ment has allowed for scientists to understand the multiple stages of learning that the human brain eperiences from birth to adulthood in a more defined way! "rom birth# children learn the very basics# such as motor skills# and use these skills as the foundation to build on! $ach time a new concept is learned the foundation grows# and continues to grow all throughout the life of an individual! %nce adulthood is reached humans hu mans are able to think in more comple ways as a result of the growing foundation! The human brain ep eriences many different levels of learning according to Jean Piaget! Jean Piaget was a well&known cognitive cogn itive scientist from 'weden! During the ()*+,s through the ()-+,s he completed the ma.ority of his cognitive eperiments! /e mostly studied children and was especially interested in improving education! 0ccording to Roger 1ibace he was able to# 23 attribute his variability to the implications of his important work on perception# and to his willingness to get involved in widespread concrete applications of his approach to education including the education of children with special needs4 51ibace# 6+(*# pg! (789! During this time he collected most of his scientific data that would be devoted to understanding cognitive development! /e believed that learning was either one of two processes: assimilation or accommodation! 0ssimilation 0ssimilation is the most common form of learning lea rning used in today,s toda y,s classrooms! classrooms! It involves using memori;ation and skill ac
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organi;e and interpret information 5>ing# 6+(*# Pg!6(79! 0 child may think that anything that walks on two legs is human# which is not true! $ventually the child will learn the previous statement about humans is incorrect and the mind will adapt! The schema will then be altered an d developed to make room for new information! It is said that Jean Piaget,s main contribution to psychology was his theory of cognitive development! This theory contains four separate categories of learning! $ach category is defined  by an age group# and the different ways the brain is developing! These four groups# in order from  birth to adulthood# include the sensorimotor stage# preoperational stage 5also known as the symbolic stage9# intuitive stage# and concrete operational stage 5>ing# 6+(*# pg! 6)=&6)89! The first stage is the sensorimotor stage which begins at birth and continues u ntil the child is two years old! The type of cognitive learning that is taking place in this stage is mostly motor reflees and sensory eperiences! 'ensory eperiences meaning that the child is learning by what he or she is smelling# tasting# seeing# hearing# and feeling! Throughout this stage the child becomes more aware of the surrounding world# and that it is separate from itself 5>ing# 6+(*# pg! 6)-9! ?otor skills include any sort of physical motion such as crawling# waving the arms# and even learning how to talk! In this first stage there are primary# secondary# secondary# and tertiary circular reactions! The primary circular reaction happens from birth to about four months! This is where a child does something that acts as a stimulus# and responds with that same action over and over again! 'econdary circular reactions occur between four and twelve months! @ow the child,s actions are epanding outward and include the surrounding environment! This is when imitation starts to occur 5>ing# 6+(*# pg! 6)-9! 0round seven months is when a very important term called ob.ect permanency starts to set in! %b.ect permanence is an important milestone in the sensorimotor stage# because

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this is when a child is aware that an ob.ect still eists# even though it cannot be seen! 0 good eample of this would be playing peek&a&boo! Lastly# the tertiary circular reactions start at (6 months and last until 6= months! This is when the ch ild really begins to notice and understand und erstand that he or she is in control of o f their own movements! 0round one and a half years old the child will learn mental representation# where playing pretend and problem solving begin 5>ing# 6+(*# Pg! 6)-9! The second stage is the preoperational preopera tional stage! This includes children from age two and generally lasts until age seven! Called preoperational be cause the child still cannot perform what Piaget called operations# 2!!!mental representations that are reversible4 5>ing# 6+(*# Pg! 6)-9! Children in this stage do not completely understand u nderstand the concept that reversing a situation could revitali;e it and make it as it were! /ere the child will also begin to have a better understanding of the past and future even though the child is still considered an illogical thinker! Concepts of volume# or conservation# are still unclear! Changing the shape of an ob.ect may cause a child to think that the amount of the ob.ect has also changed! "or eample# the child may think that a taller glass has more liing# 6+(*# 6)-& 6)79! Aithin Aithin the preoperational stage are two subgroups: the symbolic and the intuitive stages! The symbolic stage occurs from age two until u ntil age four! This is when a child does not fully grasp the concept of an ob.ect# and the child confuses one ob.ect with another! This can sometimes cause a child to believe that two ob.ects that look eactly the same are the same! In the intuitive

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stage comes after the symbolic stage from age four to eight! This stage is where a child# 2!!!generally understands the essence of an ob.ect and does not confuse one ob.ect with another!!!4 5?alerstein 5?alerstein B 0hern# ()8)# pg! (+9! The child is now b eginning to focus more on other characteristics of ob.ects# even though there is still only one unchanging point of view! The intuitive stage is where a child begins to learn .ustice! ood behaviors deserve rewards# and bad  behaviors deserve punishment! The third stage is the concrete operational op erational stage which deals with children whose age group is from about seven to eleven years old! @ow the child is beginning to think more logically in situations# but continues to have difficulty thinking abstractly! Children in this age group learn  better when facts or something with a definite answer is presented# presented# which is why it is called the concrete operational stage 5>ing# 6+(*# pg! 6)-&6)79! The child is finally beginning to see the world through more than their own point of view# and learning to empathi;e with others! ?ental imaging improves greatly# and the child would now understand the concept of conservation! /e or she could complete c omplete the eperiment with the two glasses from earlier and know that the taller# skinnier glass can hold the same amount of volume as the shorter# fatter one! It becomes understood that amount of substance is not changing# .ust the shape! The child is also able to think operationally# and can reverse situations to go back to the beginning 5>ing# 6+(*#  pg! 6)-&6)79 The fourth and final stage of Piaget,s P iaget,s theory of cognitive development is the formal operational stage! This stage targets those from age eleven to fifteen and sometimes into adulthood! 0ccording to Piaget# this last stage is the ultimate stage of development! /e believed that some individual never fully reach this last stage! Children are now reaching adolescence and their schemas are constantly changing due to hormones caused by puberty! Those eperiencing

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this final stage are learning to think more logically# abstractly# abstractly# and theoretically! theoretically! Esing concrete information is not necessary here because the individual is able to brainstorm many different  possible outcomes to any given situation! @ot only can the child think abstractly but can also make predictions# and form hypotheses! The past and the future are familiar terms at this point and empathi;ing can come naturally to some! The formal operational stage is where idealistic thinking is introduced which is# 2!!!comparing how things are to how they might be4 5>ing# 6+(*# pg! 6)89! This means being able to create possible situations and repercussions! Problem solving called hypothetical&deductive reasoning is introduced! This is where plans are not only devised to solve problems but tests are performed in order to find solutions! 0fter reviewing each stage individually we find that the human brain is more comple than previously imagined! The cognitive process that occurs from birth to adulthood is continuously changing# not only our way of thinking# but also our behaviors! Learning begins with the most basic motor and sensory skills as a foundation and continues to grow# never taking a break! $ventually the mind is able to learn concretely which builds and builds all the way up to abstract and theoretical learning! 'chemas are constantly adap ting to our environment with each new eperience! Through the observations and eperiments conducted by Piaget the population all around the world can better understand the human mind! Aith that understanding can come more meaningful preparation as parents# teachers# and even as role models! It is easier to understand why children do the things that they do# and what to look for as far as abnormal  behavior! This This theory allows for closer connections on a more personal level with everyone#  because we are all one in the same when it comes to learning!

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References 1ibace# R! 56+(*9! Challenges in Piaget,s Legacy! Integrative Psychological B1ehavioral 'cience# =85(9! (78&(8-! 1latner# 0! 0! 56++=9!The Developmental @ature of Consciousness Transformation! Revision# 675=9# 6&8! >ing# L!0! 56+(*9! $perience psychology 56nd ed!9! @ew Fork# Fork# @F: ?craw&/ill ?alerstein# 0! J!# B 0hern# ?! ?! 5()8)9! PiagetGs stages of cognitive development an d adult character structure! 0merican Journal of Psychotherapy# **5(9# (+8!