Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S WORLD VIEW 1. Human nature: positive,

curious 2. Active individual 3. Interactionist: nature &

nurture 4. Discontinuity: qualitative

change, stages 5. Stages are universal

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S CONTRIBUTIONS

Intelligent behavior helps organisms adapt to their environments.

People actively construct new understandings of the world based on their interactions.

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S CONTRIBUTIONS

Young children, even infants, are intelligent. They think differently than older children and adults.

Focus on the processes of development.

Target: logico-mathematical thought.

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S 3 PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT

1. ADAPTATION– process of adjusting to the

demands of the environment.

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S 3 PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT (CONT)

1a. ASSIMILATION: interpreting new information in terms of existing schemes.

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S 3 PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT (CONT)

1b. ACCOMODATION: modifying existing schemes to better fit new information.

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S 3 PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT (CONT)

2. ORGANIZATION – process of combining existing

schemes into new and more complex ones.

Psy 311: Piaget

PIAGET’S 3 PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT

3. EQUILIBRATION– process of searching for

balance between cognitive structures and the environment.

Psy 311: Piaget

STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Psy 311: Piaget

INFANCYSENSORI-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

PERCEPTIONS (Sensori) ACTIONS (Motor)

Psy 311: Piaget

INFANCYSENSORI-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

From– Reflexes, senses, and

motivation

Psy 311: Piaget

INFANCYSENSORI-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

To

– Object permanence–Planful thinking–Ability to solve problems in the

head

Psy 311: Piaget

SYMBOLIC DEVELOPMENT

SYMBOLS– something stands for something

real

Psy 311: Piaget

SYMBOLS 1. OBJECTS

–symbolic play 2. WORDS

–language, memory 3. IDEAS

–stories, fantasy, concepts

Psy 311: Piaget

PRESCHOOL AGEPRE-OPERATIONAL THOUGHT

1. SYMBOLIC FUNCTION: ability to make one thing represent something else

–past, present, future

–language

–pretend play

Psy 311: Piaget

PRESCHOOL AGEPRE-OPERATIONAL THOUGHT

2. PERCEPTUAL SALIENCE: understanding is dominated by single most perceptually salient feature

Child reasons based on how things appear rather than on logic

Psy 311: Piaget

PRESCHOOL AGEPRE-OPERATIONAL THOUGHT

3. EGO-CENTRISM: view the world solely from one’s own perspective

Psy 311: Piaget

MIDDLE CHILDHOODCONCRETE OPERATIONS

1. Thought is operational: consists of internalized, reversible, organized systems of action

2. Thought is logical: can reason logically about concrete objects, events, and situations

Psy 311: Piaget

Film Clip: Piaget Conservation

Psy 311: Piaget

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory

1. Underestimated the cognitive abilities of infants & young children

Psy 311: Piaget

Film Clip: Baillargeon’s Impossible Event

Psy 311: Piaget

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory (Cont)

2. Claimed that broad stages of development exist

–Overemphasized abruptness of shifts

–May be more domain specific

Psy 311: Piaget

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory

3. Did not describe contribution of social environment

4. Too universal

Psy 311: Piaget

SUMMARY OF PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE

DEVELOPMENT

Psy 311: Piaget

AGE: Newborn

DEVELOPMENT

–Reflexes

–Senses

–Motivation

Psy 311: Piaget

1. SENSORI-MOTOR

AGE: Infancy

DEVELOPMENT –Action schemes–Object permanence–Planful problem-solving

Psy 311: Piaget

2. PRE-OPERATIONS

AGE: Early childhood

DEVELOPMENT

–Symbolic thought

–No logic

Psy 311: Piaget

3. CONCRETE OPERATIONS

AGE: Middle childhood

DEVELOPMENT: –Logic–Still concrete–No hypothetical thought

Psy 311: Piaget

LAST NAME, first name

Name the major advance and the major limitation for each stage of cognitive development.

1. Sensorimotor: 2. Preoperations: 3. Concrete operations:

Psy 311: Piaget

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