JEAN PIAGET COGNITIVE THEORYV.M.WESTERBERG’S SUPER BRIEF THEORY SERIES

JEAN PIAGETPiaget was the only son of a rich Swiss university professor and a very religious

(Calvinist), high-class, French lady. He was allowed to attend lectures at University and, being a child prodigy, he

published his first scientific article at the age of 11. He studied Natural Sciences, and then specialised in developmental psychology. He

studied the cognitive development (the acquisition of skills and knowledge) of his 3 children from birth to adulthood.

His theory says the opposite of Vygotsky’s. Vygotsky believed that your environment

determines your intelligence and skills, and Piaget believed that your natural (inherited) intelligence and skills determine your development.

Einstein referred to Piaget as “a genius”.

COGNITIVE theories of development (Piaget, Vygotsky)

Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

Piaget proposed the existence of four stages, or "periods," during which children and adolescents master the ability to use symbols and to reason. He believed that biology was the most important factor for learning.

Key Concepts: Schemas - A schema is a mental category [or mental folder]. For example, a child may have a schema (mental folder) about a type of animal, such as a dog

(“doggy folder”). If the child’s experience with animals has been with dogs, a child might believe that all animals that are furry and have four legs are doggies.

Suppose that the child encounters a sheep. The child will say “doggy” in an effort to assimilate, that is, make the new object fit in his previous mental category. When he is told that it is not a doggy but a sheep, the child creates a new schema (mental folder) for sheep. The creation of a new schema is called accommodation.

It is important to maintain a balance between previous knowledge (assimilation) and new

knowledge (accommodation). Equilibration means that the child will not create another folder if not strictly necessary, [so that the hard disk (brain) does not get too full].

Piaget’s cognitive theory stages are: 1. Sensorimotor

2. Pre-operational3. Concrete operational4. Formal operational

Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)

Children begin to experience the world (their environment) through their senses (eyes, ears, hands). Their behaviour is a simple motor response (crying) caused by a sensation (wet nappy).

Object Permanence [from 8 months of age]Object permanence is a child's understanding that

objects continue to exist even when they cannot see or hear the object. E.g.: peek-a-boo.

Pre-operational Stage (2-6 years)

Children begin to use language and think symbolically, BUT their thinking is still intuitive and egocentricIntuitive: Makes little use of reasoning and logicEgocentric: “Everybody thinks and feels what l’m thinking and feeling”

Language development is one of the hallmarks of this period. During the preoperational stage, children also start using symbols in make-believe playing and

pretending. That is, a child is able to use an object to represent something else, such as pretending a broom is a horse.

Role playing also becomes important during the preoperational stage. Children often play the roles of "mommy," "daddy," "doctor" and many others.

Egocentrism:Children at this stage are unable to take on another person's perspective. If they can see or feel

something, everybody does. (lack of) Conservation:Lack of conservation of the matter means “Bigger is more” Put the same amount of water in 2 short glasses. Pour the contents of one of them into a very tall but

very narrow glass. Ask which glass contains more water. The taller glass must contain more water because it’s bigger!

Concrete Operational Stage (6-12 years)

Children become able to use concepts of time, space, volume, and number BUT in ways that remain simplified and concrete, not abstract. They can only “theorise” about things they have experienced.

Conservation: Mass, weight, and volume remain unchanged when the shape of objects changes Inductive logic:Going from a specific experience to a general principle (if l feel this way when something

happens, others must feel the same way) or also this: Bobby is a Labrador, a Labrador is a dog, a dog is an animal.

However, children at this stage have difficulty doing the opposite, using deductive logic, which involves using a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event (something happening to others will not happen to me),

or also this: So, an animal is a dog, a (type of )dog is a Labrador, and my Labrador is called Bobby.

Reversibility of thought:Awareness that mental categories (schemas) can be reversed. Ability to retrace the steps to do

something. For example, a deflated football can be reversed to its normal shape if inflated.

Formal Operational Stage (12-adulthood)

Abstract Thought:Instead of relying only on previous experiences, children can imagine,

guess possible consequences of actions that they have never experienced. This type of thinking is important in long-term planning.

Deductive logic:Deductive logic requires the ability to use a general principle to

determine a specific outcome. Going from big to small (from animal to Bobby).

This type of thinking is required in science and mathematics. (Sherlock Holmes used deductive logic to solve his cases)

Problem-Solving:Before age 12, children used trial-and-error to solve problems. After the age of 12, children are able to solve a problem in a logical and

methodical way, they are able to solve a problem following logical steps.

EXERCISES

1. WHAT IS A SCHEMA?2. WHAT IS ASSIMILATION?3. WHAT IS ACCOMODATION?4. WHAT IS EQUILIBRIUM?5. WHAT IS OBJECT PERMANENCE?6. WHAT IS EGOCENTRISM IN CHILDREN?7. WHAT IS REVERSIBILITY?8. EXPLAIN CONSERVATION IN CHILDREN9. INDUCTIVE LOGIC IS GOING FROM .....10.DEDUCTIVE LOGIC IS GOING FROM .....11. WHAT IS ABSTRACT THOUGHT?