Jean Piaget and hisTheories: CognitiveDevelopment andEpistemology

Through play,

children assimilateinformation

into their schemas,

and accommodateto their surroundings.

Play Is

EssentialTo the development

Of the the human mind.

Top Left: AlbinoSparrow

Top Right: Mollusk(snail)

Bottom: Museum ofNatural Science inNeuchatel

Differentiating the

partfrom the

whole.

Piaget and HisFamily.

Piaget and HisWife, Valentine.

Assimilation =

Ball Going ThruNet.

Accommodation =Person ShootingBall.

Assimilation Accommodation

A balanceCreatesEquilibrium.

An imbalanceCreatesDisequilibrium.

Sensory Motor(Birth-2)

Preoperational(2-7)

ConcreteOperations (7-11)

Formal Operations(11-16)

The Stages Of CognitiveDevelopment:

“Object

Permanence”

“Egocentrism”

“InteriorizedAction”

“AbstractThought”

Sensory-Motor Stage (Birth-2)

Six Substages:1. Random and reflex actions (0-1)

2. Primary circular reactions (1-4)

3. Secondary circular reactions (4-8)

4. Coordination of secondary schemata (8-14)

5. Tertiary circular reactions (12-18)

6. Invention of new means through mentalcombinations (18-2yrs)

Sensory Motor Substages (1-3)

Random and ReflexActions (1st substage):

“Random but Important.”

Primary CircularReactions (2nd substage):

“The recognition ofshapes, objects andfaces.”

Secondary CircularReactions (3rd substage):

“Imitation.”

Sensory Motor Substages (4-6)

Coordination of secondaryschemata (4th substage):

“Intent. ObjectIndependence. SymbolicThought.”

Tertiary circularreactions (5th substage):

“Rapid expansion ofSchema.”

New Means through newcombinations (6thsubstage):

“Thought before action.”

Preoperational Stage (2-7)

Key Terms and Concepts:

“Egocentric behavior”

“transductive reasoning”

“syncretic thought”

“juxtaposition reasoning”

“animism”

“artificialism”

Preconceptual Stage (agestwo to four)

Preceptual or IntuitiveThought Period (ages four toseven)

Preconceptual Stage (2-4)

In thePreconceptual stagethe child begins touse language andmental images, andattempts togeneralize inillogical ways.

Preceptual/IntuitiveThought Period (4-7)

In thePeriod of Intuitive Thought,Problem-solvingdependson instinctiveThought andappearances,not on judgmentOr reasoning.

Concrete Operations (7-11)“… the child now can nowoperate in thought onconcrete objects or theirrepresentations.”

--Logic V. SurfaceAppearances.

Formal Operations (11, or 12 -->)

“Operate on Operations”

“Thinking about thoughtrather than aboutconcrete things.”

-- Hypotheses

Epistemology is simply

The development of

Knowledge or logical

Structures over time.

How do we come toknow what weknow?

Development iscontinuous andconsistent.