Piaget's Cognitive Development

by A.S.Arul Lawrence

1. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
A.S.ArulLawrence
Principal,
St.Joseph College of Education,
Kadamboduvalvu, Nanguneri-627108

2. 2
PIAGET’S THEORY
Prepared by
A.S.ArulLawrence
Principal,
St.Joseph College of Education,
Kadamboduvalvu, Nanguneri-627108
[email protected]
Prepared by A.S.Arul Lawrence

3. Introduction
JeanPiaget(1896-1980)wasoneofthe20thcentury‘smostinfluential
researchersintheareaofdevelopmentalpsychology.
Heoriginallytrainedintheareasofbiologyandphilosophyand
consideredhimselfa―geneticepistemologist.‖(genetic=
development,epistemology=studyofknowledge)
Piagetwantedtoknowhowchildrenlearnedthroughtheirdevelopment
inthestudyofknowledge.
HeadministeredBinet‘sIQtestinParisandobservedthatchildren‘s
answerswerequalitativelydifferent.
Piaget‘stheoryisbasedontheideathatthedevelopingchildbuilds
cognitivestructures(schemesusedtounderstandandrespondto
physicalenvironment).
Hebelievedthechild‘scognitivestructureincreasedwithdevelopment.
Piaget‘stheoriesofinfantdevelopmentwerebasedonhisobservations
ofhisownthreechildren.
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4. 4
Jean Piaget (1896-1980): History
Born: August 9, 1896
Neuchâtel,Switzerland
Died:Sept.16,1980 (Age84)
Geneva,Switzerland.
Parents:EldestsonofArthurPiagetand
RebeccaJackson.
Education:ReceivedPh.D.,from
UniversityofNeuchatelin1918.
Wife:MarriedtoValentineChatenayin
1923
Children: 3 childrennamely
Jacqueline,LucienneandLaurentwhose
intellectualdevelopmentfrominfancyto
languagewasstudiedbyPiaget.
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5. What is Cognition?
5
oThetermcognitionisderivedfromthe
Latinword“cognoscere”whichmeans
“toknow”or“torecognise”or“to
conceptualise”.
oItreferstothementalprocessesan
organism learns, remembers,
understands,perceives,solves
problemsandthinksaboutabodyof
information.
oExpertsargue thatcognition
progressesinstageswithincreasing
levelsofcomplexityandhencethe
phrase―cognitivedevelopment‖which
isthestagesachildgoesthrough
conceptualisingtheworldatdifferent
agelevels.
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6. What is Cognitive Development?
6
CognitiveDevelopmentdescribeshowthesemental
processesdevelopfrombirthuntiladulthood.Inotherwords,
whatkindofcognitiveskillsisa4yearoldchildcapableof
comparedtoa6yearold.
Theacquisitionoftheabilitytothink,reason,andproblem
solve.
Itistheprocessbywhichpeople'sthinkingchangesacross
thelifespan.
Piagetstudiedcognitivedevelopmentbyobservingchildren
inparticular,toexaminehowtheirthoughtprocesses
changewithage.
Hepioneeredawayofthinkingabouthowchildrengrow
psychologically.
Itisthegrowingapprehensionandadaptationtothe
physicalandsocialenvironment.
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7. How Cognitive Development Occurs?
CognitiveDevelopmentisgradual，orderly,changesbywhich
mentalprocessbecomemorecomplexandsophisticated.
Theessentialdevelopmentofcognitionistheestablishmentof
newschemes.
Assimilationandaccommodationarebothprocessingofthe
waysofcognitivedevelopment.
Theequilibrationisthesymbolofanewstageofthecognitive
development.
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8. Key Concepts:
8
1.Schema:aninternalrepresentationoftheworld.Aschema
describesboththementalandphysicalactionsinvolvedin
understandingandknowing.Schemasarementalorcognitive
structureswhichenablesapersontoadaptandtoorganisethe
environment.Schemasarecategoriesofknowledgethathelp
ustointerpretandunderstandtheworld.
Piagetcalledtheschemathebasicbuildingblockof
intelligentbehavior–awayoforganizingknowledge(includes
bothacategoryofknowledgeandtheprocessofobtainingthat
knowledge).Indeed,itisusefultothinkofschemasas―units‖of
knowledge,eachrelatingtooneaspectoftheworld,including
objects,actionsandabstract(i.e.theoretical)concepts.As
experienceshappen,thisnewinformationisusedtomodify,add
to,orchangepreviouslyexistingschemas.
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9. 9
Forexample,atbirththeschemaofababy
isreflexiveinnaturesuchassuckingand
grasping.Thesuckingreflexisaschema
andtheinfantwillsuckonwhateverisput
initsmouthsuchasanippleorafinger.
Theinfantisunabletodifferentiate
becauseithasonlyasinglesucking
schema.Slowly,theinfantlearnsto
differentiatewheremilk-producingobjects
areacceptedwhilenon-milkobjectsare
rejected.Atthispoint,theinfanthastwo
suckingschemas,oneformilk-producing
objectsandonefornon-milkproducing
objects.
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10. 10
2.Assimilation:isusinganexistingschema
todealwithanewobjectorsituation.The
processoftakinginnewinformationinto
ourpreviouslyexistingschema‘sisknown
asassimilation.
AchildseesaZebraforthefirsttime
andimmediatelycallsitaDonkey.Thus,the
childhasassimilatedintohisschemathat
thisanimalisaDonkey.
Whydoyouthinkthishappened?The
childseeingtheobject(Zebra),sifted
throughhiscollectionofschemas,untilhe
foundonethatseemedappropriate.Tothe
child,theobject(Zebra)hasallthe
characteristicsofaDonkey–itfitsinhis
Donkeyschema–sothechildconcludes
thattheobjectisaDonkey.Thechildhas
integratedtheobject(Zebra)intohis
Donkeyschema.
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11. Key Concepts…
11
3.Accommodation :Anotherpartof
adaptationinvolveschangingoraltering
ourexistingschemasinlightofnew
information,aprocessknownas
accommodation. Accommodation
involvesalteringexistingschemas,or
ideas,asaresultofnewinformationor
newexperiences.Newschemasmayalso
bedevelopedduringthisprocess.
Theboywhohadassimilatedthe
ZebraasaDonkeywilleventually
accommodatemoreinformationandthus
realizethedifferentcharacteristics
betweenaZebraandaDonkey.Thechild
willlearnthattheDonkeyisnotaDonkey
butaZebra,anaccommodatedability.
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13. 13
4.Equilibration:Piagetbelievedthatcognitive
developmentdidnotprogressatasteadyrate,butrather
inleapsandbounds.Equilibriumisoccurswhena
child'sschemascandealwithmostnewinformation
throughassimilation.However,anunpleasantstateof
disequilibriumoccurswhennewinformationcannotbe
fittedintoexistingschemas(assimilation).Equilibrationis
abalancebetweenassimilationandaccommodation.
Disequilibriumisanimbalancebetweenassimilationand
accommodation
Aschildrenprogressthroughthestagesofcognitive
development,itisimportanttomaintainabalance
betweenapplyingpreviousknowledge(assimilation)and
changingbehaviortoaccountfornewknowledge
(accommodation).Equilibrationhelpsexplainhow
childrenareabletomovefromonestageofthoughtinto
thenext.
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14. 14
Assimilation
Equilibrium
Accommoda
tion
Disequilibriu
m
Equilibration
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5.Adaptation:
Assimilationandaccommodation
are thetwo sidesof
adaptation,Piaget‘stermforwhat
mostofuswouldcalllearning
throughwhichawarenessofthe
outsideworldisinternalized.
Althoughonemaypredominateat
anyonemoment,theyaretwo
sidesandinseparableandexistin
adialecticalrelationship.
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16. Cognitive Structure
16
Cognitive
Structure
Organisation
Adaptation
Assimilation
Accommodation
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17. Stages:
17
1.Sensorimotor Stage
2.Preoperational Stage
3.Concrete Operational Stage
4.Formal Operational Stage
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18. 1. The SensorimotorStage
(birth to 2 yrs) (Infancy)
18
ThefirststageofPiaget‘stheorystartsfrombirthto
approximatelyage2andiscenteredontheinfant
tryingtomakesenseoftheworld.Duringthisstage,
thechild'sknowledgeislimitedtosensory
perceptionsandsimplemotoractivities.e.g.looking,
sucking,grasping.
Sub-stagesoftheSensorimotorStage:Itcanbe
dividedinto6separatesub-stages.
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1.Reflexes(0-1month):Inthefirstmonthoflife,infants‘behaviorsreflect
innatereflexes—automaticresponsestoparticularstimuli.Thechild
understandstheenvironmentpurelythroughinbornreflexessuchas
suckling,grasping,knee-jerking.Thesearethereactivefunctionsthatinfants
essentiallyexitthewombwith.Thesebehaviorsaretypically,quickly
reinforcedtoprovidefoodwhenhungry,grabthingsintheenvironment,and
pullawayfrompotentiallythreateningsensations.
Forinstance,ifyouputanippleorpacifierinornearanewborn‘s
mouth,shewillautomaticallysuckonit.Ifyouputsomethingagainstthepalm
ofanewborn‘shand,hisfingerswillautomaticallyclosearoundit.Manyof
theseinbornreflexesaredesignedtokeeptheinfantalive.Theinfantsoon
beginstomodifysomereflexestobetteraccommodatetotheenvironment—
forinstance,bylearningtodistinguishbetweenanippleandthesurrounding
areasofabreastorbottle.Andotherreflexes,suchasthetendencytograb
ontosomethingplacedinthehand,fadeawayovertime.
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2.PrimaryCircularReactions(1-4months):Itinvolves
coordinatingsensationandnewschemas.Inthefirstfew
monthsoflife,infants‘behaviorsarefocusedalmost
exclusivelyontheirownbodies(inPiaget‘sterminology,the
behaviorsareprimary)andarerepeatedoverandover
again(i.e.,theyarecircular).Infantsalsobegintorefine
theirreflexesandcombinethemintomorecomplex
actions.
Forexample:Achildmaysuchhisorherthumbby
accidentandthenlaterintentionallyrepeattheaction.
Theseactionsarerepeatedbecausetheinfantfindsthem
pleasurable.
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3.SecondaryCircularReactions(4-8
months):Inthisstagethechild
becomemoreawareofandmore
responsivetotheoutsideworld(their
behaviorsbecomesecondary),and
theybegintonoticethattheir
behaviorscanhaveinterestingeffects
ontheobjectsaroundthem.Thechild
becomesmorefocusedontheworld
andbeginstointentionallyrepeatan
actioninordertotriggeraresponsein
theenvironment.
Forexample:Achildwill
purposefullypickupatoyinorderto
putitinhisorhermouth.
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4.CoordinationofReactions(8-12months):Thechild
startstoshowclearlyintentionalactions.Thechildmay
alsocombineschemasinordertoachieveadesired
effect.Afterrepeatedlyobservingthatcertainactionslead
tocertainconsequences,infantsgraduallyacquire
knowledgeofcause-effectrelationships.
Forexample:1.Achildmightrealizethatarattlewill
makeasoundwhenshaken.2.Whenaninfantseesthe
twineofapull-toynearher,ratherthancrawlingoverto
thetoyshemightinsteadreachoutandgrabthetwine
andthenpurposelypullthetwineinordertoacquirethe
toy.
Anotheracquisitionatthissub-stageisobject
permanence,meansknowingthatanobjectstill
exists,evenifitishidden.AccordingtoPiaget,Object
Permanenceisachild'sawarenessorunderstandingthat
objectscontinuetoexisteventhoughtheycannotbeseen
orheard.
Forexample,whenacaregiverhidesanattractivetoy
beneathapillow,theinfantknowsthatthetoystill
exists,alsoknowswhereitexists,andwillattemptto
retrieveit.Beforethisstage,thechildbehavesasifthe
toyhadsimplydisappeared.
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5.TertiaryCircularReactions(12-18
months):Piagetbelievedthismarksthe
developmentalstartingpointforcuriosity
andinterestinnovelty.Beginningsometime
aroundtheirfirstbirthday,infantsshow
increasingflexibilityandcreativityintheir
behaviors,andtheirexperimentationwith
objectsoftenleadstonewoutcomes(the
termtertiaryreflectsthisnewversatilityin
previouslyacquiredresponses).
Forexample:Achildmaytryout
differentsoundsoractionsasawayof
gettingattentionfromacaregiver.
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6.EarlyRepresentationalThought(18-24months):
Piagetproposedthatinthelatterhalfofthesecond
year,youngchildrendevelopsymbolicthought,the
abilitytorepresentandthinkaboutobjectsand
eventsintermsofinternal,mentalentities,or
symbols.Theymay“experiment”withobjectsintheir
minds,firstpredictingwhatwillhappeniftheydo
somethingtoanobject,thentransformingtheirplans
intoaction.Tosomedegree,mentalpredictionand
planningreplaceoverttrial-and-errorasgrowing
toddlersexperimentandattempttosolveproblems.
Thecapacityformentalrepresentationisseenin
theemergenceofdeferredimitation,theabilityto
recallandcopyanotherperson’sbehaviorsand
infantsshowsomeabilitytoimitateothers’
actions.Theirnewlyacquiredabilitytorecalland
imitateotherpeople‘spastactionsenablesthemto
engageinmake-believeandpretendplay—for
instance,by―talking‖onatoytelephoneor―driving‖
withthetoysteeringwheelattachedtotheircarseats.
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25. 2. Preoperational Stage
(2 to 7 yrs) (Toddler and Early Childhood)
25
Pre-operationalstage(twotosevenyears):
Thisstagebeginswhenthechildstartstousesymbolsand
language.Thisisaperiodofdevelopinglanguageandconcepts.
So,thechildiscapableofmorecomplexmentalrepresentations
(i.e.wordsandimages).Heisstillunabletouse‗operations‘,i.e.
logicalmentalrules,suchastherulesofarithmetic.Itisdividedinto
twosub-stages:
1.Preconceptualstage(2to4years):Here,cognitive
developmentbecomesincreasinglydominatedbysymbolic
activity.Thechildcanusesymbolstostandforactions;atoy
dollstandsforarealbabyorthechildrole-playsmummyor
daddy.Languagealsodevelopsduringthisstage.
2.Intuitivestage(5to7years):Thisstageischaracterizedbythe
wayinwhichchildrenbasetheirknowledgeonwhattheyfeel
orsensetobetrue,yettheycannotexplaintheunderlying
principlesbehindwhattheyfeelorsense.
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26. Thefollowingarethekeyfeaturesofthisstage:
1.Egocentrism:Thechild‘sthoughtsandcommunicationsaretypically
egocentric(i.e.aboutthemselvesorhis/herpointofview)E.g.:”IfI
can’tseeyou,youcan’tseeme!”.Itistheinabilitytoseetheworld
throughanyoneelse‘seyesexceptonhisown.Itiswellexplainedby
PiagetasThreeMountainTask.
2.Animism:Treatinginanimateobjectsaslivingones.E.g.:Children
bathing,dressingandfeedingtheirdollsasiftheyarealive.
3.Centration:Itreferstothetendencytofocusononlyoneaspectofa
situation,problemorobject,andsocannotseethebigpicture.
Centrationisnoticedinconservation:theawarenessthatalteringa
substance'sappearancedoesnotchangeitsbasicproperties.
Childrenatthisstageareunawareofconservation.Theyareunable
tograsptheconceptthatacertainliquidbethesamevolume
regardlessofthecontainershape.Forexample,equalamountsof
liquidarepouredintotwoidenticalcontainers.Theliquidinone
containeristhenpouredintoadifferentshapedcup,suchasatall
andthincup,orashortandwidecup.Thenthechildisasked,Which
onehasmorewater,thetallglassortheshortglass.
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27. 3. Concrete Operational Stage
(7 to 12 yrs of age) (Childhood and early Adolescence)
27
TheConcreteOperationalstageischaracterizedbytheappropriateuseoflogic.
Importantprocessesduringthisstageare:
1.Seriation:theabilitytosortobjectsinanorderaccordingtosize,shapeoranyother
characteristic.Eg.:ifgivendifferent-shadedobjects,theymaymakeacolourgradient.
2.Transitivity:theabilitytorecognizelogicalrelationshipsamongelementsinaserial
order.Eg.:ifAistallerthanBandBistallerthanC,thenAmustbetallerthanC.
3.Classification:theabilitytonameandidentifysetsofobjectsaccordingto
appearance,sizeorothercharacteristic,includingtheideathatonesetofobjectscan
includeanother
4.Decentering:wherethechildtakesintoaccountmultipleaspectsofaproblemto
solveit.Forexample,thechildwillnolongerperceiveanexceptionallywidebutshort
cuptocontainlessthananormally-wide,tallercup.
5.Reversibility:thechildunderstandsthatnumbersorobjectscanbechanged,then
returnedtotheiroriginalstate.Forthisreason,achildwillbeabletorapidlydetermine
thatif4+4=t,t−4willequal4,theoriginalquantity.
6.Conservation:understandingthatquantity,lengthornumberofitemsisunrelatedto
thearrangementorappearanceoftheobjectoritems.
7.EliminationofEgocentrism:theabilitytoviewthingsfromanother'sperspective.
However,inthisstagechildcansolveproblemsthatapplytoactual(concrete)
objectsoreventsonly,andnotabstractconceptsorhypotheticaltasks.
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29. Stage 3…
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30. Stage 3…
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31. 4. Formal Operational Stage
(from 12 yrs and up) (Adolescence and Adulthood)
31
Thisisthemostcompletestageofdevelopment.Inthisstage,
theindividual‘s
1.thoughtbecomesincreasinglyflexibleandabstract,i.e.,cancarry
outsystematicexperiments.
2.abilitytosystematicallysolveaprobleminalogicalandmethodical
way.
3.Understandthatnothingisabsolute;everythingisrelative.
4.Skillssuchaslogicalthought,deductivereasoning,andsystematic
planningdevelopinductiveaswellasdeductivelogic.
5.Understandthattherulesofanygamesorsocialsystemare
developedbymanbymutualagreementandhencecouldbe
changedormodified.
6.Thechild‘swayofthinkingisatitsmostadvanced,althoughthe
knowledgeithastoworkwithwillchange.
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33. General Characteristics of this Stages:
Thesefourstageshavebeenfoundtohavethefollowing
characteristics:
1.Eachstageisastructuredwholeandinastateof
equilibrium.
2.Eachstagederivesfromthepreviousstageandincorporate
andtransformtoprepareforthenextandnogoingback.
3.Thestagesfollowaninvariantsequence.Thereisno
skippingstages.
4.Thestagesareuniversal.Culturedoesnotimpactthe
stages.Childreneverywheregothroughthesamestages
nomatterwhattheirculturalbackgroundis.
5.Eachstageisacomingintobeing.Thereisagradual
progressionfromstagetostage.
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34. Applications of Theory in the
Classroom
JeanPiaget’stheoriesareimbeddedintothe
schoolsysteminthesensethatthecurriculumis
basedonhisstagetheory.
Thecurriculumisdesignedtoteachstudentsat
thefirststageandprogressivelyteachnew
learningtochangetheschemasinordertomove
studentsthrougheachstage.
Theteacherstartsatthebasicsintroducinga
newsubjectandoncetheknowledgeofthat
subjectismastered,theywouldcreateaschema.
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35. Totransitiontothenextstage,oranewlearningmethod,
theteacherwoulddemonstratehowthestudentwill
change,modifyoradapttheirschematothenewmethod
inorderfornewlearningtotakeplace.
Whenchildrenentertheschooltheyaregenerallyatthe
preoperationalstage.Teachersmustrecognizethatthey
cannotlearnconcrete-operationalstrategiesuntilthe
studentshavemasteredthepreoperationalschemas
Inotherwords,studentsmuststartatthebasicfirststage
andmasteritbeforetheycanprogresswelltohigher
stages.
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36. Educational Implications:
36
1.Emphasisondiscoveryapproachinlearning.
2.Curriculumshouldprovidespecificeducationalexperience
basedonchildren‘sdevelopmentallevel.
3.Arrangeclassroomactivitiessothattheyassistand
encourageself-learning.
4.Donottreatchildrenasminiatureadults;theythinkandlearn
differentlyfromadults.
5.Practicallearningsituations.
6.SimpletoComplexandProjectmethodofteaching.
7.Co-curricularactivitieshaveequalimportanceasthatof
curricularexperiencesinthecognitivedevelopmentof
children.
8.Majorgoalsofeducationareequaltothecreativeandcritical
thinking.
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