Chapter 7 Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development Module

Chapter 7: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Module 7. 1 General Principles of Piaget’s Theory Module 7. 2 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Module 7. 3 Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Module 7. 4 Beyond Piaget’s Theory Children and Their Development, 3/e by Robert Kail

7. 1 General Principles of Piaget’s Theory Schemes Assimilation and Accommodation Equilibration and Stages of Cognitive Development

7. 1 Schemes • Schemes are like categories; they organize experience and knowledge • Schemes first based on actions, then functions, and conceptions

7. 1 Assimilation and Accommodation • In assimilation, new experiences are readily incorporated into existing schemes • In accommodation, existing schemes must be changed to incorporate new information

7. 1 Equilibration and Stages of Cognitive Development • Equilibrium: when assimilation and accommodation are in balance • Periodically, schemes are inadequate and disequilibrium occurs. Equilibration is the process of reaching a new state of equilibrium • Metaphor of child as scientist • Three reorganizations of theories lead to 4 stages of cognitive development

7. 2 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development The Sensorimotor Stage The Preoperational Stage The Concrete Operational Stage The Formal Operational Stage

7. 2 The Sensorimotor Stage • From birth to approximately 2 years • Begins with reflexive responding and ends with using symbols • Object permanence: understanding that objects exist independently

7. 2 The Preoperational Stage • From approximately 2 to 7 years • Children use symbols but are many errors in thinking > Egocentrism > Centration > Confuse appearance and reality

Three Mountains Problem 7. 2: The Preoperational Stage

Conservation Tasks 7. 2: The Preoperational Stage

Models as Symbols or “Shrinking Rooms” 7. 2: The Preoperational Stage

7. 2 The Concrete Operational Stage • From approximately 7 to 11 years • Thinking based on mental operations (strategies and rules that make thinking more systematic and powerful) • Operations can be reversed • Focus on the real and concrete, not the abstract

7. 2 The Formal Operational Stage • From approximately 11 years to adulthood • Adolescents can think hypothetically • Use deductive reasoning

7. 3 Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Piaget’s Contributions to Child Development Criticisms of the Theory

7. 3 Piaget’s Contributions to Child Development • Piaget’s contributions: > the study of cognitive development itself > a new, constructivist view of children > fascinating, often counterintuitive, discoveries

7. 3 Criticisms of the Theory • Some criticisms: > alternative accounts of performance > consistency in performance > training on Piagetian concepts > actual versus possible thinking

Object Permanence and the “Impossible Event” 7. 3: Criticisms of the Theory

7. 4 Beyond Piaget’s Theory Neo-Piagetian Approaches to Cognitive Development The Child as Theorist The Sociocultural Perspective: Vygotsky’s Theory

7. 4 Neo-Piagetian Approaches to Cognitive Development • Retain Piaget’s basic claim of stages of intellectual development • Each child develops distinct conceptual structures that reflect experience • Working memory improves with age which allows children’s thinking to become more complex

7. 4 The Child as Theorist • Builds on Piaget’s metaphor of child as scientist • Research traces children’s knowledge of > naive physics (understanding objects) > naive psychology (theory of mind) > and naive biology (understanding unique properties of animate objects)

“Impossible” Physics Problem 7. 4 The Child as Theorist

Movement in Animate and Inanimate Objects 7. 4 The Child as Theorist

Theory of Mind 7. 4 The Child as Theorist

7. 4 The Sociocultural Perspective: Vygotsky’s Theory • Cognitive development is inseparable from social and cultural contexts • Zone of proximal development: difference between what can do alone or with assistance • Scaffolding: teaching style that matches assistance to learner’s needs • Private speech: comments intended to regulate own behavior • Inner speech: thought

Cultural Differences in Parental Scaffolding 7. 4: The Sociocultural Perspective