Cognitive Development - Piaget

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Cognitive Development - Piaget

• What is cognitive development?
• Definition of cognition
• The structural-functional approach
• The information processing approach
• Piagets theory of cognitive development
• Background
• Piagets theory
• Cognitive equilibrium
• Cognitive schemata
• Behavioral (sensorimotor) schemata
• Symbolic schemata
• Operational schemata
• How do schema develop?
• Organization
• Adaptation Assimilation and accomodation
• Piagets stages of cognitive development
• Properties of stages
• Invariant developmental sequences
• Hierarchical relations among stages

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Definition of cognition

• Cognition
• Refers to act of knowing
• Concerned with the mental processes by which
  knowledge is acquired, elaborated, stored, and
  retrieved
• Attention to the world
• Perception of the world
• Learning, thinking, remembering, and so on
• Cognitive development
• Changes that occur in mental skills and abilities
  over time

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Perspectives on Cognitive Development

• The structural-functional approach
• Emphasizes the biological functions and
  environmental influences that promote
  developmental changes in the organization and the
  structure of intelligence
• The information-processing approach
• Focuses on the growth of specific cognitive
  processing mechanisms, such as perception,
  attention, memory, and so on

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Piagets Theory

• Cognitive equilibrium
• What is intelligence?
• Basic life force that helps one adapt to
  environment
• Type of equilibrium towards which all cognitive
  structures tend
• Produce balanced relation between through
  processes and environment
• Balanced relation called cognitive equilibrium
• Children as constructivists
• Cognitive schema (or schemata)
• Cognitive structure
• Pattern of thought or action
• Behavioral (sensorimotor) schemas
• Organized pattern of behavivor used to represent
  objects of experience
• First psychological structures to appear
• Symbolic schemas
• Ability to think about objects/events without
  actually having them present
• Operational schemas
• Cognitive operations applied to objects/events

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Piagets Theory, cont

• How do schema change?
• Organization
• Combine existing schemas into new schema
• Produces more complex intellectual structures
• Adaptation
• Two complementary processes Assimilation and
  accomodation
• Assimilation
• The process by which children attempt to
  interpret new experiences in relation to previous
  experiences
• Fit new information with existing schemas
• Accomodation
• The process by which children modify their
  existing cognitive structures to account for new
  experiences
• Existing schemas undergo change
• Two processes always occur together
• End result is cognitive equilibrium

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Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development

• Properties of stage theories
• Invariant developmental sequence
• Constant, unchanging order
• No skipping of stages
• Indicates strong maturational component
• Hierarchical relations among stages
• Structures of earlier stages not lost
• Incorporated into achievements of later stages
• Stages of development
• Period of sensorimotor intelligence (Birth 2
  years)
• Preoperational period (2 7 years)
• Concrete operational period (7 11 years)
• Formal operational period (11 years on)

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Period of Sensorimotor Intelligence

• Substages of the sensorimotor period
• Stage 1 The use of reflexes (0 1 mo)
• Stage 2 Primary circular reactions (1 4 mos)
• Stage 3 Secondary circular reactions (4 8 mos)
• Stage 4 Coordination of secondary schemas (8
  12 mos)
• Stage 5 Tertiary circular reactions (12 18
  mos)
• Stage 6 Invention of new means through mental
  combinations (18 24 mos)
• Specific developmental abilities
• Imitation
• Object permanence

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Preoperational Period

• Preconceptual period (2 4 years)
• Symbolic function and pretend play
• Animism
• Transductive reasoning
• Egocentrism
• Intuitive period (4 7 years)
• Conservation problems
• Characteristic to defining shift

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The Characteristic to Defining Shift
Uncle C / -D -C / D