UNI

T1
I
ntr
oduct
iont
oDev
elopment
alPsy
chol
ogy
 Def
ini
ti
on,
Maj
orsub-
fi
elds,
met
hodsofst
udyappl
i
edi
nDev
elopment
al
Psy
chol
ogywi
themphasi
sont
hemer
itanddemer
it
[Link]
gni
fi
canceof
dev
elopment
alpsy
chol
ogy
.

Dev
elopment
alPsy
chol
ogy

Asasci
ent
if
icdi
sci
pli
nei
sconcer
nedwi
thexpl
ori
ngandchangesi
nthought
s,
f
eel
i
ngsandbehav
iouracr
ossl
i
[Link]
hesci
ent
if
icst
udyt
hatst
udi
est
hepat
ter
n
ofager
elat
edchangesi
nbehav
iour
.

Goal
sofPsy
chol
ogy

Thegoal
sofdev
elopment
alpsy
chol
ogyi
ncl
udes:

ToDescr
ibeBehav
iour

ToPr
edi
ctBehav
iour

ToExpl
ainBehav
iour

ToCont
rol
Behav
iour
.

Appr
oachest
oDev
elopment
alPsy
chol
ogy

St
ruct
ural
i
sm byEdwar
dTi
tchener

Funct
ional
i
sm byWi
l
li
am James

Behav
iour
ism byI
vanPav
lov
,JohnWat
sonandB.
FSki
nner

Psy
choanal
ysi
sbySi
gmundFr
eud

Gest
altbyMacWer
thei
mer

Humani
sti
cbyCar
lRogerandAbr
aham Masl
ow

Cogni
ti
vebyJanePi
aget(
Abi
l
ityt
oexpl
ain)
.
Met
hodsofSt
udyAppl
i
ed,
Mer
itandDemer
it
sofDev
elopment
alPsy
chol
ogy
Met
hod St
rengt
hs Weaknesses
Exper
iment Canmakecauseandef
fect Sampl
i
ng er
ror
s,of
ten har
dto
r
elat
ionshi
p,t
her
esear
cher gener
ali
zet
oreal
wor
ld
hascont
rol
Cor
rel
ati
on Can st
udy r
eal wor
ld Cannot det
ermi
ne cause and
behav
iour
. Can det
ermi
ne ef
fect
r
elat
ionshi
p.
Nat
ural
i
sti
c Can gat
heri
nfor
mat
ion i
n Cannot det
ermi
ne cause and
Obser
vat
ion i
ts usual set
ti
ng as i
t ef
fect
.Obser
verbi
asi
spossi
ble,
nat
ural
l
y occur
s,i
tist
he
best f
or dev
elopment
al
psy
chol
ogi
st.
CaseSt
udy I
ntensi
vei
nfor
mat
ioncanbe Cannot det
ermi
ne cause and
gat
her
edabouti
ndi
vi
dual
s. ef
fect
.Iti
s expensi
ve and t
ime
consumi
ng. The i
nfor
mat
ion
gat
her
ed may not be abl
eto
gener
ali
zet
o ot
her
s,andbi
asi
s
v
erypossi
ble.
Sur
vey Lar
ge amount
s of Cannot det
ermi
ne cause and
i
nfor
mat
ioncanbegat
her
ed ef
fect
.Bi
asedsampl
eispossi
ble,
f
rom many peopl
e i
n a t
hesur
veyquest
ionsmi
ghtnotbe
r
elat
ivel
y shor
t per
iod of r
eli
abl
eorv
ali
d.
t
ime.

Si
gni
fi
canceofDev
elopment
alPsy
chol
ogyt
otheTeacher
.
 Dev
elopment
alpsy
chol
ogyi
s an i
mpor
tantsour
ce ofi
nfor
mat
ion f
or
t
eacher
s aboutt
he chi
l
dren and peopl
e acr
oss v
ari
ous st
ages of
dev
elopment
.Itcanser
veasgui
det
othedeci
sionst
akenbyt
eacher
s
concer
ningt
eachi
ngandl
ear
ning.
  Dev
elopment
alpsy
chol
ogyt
ell
syout
hechar
act
eri
sti
csofchi
l
drenatt
hei
r
di
ff
erentagegr
ades,how t
hei
rthi
nki
ngpr
ocessdi
ff
ersf
rom t
hatofan
adul
t,how at
eachercandeci
det
hatachi
l
disr
eadyf
orschool
,the
behav
iour
sthatar
eaccept
abl
eandt
heonest
hatar
epr
obl
emat
ic,t
he
t
hingst
hati
nfl
uenceachi
l
d’sl
ear
ningandwhatt
eachi
ngst
ylei
sbestf
or
t
hedi
ff
erentagegr
oups.
 Knowl
edge f
rom dev
elopment
alpsy
chol
ogy assi
stst
he t
eacher t
o
under
standt
hewaychi
l
drenandpeopl
ethi
nk,
feel
andact
.
 I
tcanal
sohel
pteacher
spr
edi
ctf
utur
ebehav
iourwi
tht
heassi
stanceof
knowl
edge gai
ned f
rom t
he di
ff
erentt
heor
[Link] t
eacherget
sto
under
standcl
ear
lyage-
rel
atedorsequent
ial
,butcont
inuous,pr
ogr
essi
on
andchangesf
rom concept
iont
odeat
h.

UNI
T2:
Phy
sicalGr
owt
handDev
elopment
Gr
owt
h:I
t’
sthequant
it
ati
vechangei
nsi
zeandst
ruct
ure,connot
ingi
ncr
easei
nbodi
l
y
di
mensi
ons.I
toccur
sasar
esul
tofmul
ti
pli
cat
ion,
div
isi
on,
elongat
ionorenl
argementof
cel
l
s.

Dev
elopment
:thi
sist
hequal
i
tat
iveandpr
ogr
essi
veser
iesofor
der
lyandcoher
ent
changesl
eadi
ngt
owar
dst
hegoal
sofmat
uri
ty.I
tisdi
rect
ionalandl
eadi
ngf
orwar
d
r
athert
hanbackwar
d(Hur
luck,1976)
.Dev
elopmenti
sgr
adualbutor
der
lychangest
hat
i
ndi
vi
dual
goest
hroughf
rom concept
iont
il
ldeat
h.

Ander
son(
1960)
,def
ined dev
elopmentasacompl
expr
ocessofi
ntegr
ati
ng many
st
ruct
uresandf
unct
ions,
andeachchangei
sdependentupont
hepr
ecedi
ngoneandi
n
t
urnaf
fect
swhatwi
l
lcomeaf
ter
.

OR

Thi
sist
hesy
stemat
icchangei
nthei
ndi
vi
dualt
hatoccurbet
weent
hemomentof
concept
ionandt
hemomentt
hei
ndi
vi
dualdi
es.I
tcanbedescr
ibedbyr
efer
ri
ngt
o
par
ti
cul
ardev
elopment
almi
l
est
onest
hatar
esi
gni
fi
cantachi
evement
sofonesor
tor
anot
her
,suchassi
tt
ingup,
crawl
i
ng,
wal
ki
ng,
fir
stwor
dset
[Link]
elopment
almi
l
est
ones
occuratpar
ti
cul
arages,chi
l
drendev
elopatt
hei
[Link]
l
drenwi
l
lreacha
mi
l
est
onebef
oreot
her
s

Mat
urat
ion:I
tref
erst
otheunf
oldi
ngoft
hebi
ologi
cal
l
yinher
it
edt
rai
tsofani
ndi
vi
dual
.It
mar
kst
heendofgr
owt
handdev
elopmentchar
act
eri
zedbycompl
eti
onofst
ruct
ural
changesandt
heat
tai
nmentoft
hecapaci
tyt
ofunct
ionphy
sical
l
yandment
all
yina
mannerchar
act
eri
sti
coft
hatst
[Link]

Mat
urat
ioni
sthebi
ologi
calunf
oldi
ngoft
hei
ndi
vi
dualaccor
dingt
othepl
ancont
ained
i
nthegenes,
whi
chi
stheher
edi
tar
ymat
eri
alpassedf
rom par
ent
stot
hei
rof
fspr
ing.I
tis
cont
rol
l
edbyi
nter
nalbi
ologi
calf
act
ors,
itoccur
snat
ural
l
ywi
thoutanyconsci
ousef
for
t
ont
hepar
toft
hei
ndi
vi
dual
,itpr
ovi
desuswi
tht
heabi
l
ityt
odosomet
hingwhi
cht
hen
makeswayf
orl
ear
ningt
ooccur
.

Bi
ologi
calbasesofDev
elopment

Thebi
ologi
calbasesofgr
owt
handdev
elopmentar
egui
dedbysomef
undament
al
pr
inci
[Link]
dingt
oSt
one(
1976)
,asci
tedbyEker
uoet
al.
,(1989)
,ther
ear
esi
xbasi
c
pr
inci
plesi
ngr
owt
handdev
elopmentwhi
char
easf
oll
ows.

Cephal
ocaudalPr
inci
ple:t
his pr
inci
ple st
atet
hatgr
owt
h and dev
elopment
pr
oceedf
rom t
heheadr
egi
ont
othet
ailr
egi
[Link]
dcephal
ocaudali
sa
wor
dder
ic=v
edf
rom t
wot
ermsCephal
o-meani
ngheadand–caudalmeani
ng
t
ail
.Anew bor
nbaby(
neonat
e)showsar
emar
kabl
ydev
elopedheadt
hant
he
l
owerpar
tsoft
hebody
.

Pr
oxi
modi
stalPr
inci
ple:t
his pr
inci
ple st
ates t
hatgr
owt
h and dev
elopment
pr
oceedf
rom t
het
runkr
egi
ont
othemor
edi
stantpar
tsoft
hebodyt
othe
per
ipher
alpar
[Link]
oxi
modi
stalasawor
disder
ivedf
rom t
wot
erms;Pr
oxi
mo-
meani
ngcent
ral
ormi
ddl
eand–di
stal
meani
ngt
ermi
nal
orper
ipher
y.

Di
mini
shi
ngPl
ast
ici
ty:t
hispr
inci
plest
atest
hati
ndi
vi
dual
stendt
obecomel
ess
f
lexi
bleandadapt
abl
ewi
[Link]
efor
e,ast
hei
ndi
vi
dualgr
owsol
derhi
srat
e
 ofmemor
yint
ermsofconcent
rat
ion,assi
mil
ati
onandr
epr
oduct
iont
endt
o
di
mini
sh.

Di
ff
erent
iat
ionPr
inci
ple:Thi
sst
atest
hstdi
ff
erentpar
tsoror
gansoft
hebody
hav
edi
ff
erentf
unct
ionswhi
char
eco-
ordi
nat
edi
nani
ndi
vi
duale.
[Link]
ter
concept
ionandf
ormat
ionofzy
got
e,t
heeggswi
l
lst
artt
odi
vi
deandmul
ti
plyand
t
ofunct
iondi
ff
erent
lyr
esul
ti
ngi
ntot
hef
ormat
ionoft
hebr
ain,ey
es,ear
s,nose,
e.
t.
c.

I
ntegr
ati
onPr
inci
ple:Thei
ntegr
ati
onpr
inci
pleal
soknownast
hecooper
ati
on
pr
inci
ple.
iti
nvol
vest
hei
ntegr
ati
onoft
hedi
ff
erentf
unct
ionsoft
heor
gansoft
he
bodyt
oachi
evet
hedesi
redr
esul
[Link]
efor
e,i
fthedi
ff
erent
iat
edor
gansf
unct
ion
di
ff
erent
ly,t
her
ewi
l
lbepr
obl
em anddi
sor
deri
nthehumansy
stem e.
g.t
he
f
eat
ures oft
he mout
h,earand nose ar
e cl
osel
yint
egr
ated f
oref
fect
ive
f
unct
ioni
ng.

Successi
veSt
ages:Thi
spr
inci
pleemphasi
zest
hecont
inuouspr
ocesswher
eby
gr
owt
h and dev
elopmentoccuri
n st
ages wi
thoutl
i
miti
nvol
vi
ng const
ant
changesr
ightf
rom bi
rt
hti
l
ldeat
h.

Gener
alChar
act
eri
sti
csofphy
sicaldev
elopment

Thegener
alchar
act
eri
sti
csofdev
elopmentar
e:

Dev
elopmentcomesf
rom mat
urat
ionandl
ear
ning:t
hischar
act
eri
sti
cscomes
f
rom t
hef
actt
hatmat
urat
ionalf
unct
ionsar
ephy
logenet
icwhi
l
edev
elopmental
f
unct
ions ar
e ont
ogenet
ic– l
eadi
ng nor
mal
l
yto a change i
n behav
iour
.
Mat
urat
ion l
ayst
he f
oundat
ion orconf
erst
he abi
l
ityf
orl
ear
ning t
o occur
.
Wi
thoutt
hecompl
eti
onofst
ruct
uralchangesandat
tai
nmentoft
hecapaci
tyt
o
f
unct
ion,t
hechi
l
d cannoti
mit
ate,pr
act
iceorcar
ryoutanyexer
cisehence
l
ear
ning cannotoccur
.When l
ear
ning whi
ch bui
l
ds on t
he f
oundat
ion of
mat
urat
ion has occur
red,t
hen changes i
n behav
iour wi
l
lbe obser
ved.
Dev
elopment
alchangesar
esai
dtohav
eseti
n.

Dev
elopmentf
oll
owsaPr
edi
ctabl
ePat
ter
n:ev
eryspeci
e,whet
herani
malor
 humanf
oll
owapar
ti
cul
arpat
ter
nofdev
elopmentsi
mil
art
oal
lthei
ndi
vi
dual
sin
t
hatspeci
[Link]
urat
ional
l
y,chi
l
drensi
tandcr
awlbef
oret
heywal
[Link]
thoughno
t
woi
ndi
vi
dual
sar
eexact
lyal
i
kei
nthei
rpaceofdev
elopment
,butal
lchi
l
dren
f
oll
ow a gener
alsequence ofgr
owt
h char
act
eri
sti
csoft
hespeci
eand t
he
cul
tur
algr
oup(
thel
awofcephal
ocaudal
andpr
oxi
modi
stal
).

Ther
ear
eIndi
vi
dualDi
ff
erencesi
ntheDev
elopment
alPat
ter
n:al
though t
he
pat
ter
nofdev
elopmenti
ssi
mil
arf
oral
l
,eachchi
l
dfol
l
owst
hispr
edi
ctabl
e
pat
ter
ninhi
sorherownwayandathi
sorherownr
ate.

Ear
lyDev
elopmenti
sMor
eImpor
tantt
hanLat
erDev
elopment
:thei
mpor
tanceof
ear
ly dev
elopmentl
i
es i
nthe f
actt
hati
tfor
ms t
he f
oundat
ion f
orl
ater
dev
elopment
.

Dev
elopment Pr
oceeds i
n St
ages:human l
i
fe pr
oceeds i
n st
ages. The
appear
anceofnewf
eat
uresandsi
gni
fi
cantf
ormsofbehav
iourmar
keachst
age.
Thesi
gni
fi
cantf
eat
ureoft
hesest
ages,
whi
chi
ncl
udepr
enat
al,
inf
ancy
,baby
hood,
chi
l
dhoodandadol
escence.

Pr
inci
plesofGr
owt
handDev
elopment(
7.5Mar
ks)

Al
li
ndi
vi
dual
sfol
l
owsi
mil
arpat
ter
nofgr
owt
handdev
elopment

Gr
owt
handdev
elopmenti
sacont
inuouspr
ocessf
rom concept
ion

Gr
owt
handdev
elopmentpr
oceedatdi
ff
erentr
ates.

Gr
owt
handdev
elopmenti
sapr
oductofi
nter
act
ion

Gr
owt
handdev
elopmentpr
ecedesf
rom gener
alt
ospeci
fi
c

Gr
owt
handdev
elopmentf
oll
owapr
edi
ctabl
epat
ter
n

Ther
ear
eindi
vi
dual
i
zedpr
ocessi
ngr
owt
handdev
elopmentpat
ter
n
Gr
owt
handdev
elopmentpr
oceedsbyst
ages

Fact
orsI
nfl
uenci
ngGr
owt
handDev
elopment
 Her
edi
tar
yfact
or

Ageofmot
her

Acci
dentbi
rt
h

Dr
ugs(
Oranysui
tabl
eanswerandabi
l
ityt
oexpl
ain1Mar
keach)

Educat
ionalSi
gni
fi
canceofPhy
sicalDev
elopment
.
Thet
eacher
sshoul
d beabl
eto st
imul
atet
hechi
l
dren t
owar
dsgr
owt
h and
dev
elopment
.
Par
ent
sshoul
dreal
i
zet
hatachi
l
d needsaheal
thyenv
ironmentr
ightf
rom
concept
iont
hroughal
ltheper
iodofdev
elopment
.Thi
smeanst
hatadequat
e
nut
ri
ti
onshoul
dbepr
ovi
dedf
ort
hechi
l
ddur
ingpr
egnancyandaf
terbi
rt
h.
Theknowl
edgeoft
hepr
inci
plesofgr
owt
handdev
elopmenti
sver
yimpor
tantf
or
t
eacher
swhosewor
kiti
stohandl
ethechi
l
drenf
rom di
ver
sebackgr
ounds,wi
th
i
ndi
vi
dual
dif
fer
encesatv
ari
ousphasesofgr
owt
handdev
elopment
.
Thecur
ri
cul
um andi
nst
ruct
ionalmet
hodsoft
het
eachershoul
dbesui
tabl
efor
t
heage,
backgr
oundandot
heri
ndi
vi
dualdi
ff
erencesatv
ari
ousphasesofgr
owt
h
anddev
elopment
.
Theneedsoft
hechi
l
drenandt
hei
rreact
ionsi
nthedi
ff
erentst
agesshoul
dbe
t
akencar
eof
.

Uni
t3
COGNI
TIVEDEVELOPMENT
MEANI
NG
Theterm cognitionr efer
st otheeventst hatoccuri nsidet heindi
v i
dualwhich
enabl
eshim/hertomakesenseoft hewor l
[Link] oknowl edgeorunder standi
ng
whichinv
olv
esprocessesl ikeperceivi
ng,
recognizingconcei ving, j
udgingandr easoni
ng
andthuscognit
ivedev elopmenti sthegradualbutor derlyprocessbywhi cht hebrai
n
becomessophisti
[Link] echangesani ndividualgoest hroughf orment al
devel
opmentfr
om bir
t ht i
lldeathtobecomesophi sticated.
FACTORSTHATAFFECTCOGNI
TIVEDEVELOPMENT
AgeandMat
urat
ion:I
tisagr
eedt
hatageandmat
urat
iont
oal
argeext
entdet
ermi
ne
 eff
ect i
v enessofl ear ningout come.I tfollowst hatani ndi
vidualwi thr apidmat uration
i
ncogni ti
ve,affect i
veandpsy chomot ordomai nscoul dexceli nment alwor k,when
exposedt ochal lengi ngcogni ti
vepr ocesses;howev erchi l
dr enofsi milaragemay
nothav et hesamer ateofmat urationandt herefor emaynotpossesst hesame
achiev ementi nment al tasks.
Cogni ti
v epot entialdi f
f erential:Thei ntelligentquot i
entofani ndivi
dualdet ermi nes
thel ev elofi ntell
ect ualorcogni tivedev elopment .Thement alabi l
ityofani ndividual
i
sder ivedf r
om hi sgenet icinher it
ance.I ti sthement alabi l
ityofani ndividualthati s
sti
mul at edbyt heenv i
ronmentandgr owt h.
Heal thandPhy sicalcondi tions:Phy sicalandment alheal thst atusofani ndividual
deter mi neshi sabi l
ityt oexhi bitmeani ngf ulachiev ementi nanyment [Link]
physi cal defect ssuchasdeaf nessorbl i
ndnessmayr esultinsubnor mal i
ntelli
gence.
SexandEnv i
ronmentf actors:Psy chol ogi sthasassumedt hatmal estudent sappear
toexceli nmor eabst ractar easofl ear ni ngt hant hei rfemal ecount erpar t
[Link]
beenobser vedt hatmor emal est udent sshowi nter estinsci encecour ses,studi es
haveal soshownt hatmor emal est udent sscor ehi ghergr adesont estofgener al
knowl edge,mechani calr easoni ngandment alrotation,whi lef emal escor ehi gheri n
Languagemeasur es.
Soci o-economi c f act or s: The soci o- economi c backgr ound can af f
ect t he
educat ionalat tainmentofst udent [Link] l
dren f r
om mi ddl e and hi gh economi c
backgr oundsar emor el ikelyt ohav ewel ldev elopedcogni tiveabi l
ityassuppor tand
encour agement ,whencompar edt ochi ldr enf rom lowsoci o-economi cbackgr ound.
Pov ert ycoul dretar dt hei ntellectualadv ancementofachi ld.

PI
AGET'
SCOGNI
TIVEDEVELOPMENTALTHEORY
Cogni ti
vet heor yi s concer ned wi t
ht he dev el
opmentofa per son'st hought
processes.I talsol ooksathowt heset houghtpr ocessesi nf
luencehowweunder stand
and i nt eract wi th t he wor ld. Pi aget'
st heor y of cogni ti
ve dev elopment i sa
compr ehensi v
et heor yaboutt henat ur eanddev elopmentofhumani ntell
igence.I twas
originat edbyt heSwi ssdev elopment alpsychologistJeanPi aget( 1896–1980) .The
theor ydeal swi tht henat ur eofknowl edgeitselfandhow humansgr aduallycomet o
acqui re, construct ,andusei t
.Pi aget'stheoryismai nlyknownasadev elopment alst age
theor y.In1919, whi lewor kingatt heAl fr
edBinetLabor atorySchooli nPar isPiaget" was
i
ntr i
guedbyt hef actt hatchi l
dr enofdi ff
erentagesmadedi f
ferentki ndsofmi stakes
whi lesol vi
ngpr obl ems" .Hi sexper i
enceandobser vati
onsatt heAl fredBi netLabor atory
wer et he begi nni ngsofhi st heor yofcogni t
ive development .Pi agetbel i
ev ed t hat
childrenar enotl i
ke" li
ttl
eadul ts"whomayknow l ess;childrenjustt hi
nkandspeak
different [Link] hinki ngt hatchi ldrenhav egreatcogni ti
veabilit
ies,Pi agetcameupwi th
fourdi ffer entcogni ti
v edev el
opmentst ages,whichheputouti ntotest [Link] thint hose
fourst ageshemanagedt ogroupt hem wi t
hdi f
[Link] ageher ealizedhow
children managed t o dev elop t heircogni ti
ve skill
[Link] e,he bel i
ev ed t hat
childrenexper i
encet hewor l
dt hroughact i
ons,representingthingswi thwor ds,thinki ng
l
ogi cally, andusi ngr easoning.
 Pi agetwasbor ni nSwi t
zerlandi nthel at
e1800sandwasapr ecoci ousst udent,
publishi nghi sfirstsci entifi
cpaperwhenhewasj ust11y ear sol [Link] sear lyexposur et o
theint ellectualdev elopmentofchi ldrencamewhenhewor kedasanassi st antt oAl fred
BinetandTheodor eSi monast heywor kedt ost andar dizet heirf amousI Qt est .Muchof
Piaget '
si nteresti nt he cogni ti
ve dev elopmentofchi l
dr en was i nspi red by hi s
obser vat ionsofhi sown nephew and daught [Link] vati
onsr einfor ced his
buddi nghy pot hesist hatchi l
dren'smi ndswer enotmer el ysmal l
erv ersi onsofadul t
[Link] ilthispoi ntinhi st
or y,chi l
dr enwer el argelyt reat edsi mpl yassmal l
er
versi
onsofadul [Link] hefirstt oidentifythatt hewayt hatchi ldrent hink
i
sdi ffer entf rom t hewayadul tsthi nkandhepr oposed,i ntelligencei ssomet hingt hat
growsanddev elopst hroughaser i
esofst [Link] derchi ldrendonotj ustt hinkmor e
quicklyt hany oungerchi l
dren,hesuggest ed.I nstead,t her ear ebot hqual itativeand
quant itativedi fferencesbet weent het hinkingofy oungchi ldrenv ersusol derchi l
dren.
Basedonhi sobser v ations,heconcl udedt hatchi ldrenwer enotl essi nt elli
gentt han
adults,t heysi mpl ythi nkdi ff
erentl
y .Al bertEi nsteincalledPi aget '
sdi scov ery" sosi mpl e
onlyageni uscoul dhav et houghtofi t
."
Pi
aget
'sstagetheorydescr
ibest hecognit
ivedev
elopmentofchil
[Link]
ti
ve
devel
opmentinvolveschangesincognitiv
eprocessandabil
it
ies.
2InPi
aget'svi
ew,earl
y
cogni
tivedev
elopmenti nv
olvesprocessesbaseduponact i
onsandlaterprogr
essesto
changesinmentaloperati
ons.

Pi
aget
’sAssumpt
ionsAboutChi
ldr
en
Pi
agetmadesev
eralassumpt
ionsaboutchi
l
drenwhi
l
edev
elopi
ng hi
stheor
y,t
hese
i
ncludes:
1. Chi
l
drenbui
l
dthei
rownknowl
edgebasedont
hei
rexper
iences.
2. Chi
l
drenl
ear
nthi
ngsont
hei
rownwi
thouti
nfl
uencef
rom adul
tsorol
derchi
l
dren.
3. Chi
l
drenar
emot
ivat
edt
olear
nbynat
[Link]’
tneedr
ewar
dsasmot
ivat
ion.
4. Chi
l
drenconst
ructt
hei
rownknowl
edgei
nresponset
othei
rexper
iences.
5. Chil
drenl
ear
nmanyt
hingsont
hei
rownwi
thoutt
hei
nter
vent
ionofol
derchi
l
dren
oradul
ts.
6. Chil
drenareint
ri
nsi
cal
l
ymot
ivat
edt
olear
nanddonotneedr
ewar
dsf
rom adul
ts
tomot
ivat
elear
ning.

Nat
urev
[Link]
tur
e
Nat
ureandnur
tur
eint
eractt
opr
oducecogni
ti
vedev
elopment
.
•Nat
ure:
mat
urat
ionofbr
ainandbody
;abi
l
ityt
oper
cei
ve,
lear
n,act
;mot
ivat
ion
•Nur
tur
e:
–Adapt
ati
on:Chi
ldr
enr
espondt
othedemandsoft
heenv
ironmenti
nway
sthatmeet
t
hei
rowngoals.
– Organizat
ion:Chi
l
dren i
ntegr
ate par
ti
cul
arobser
vat
ions i
nto a body ofcoher
ent
knowledge.

Pi
aget
’sSt
agesofDev
elopment
Thr
oughhisobser
vationsofhischil
dren,Piagetdev
elopedast
aget
heor
yofi
ntel
l
ect
ual
devel
opmentt
hatincludedf
ourdist
inctstages:
Sensor
imotorStage:(
Bir
thto2Years)Aper
iodofti
mebetweenbir
thandaget wodur i
ng
whichani nf
ant'
sknowledgeoftheworl
di sl
imit
edtohisorhersensorypercept
ions
andmot oractivi
ti
[Link]
iour
sar el
imit
edt osimpl
emotorr esponsescausedby
sensoryst
imuli
.
Maj
orChar
act
eri
sti
csandDev
elopment
alChangesi
ncl
udes:
1. Thei
nfantknowst
hewor
ldt
hrought
hei
rmov
ement
sandsensat
ions.
2. Chi
ldr
enl earnaboutt
hewor
ldt
hroughbasi
cact
ionssuchassucki
ng,gr
aspi
ng,
l
ooki
ng,andli
stening.
3. Infant
slearnthatt
hingscont
inuet
oexi
stev
ent
hought
heycannotbeseen
(obj
ectpermanence)
4. Theyar
esepar
atebei
ngsf
rom t
hepeopl
eandobj
ect
sar
oundt
hem.
5. Theyr
eal
i
zet
hatt
hei
ract
ionscancauset
hingst
ohappeni
nthewor
ldar
ound
them.
6. User
eal
obj
ect
sinpl
ayact
ivi
ti
es.
7. Connectpl
ayt
othef
ivesenses.
8. I
mpl
ementr
out
inesf
ort
hey
oungestchi
l
dren.
9. Theyar
epr
edi
ctabl
eandmaybehi
ghl
yusef
ulwi
thdev
elopi
ngcommuni
cat
ion.

Duri
ng thi
s earl
ieststage ofcognitiv
e devel
opment
,i nfant
s and t
oddl
ers acquir
e
knowledgethrough sensoryexper
iencesand mani
pulati
ng obj
ect
s.A chil
d'sentir
e
exper
ienceattheear l
iestper
iodofthisst
ageoccursthroughbasi
crefl
exes,senses,
andmot orr
esponses.
I
tisduri
ngthesensor
imot
orstagethatchi
l
drengothr
oughaperi
odofdramat
icgrowt
h
andlear
[Link]
dsint
eractwi
ththei
renvir
onment
,theyar
econt
inual
l
ymakingnew
 discov eriesabouthowt hewor [Link]
vedev el
opmentt hatoccursduring
thisper i
odt akespl
aceov erar el
ati
vel
yshortperi
odoft imeandi nv ol
vesagr eatdealof
growt [Link] l
drennotonlylearnhow toper f
orm physicalacti
onssuchascr awli
ngand
wal king;t heyalsolear
nagr eatdealaboutlanguagef rom t
hepeopl ewithwhom t hey
i
nt [Link] agetal
sobr okethisstagedowni ntoanumberofdi f
ferentsub-stages.I
tis
dur i
ngt hef i
nalpartoft hesensor i
motorstaget hatear l
yr epresentat
ionalthought
emer ges.
Pi
aget bel i
eved t hat devel
oping object permanence or obj ect constancy
,t he
understandi
ngt hatobject
scont i
nuetoexistev enwhent heycannotbeseen,wasan
i
mpor tantelementatt hi
spointofdevelopment .Bylear
ningthatobjectsareseparate
anddi sti
nctenti
ti
esandt hattheyhaveanexi stenceoftheirownout si
deofindi
vidual
percepti
on,chil
drenarethenabletobegintoattachnamesandwor dstoobject
s.

Pr
e-OperationalStage ( Ages:2 t o 7 Year
s):Dur ing t
his st
age,chil
dren do notyet
understandconcr etelogic,cannotment al
lymani pul
ateinfor
mationandar eunabl
et o
takethepoi ntofviewofot [Link],ki
dslearnthr
oughpr et
endplaybut
sti
llstr
ugglewi thlogicandt akingthepoi ntofv i
ew [Link]
struggl
ewi thunderstandingtheideaofconst ancy.
Forexample,aresear
chermi ghttakeal umpofcl ay
,divi
dei ti
ntotwoequalpi eces,and
thengiveachil
dthechoicebetweent wopi ecesofclaytoplaywit
[Link] eceofclayis
roll
edintoacompactbal lwhil
et heotherissmashedi ntoaf l
[Link] nce
thef l
atshapelookslar
ger,thepr eoperat
ionalchi
ldwilll
ikel
ychooset hatpieceev en
thoughthetwopiecesareexactl
yt hesamesi ze.

Maj
orChar
act
eri
sti
csandDev
elopment
alChangesi
ncl
udes:
1. Chil
drenbegint
othi
nksy
mbol
i
cal
l
yandl
ear
ntousewor
dsandpi
ctur
est
o
repr
esentobject
s.
2. Chi
ldr
enatthisst
aget
endt
obeegocent
ri
candst
ruggl
etoseet
hingsf
rom t
he
per
spect
iveofot
hers.
3. Whilet
heyareget
ti
ngbett
erwi
thl
anguageandt
hinki
ng,t
heyst
il
ltendt
othi
nk
aboutt
hingsi
nver
yconcr
etet
erms.
4. The f
oundati
ons oflanguage devel
opmentmay hav
e been l
aid duri
ng the
prev
iousstage,buti
tistheemergenceofl
anguaget
hati
soneoft
hemajorhallmarksof
thepreoper
ati
onalstageofdev
elopment.
5. Chi
ldr
en become much more ski
l
led atpretend pl
ay dur
ing t
his st
age of
dev
elopment,
yetcont
inuet
othi
nkver
yconcret
elyabouttheworl
daroundthem.
Concret
e Operati
onalStage (7to 11years):Att hi
s st age,chil
dren gai
n a bett
er
underst
andingofmentaloperati
[Link]
ldrenbegint hi
nkinglogical
lyaboutconcr
ete
eventsbuthavedif
fi
cul
tyunder
standi
ngabstractorhypotheti
calconcept
s.
Maj
orChar
act
eri
sti
csandDev
elopment
alChangesi
ncl
udes:
1. Dur
ingt
hisst
age,
chi
l
drenbegi
ntot
hinki
ngl
ogi
cal
l
yaboutconcr
eteev
ent
s.
2. Theybegi
ntounderst
andtheconceptofconserv
ati
on;t
hatt
heamountofl
i
qui
d
i
nashor
t,wi
decupisequalt
othati
natall
,ski
nnyglass.
3. Thei
rthi
nki
ngbecomesmor
elogi
cal
andor
gani
zed.
4. Chi
ldrenbegi
nusi
ngi
nduct
ivel
ogi
c,orr
easoni
ngf
rom speci
fi
cinf
ormat
iont
oa
gener
alpr
incipl
e.
While chil
dren ar e stil
lv ery concr
ete and l i
ter
ali ntheirt hinking att his poi nti n
development ,theybecomemuchmor eadapt [Link] r
ism oft he
previ
ousst agebegi nstodi sappearaskidsbecomebet t
eratt hinkingabouthowot her
peoplemi ghtv iew asi tuati
[Link] l
ethinkingbecomesmuchmor elogicaldur ingt he
concreteoper ationalstate,itcanalsobev eryrigi
[Link] hispoi ntindev elopment
tendt ostrugglewi thabstractandhy [Link] ingt hisstage,chi ldren
alsobecomel essegocent r
icandbegint othinkabouthowot herpeopl emi ghtt hinkand
feel
.Kidsi ntheconcr et
eoper ati
onalstagealsobegint ounder standt hattheirthought s
areuni quet ot hem and t hatnotev eryoneel senecessarilyshar est heirt hought s,
feel
ings,andopi nions.

For
malOperat
ionalStage(12year
st oadul
thood)
:Atthi
sst age,peopledevel
optheabi
li
ty
tothi
nkaboutabst r
[Link]
ll
ssuchasl ogicalthought,deduct
iver
easoni
ng,
andsyst
ematicplanni
ngalsoemer geduri
ngthi
sstage.
TheFor
mal
Oper
ati
onal
Stage

Maj
orChar
act
eri
sti
csandDev
elopment
alChanges:
1. Atthi
sst age,theadol
escentoryoungadultbeginstot hi
nkabstr
act
lyandr eason
abouthypothet
icalpr obl
ems,abstr
actt houghtemerges,t eensbegintot hinkmor e
aboutmoral
,phi l
osophical
,ethi
cal
,social,andpoli
ti
calissuest hatr
equi
ret heoret
ical
andabst
ractreasoning.
Theybegi
nt ousededuct
ivel
ogi
c,orr
easoni
ngf
rom agener
alpr
inci
plet
ospeci
fi
c
inf
ormat
ion
ThefinalstageofPi
aget'
stheoryinv
olvesanincr
easeinlogi
c,theabil
it
ytousedeductiv
e
reasoning,and an underst
andi
ng [Link] his poi
nt,peopl
e become
capableofseeingmul t
ipl
epotenti
alsol
uti
onstoproblemsandt hinkmorescient
if
ical
ly
 aboutt
[Link] li
tytothi
nki
ngaboutabstracti
deasandsi t
uat
ions
i
sthekeyhall
markofthef ormaloperati
onalst
ageofcognit
[Link]
it
y
tosyst
emati
call
yplanfort hefutur
eandr easonabouthypotheti
calsit
uat
ionsarealso
cri
ti
cal
abi
li
ti
esthatemergedur ingthi
sstage.
I
tisimpor t
anttonot et hatPi
agetdi dnotv iew children'
sintel
lect
ualdev elopmentasa
quantit
ati
v eprocess;thati
s,kidsdonotj ustaddmor einf
ormationandknowl edgeto
thei
rexistingknowl edgeastheygetol [Link],Piagetsuggest edt hatthereisa
quali
tati
vechangei nhow childrent hi
nkast heygr adual
lyprocesst hr
ought hesefour
stages.Achildatage7doesn' tj usthavemor einformat i
onaboutt hewor ldthanhedi d
atage2; ther
ei safundamental changeinhowhet hinksaboutt hewor l
d.

I
mpor
tantConcept
s
Tobet
terunderst
andsomeoft
hethingsthathappenduri
ngcogni
ti
vedevelopment ,i
tis
i
mportantfi
rsttoexami
neafew oftheimportanti
deasandconcept
si ntroducedby
Pi
aget.
Thef
oll
owi
ngar
esomeoft
hef
act
orst
hati
nfl
uencehowchi
l
drenl
ear
nandgr
ow:
Schemas:A schema descr ibes botht he ment aland phy si
calact ions i
nvolv
ed i n
under standingandknowi [Link] ecat egori
esofknowl edget hathelpust o
interpretandunderst
andt hewor l
[Link] aget'
sv i
ew, aschemai ncludesbothacat egory
ofknowl edgeandtheprocessofobt aini
ngthatknowl [Link] i
enceshappen, t
his
newi nformati
onisusedt omodi f
y,addt o,orchangepr eviouslyexisti
[Link]
exampl e,achil
dmayhav easchemaaboutat ypeofani mal,suchasadog.I ft
hechi l
d's
soleexper i
encehasbeenwi thsmal ldogs,achi l
dmi ghtbel i
evet hatalldogsaresmal l
,
furry,andhav efourl
[Link] hent hatthechildencount ersanenor [Link]
childwi l
ltakeinthi
snew i nf
ormat ion,modifyingthepr eviouslyexistingschemat o
includet hesenewobservati
ons.
Assi
mil
ati
on:Thepr ocessoftaki
nginnewinfor
mationi
ntooural
readyexisti
ngschemas
isknownasassi mi l
ati
[Link]
vebecausewet endto
modifyexper
iencesandi nf
ormati
onsli
ght
lytofi
tinwithourpreexi
sti
ngbelief
[Link]
exampleabove,seeingadogandl abel
i
ngit“dog”isacaseofassimilat
ingtheanimal
int
othechil
d’sdogschema.
Accommodati
on:Anotherpartofadaptationinv
olveschangi
ngoral teri
ngourex i
sti
ng
schemas in l
ight of new i nf
ormat
ion,a pr ocess known as accommodat ion.
Accommodati
oni nv
olvesmodi fyi
ngexisti
ngschemas,ori deas,asar esul
tofnew
inf
ormati
onornew [Link] schemasmayal sobedev elopedduringthis
process.
Equi
l
ibr
ati
on:Pi
agetbel
i
evedthatal
lchi
l
dr ent
ryt
ost r
ikeabal
ancebetweenassi
milat
ion
and accommodati
on,which is achieved t
hrough a mechanism Piaget cal
led
 equi
li
brat
[Link]
tiv
edev elopment,itis
i
mportanttomai nt
ainabal ancebet weenapplyi
ngprevi
ousknowledge( assi
mi l
ati
on)
andchangingbehaviort oaccountfornew knowledge(
accommodation).Equil
ibrat
ion
hel
psexplainhowchildrencanmov efrom onest
ageofthoughtt
othenext.

Educat
ional
Impl
i
cat
ionsofPi
aget
’sCogni
ti
veTheor
y
1. Pr
ovi
dingchancesf
ort
ri
alander
rorpr
ocessofl
ear
ningv
ersust
heendr
esul
t.
2. Providi
ngchil
drenwithv
isualai
dsandot
herpr
ops,l
i
kemodel
s,t
oil
l
ust
rat
e
di
ff
erentideasandconcept
s.
3. Usi
ngr
eal
-l
if
eexampl
est
opai
ntcompl
exi
deas,
li
kewor
dpr
obl
emsi
nmat
h.
4. Prov
idingchancestocl
assi
fyorgr
oupi nf
[Link]
i
nesandhier
archi
esar
e
goodexamplesandallowki
dstobuil
dnewideasfrom previ
ousknowl
edge.
5. Off
eri
ngpr
obl
emsthatnecessi
tat
eanal
yti
calorl
ogi
calt
hinki
[Link]
aint
easer
s
canbeusedasat
ooli
nthi
sinst
ance.
6. Youcanalsohel
pyourchi
l
dthr
oughoutt
hest
agesbycat
eri
ngt
othei
rspeci
fi
c
l
ear
ningsty
leatt
heti
me:
7. Atther
oot
,it
’saboutr
ecogni
zi
ngt
hest
ageachi
l
discur
rent
lyi
nandcat
eri
ngt
o
thatdevel
opment
all
evel.
8. Teachersandpar
entscanhelpbyprov
idingchi
l
drenwi
thdi
ff
erentexper
iencesor
way
stoexplor
eandexperi
mentwiththei
renvi
ronments.
9. I
t’
sthr
oughtheseexper
iencest
hatchi
l
drenmaygai
nunder
standi
ngsofdi
ff
erent
conceptsi
nahands-onway.
10. Foryoungchildrenenteri
ngpreschoolandkindergar
ten,Pi
aget’
stheori
esali
gn
more wit
h play
-based schoolpr ogr
ams,orenv i
ronments where ki
ds are of
fer
ed
oppor
tuni
ti
esfortr
ialanderror,
andinter
acti
onwiththerealworl
d.
Cr
it
ici
smsofPi
aget
’st
heor
y
Ther
ear esomecr it
ici
smsofPi aget
’[Link] ti
cular
,resear chersinthe1960sand
1970s argued thatPiagetmay hav e under estimated chil
dr en’s abil
i
ties by usi
ng
confusi
ngt ermsandpar ti
cular
lydif
fi
cultt asksi nhisobser [Link] herst
udies,
chi
ldrenhav ebeensuccessfulwithdemonst rat
ingknowl edgeofcer tai
nconcept sor
ski
ll
swhent heywerepr
esentedinasimpl erway .
Pi
aget’stheoryalsoexpectschil
drenofacer tai
nstagetopri
mar il
ybeatt hatst
age
acrosstheboar dwit
halltaskspr [Link]
esearchersuncov
eredthat
thereisar angeofabili
ti
eswithcogni t
ivet
asks.I
notherwords,somechi l
drenmay
excelorstr
uggleinoneareaoveranot her.
Pi
aget
’stheor
yalsoexplainsthattry
ingtoteachchil
drenpar
ti
cul
arl
yadv
ancedconcepts
woul
dbeunsuccessf [Link] nsomecases,childr
enmaybeabl etolear
nadv anced
i
deasev enwit
hbri
efinst r
ucti
[Link]
drenmaybemor eadapt
abl
eandcompetentthan
Pi
aget’
sstagesgi
vethem cr edi
tfor.

•Chi
l
dren’
sthi
nki
ngi
snotasconsi
stentast
hest
agessuggest
.
•I
nfant
sandy
oungchi
l
drenar
emor
ecompet
entt
hanPi
agetr
ecogni
zed.
•Pi
agetunder
stat
est
hesoci
alcomponent
sofcogni
ti
vedev
elopment
.
•Pi
agetwasbet
teratdescr
ibi
ngpr
ocessest
hanexpl
aini
nghowt
heyoper
ate.
I
mpor
tanceofPi
aget
’st
heor
yofCogni
ti
vedev
elopmentt
oteacher
Thet eachershouldconst ant l
ygi veassi gnment stopupi l
sinor dertoencour age
thedev elopmentofi nsi
ght fulqual it
ies.
Teachi ngshoul dbecar r
iedouti nsuchawayast oensur eeffecti
veinformat ion
processing.
Lear ningshouldbedonei nawayt hatitwil
lincorporat
edayt odayl i
feexperiences.
Lear ning acti
v i
ti
es shoul d be or derl
y so as t o be ablet o hav e effect i
ve
reorganizati
onofpr ecept s.
MostEl ementaryeducat i
onal programmesar emodel l
edinli
newi thPiaget
’st heory.
Lear ningbydiscoveryandshowi nginterestshouldbeencour aged.
Thechi l
d’sabili
tyshouldbest i
mul atedbyusi ngav ar
ietyofconcreteexperiences
l
ikewor kingingroupsorf ieldtr i
ps.
Pr
ocessofcogni t
ivedevel
opment .Piaget ’
sTheor yofcognitiv
edev el
opment( stages)
Educat
ional
Impl
i
cat
ionofPi
aget
’sTheor
y.
Ment
alAbi
l
ityandBi
ologi
cal
inher
it
ance.