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Cognitive Development Theory

Cognitive Development Theory was developed by Jean Piaget and suggests that intelligence changes as children grow through four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Piaget studied children's cognitive abilities from infancy through adolescence and found their thinking differs qualitatively from adults. Children actively build knowledge through assimilating new information into existing schemas and accommodating schemas based on new information to achieve equilibrium.

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84 views11 pages

Cognitive Development Theory

Cognitive Development Theory was developed by Jean Piaget and suggests that intelligence changes as children grow through four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Piaget studied children's cognitive abilities from infancy through adolescence and found their thinking differs qualitatively from adults. Children actively build knowledge through assimilating new information into existing schemas and accommodating schemas based on new information to achieve equilibrium.

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Kamal Sahim
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Cognitive Development

Theory
SUBMITTED TO – DR. NANDHA KUMARA PUJAM S.
SUBMITTED BY – SHREYA AGARWAL
MSc FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
SEMESTER I
RASHTRIYA RAKSHA UNIVERSITY
 
What and Why
• Cognitive Development Theory was developed by
Psychologist Jean Piaget which suggested that
intelligence changes as children grow.
• Incorrect answers in Intelligence tests that require
logical reasoning reveal important differences
between the thinking of adults and children.
• Piaget was more interested in understanding how
the fundamental concepts like number, time,
quantity, justice etc. emerged in children.
Piaget’s Assumptions
• Piaget studied children from infancy to adolescence including
his three babies, and also conducted clinical interviews and
observations of older children.
• He branched out with his own assumptions about children’s
intelligence:
• Children’s intelligence differs from an adult in quality
rather than quantity.
• Children actively build up their knowledge about the
world around them.
• The best way to understand a child’s reasoning was to see
things from their point of view.
Four Stages of Development

STAGE AGE GOAL

SENSORIMOTOR BIRTH TO 18-24 MONTHS OBJECT PERMANENCE

PREOPERATIONAL 2 TO7 YEARS OLD SYMBOLIC THOUGHT

CONCRETE OPERATIONAL 7 TO 11 YEARS OLD LOGICAL THOUGHT

ADOLESCENCE TO
FORMAL OPERATIONAL ADULTHOOD SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Stage 1 – Sensorimotor
• The infant learns about the world through their
senses and actions. Infant lives in the present.
• Cognitive abilities that develop during this age
include – object permanence, self-recognition,
deferred imitation, representational play.
• They develop the capacity to represent the world
mentally – emergence of general symbolic function
• Object permanence – objects exist even when you
cannot see them - where the infant searches for
objects when they disappear.
Stage 2 – Preoperational
• Toddlers and young children learn to represent the
world through language and mental imagery.
• Children think about things symbolically.
• Child’s thinking is dominated by how the world looks,
not how the world “is”.
• Infants of this stage also demonstrate animism (non-
living objects having life and feelings), artificialism,
symbolic representation.
• Children do not develop logical thought, or operational
thought.
Stage 3 – Concrete Operational
• Children begin to think about concrete events logically.
• Demonstrate understanding of Conservation – things may
change in appearance but certain properties remain same.
• Children have the ability to mentally reverse things.
• Children become less egocentric and think more about others’
needs.
• Children can conserve number, mass and weight at the ages of
6, 7 and 9.
• Operational thought only with respect to material or Concrete
things – that is when objects are physically present for the
child to see.
Stage 4 – Formal Operational
• Formal operations are carried out on ideas. It is
free from physical and perpetual constraints.
• During this stage, adolescents can deal with the
concept of “abstract thought”.
• They follow form of argument without examples.
• Adolescents can deal with hypothetical problems
and find solutions logically and with variations.
• This stage sees emergence of scientific thinking,
formulating abstract theories and hypotheses in
problem solving situations.
Basic Concepts and Definitions
• Schemas – the very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and
evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge are based.
• Adaptation – intellectual growth is a process of adaptation or
adjustment to the world. It happens through Assimilation,
Accommodation and Equilibration.
• Assimilation – Cognitive process of fitting new information into
existing cognitive schemas, perceptions and understanding.
• Accommodation – cognitive process of revising existing cognitive
schemas, perceptions and understandings so new information can be
incorporated.
• Equilibration – cognitive process in which the child’s schemas are
capable of explaining what it can perceive around it, causing state of
equilibrium or state of mental balance.
References
• https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.htm
l
• https://educationaltechnology.net/jean-piaget
-and-his-theory-stages-of-cognitive-developm
ent/

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