Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development

The concrete operational stage (7-12yrs)

- Children begin to think about and understand logical operations; no longer fooled by appearances; can think logically about objects and event; achieves conservation of number, mass, and weight; classifies objects by several features and can order then in a series along a single dimension, such as size. Understand class operation: An action can be undone.

Nature vs. Nurture

- Nature is complimented by nurture to achieve development

Adaptation (Piaget)

- The process of adjusting schemes in response to the environment by means of assimilation and accommodation. - Adaptation through assimilation: In assimilation, people take in information from the outside world and convert it to fit in with their existing ideas and concepts. New information can sometimes be readily assimilated into an existing schema. this process doesn't always work perfectly, especially during early childhood. - Adaptation through accommodation: In accommodation, people process new information by changing their mental representations to fit that new information. When people encounter information that is completely new or that challenges their existing ideas, they often have to form a new schema to accommodate the information or alter their existing mental categories. Like trying to add information to a computer database only to find that there is not a pre-existing category that will fit the data. To incorporate it into the database, you will have to create a brand new field or change an existing one.

What are the first three substages in the sensorimotor stage?

- There are six substages in sensorimotor period which demonstrates the understanding of object permanence: 1.) Reflex activity (0-1 months): Reflexes (grasping, dropping, sucking. Actions that occur without any intention. 2.) Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months): Self initiate (thumb sucking). Actions that occur with intention. In relation with O.P (obj permanence), infant looks @ same place when object disappears. 3.) Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months): In relation with O.P, infant will begin to look for partially hidden objects.

What are the last three substages in the sensorimotor stage?

- There are six substages in sensorimotor period which demonstrates the understanding of object permanence: 4.) Coordination of secondary circ. reactions (8-12 months): Infant will begin to use one sec. circ. reaction to active another. Their behavior will be goal directed (e.g., picking up a toy (1) to put it in their mouth (2)). 5.) Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months): In relation to O.P, they can solve A not B task IF the object is not displaced (no displacement on location). 6.) Symbolic representation (18-24 months): In relation to O.P, can solve A not B even if the object is displaced (moved to diff. location).

Schema

- a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information - Schemas are cognitive or mental structures that are formed based on past experiences. - Examples of schemata include rubrics, perceived social roles, stereotypes, and worldviews.

The formal operational stage (12+)

- abstract reasoning - solve problems without concrete representations - develop hypothetical thinking (can think into the future/can think about hypothetical situations without ever going through them) - great individual differences: > Not everyone reaches this stage > Experiences aid from progression

accommodation

- adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information - Accommodation of knowledge is more substantial, requiring the learner to reshape those containers. - What is an example of accommodation? Example 2: One classic example of accommodation involves a child who understands that a four-legged creature is called a dog. Then, the child encounters a cat and refers to it as a dog until corrected by a parent. After being corrected, the child can distinguish between a dog and a cat

Assimilation

- the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another - interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas What are 3 examples of assimilation? - A college student learns a new computer program. - A child sees a new type of dog they've never seen before but recognizes it as a dog. - A chef learns a new cooking technique. - A computer programmer learns a new language.

The 'A not B' task performed by Piaget

1. Piaget put two cloths side by side infront of the infant. 2. He hides the toy under cloth A (left hand side) [trial 1] 3. Piaget repeats this twice [trial 2 & 3] 4. On the last trial, he places the toy under cloth B (right hand side) [trial 4] 5. When the baby is searching for the toy, they look for it under cloth A. Remarks: - If the baby can find the toy correctly without displacement, they are still Tertiary circular reaction (stage 5). Infant only understands objects from their own actions. - If the baby can find the toy correctly even with displacement, they are in Symbolic representation (stage 6). Infant can understand objects not just in their own term of actions, but also that it is independent and can be moved without their knowledge. - Piaget: Infant able to not be in a state of solipsism (failure to distinguish yourself and surround) by understanding mental imagery).

The cognitive development stages in order

1. sensorimotor (0-2yrs) 2. preoperational (2-7yrs) 3. concrete operational (7-12yrs): 4. formal operational (12+yrs)

What stage of Cognitive development shows when children begin to show signs of adult thinking?

Concrete operational

Tests performed to observe a child's understanding of conservation of quantity, mass, length, and volume

Conservation of quantity: Two rows of equal amount of coins are put in front of the child. The child is asked if they are equal. Then, the experimenter will move one row of coins farther from each other. The child is then asked which row has more coins. Expected ans: other row has more. Conservation of mass:

Which of the following is/are the characteristics of the formal operational stage? (i) Hypothetico-deductive reasoning (ii) Abstract Reasoning) (iii) Focusing on interaction with the world (iv) Logical Approach A. (i), (ii) B. (ii), (iii) C. (ii), (iii), (iv) D. (i), (ii), (iv)

D. (i), (ii), (iv)

Meena has begun to use words and started understanding that words represent objects. she is also beginning to reason logically though she cannot perform conservation. According to Jean Piaget, which stage is Meena at?

Pre operational

A child knows 4+2=6 but not 4=6-2. The child might be in the stage

Sensorimotor stage

The preoperational stage

preoperational (2-7yrs): - they will have a sense of egocentrism. - understands world through language and mental images. has - struggles to understand the idea of reversibility and conservation of mass, length, and volume - two substages: 2a) preconceptual period (2-4yrs): rapid development of language and thoughts through symbols 2b) intuitive period (4-7yrs): can solve practical problems, develop symbolic thought/imaginative thought. will imaginative play

Describe the sensorimotor stage

sensorimotor (0-2yrs): relies on physical interaction with the world. they develop object permanence in six substages, which relies directly on the physical interaction with the world. the last substages looks into the A not B task (with and without displacement). IMPORTANT NOTES: sensorimotor characteristics: - failure to differentiate between self and surrounds - goes through substages to understand object permanence

According to Piaget, egocentrism refers to

the cognitive difficulty perceiving things from another person's point of view