A2 Piaget's Model

Question 1

What did Piaget believe?

Answer 1

• there are 4 stages of intellectual development which mature or unfold during the early stages of the lifespan
• children think differently to adults
• infants use egocentric (only understand world from their perspective)
• ability to think logically does not happen until 7yrs when children use simple concrete operations to solve problems

Question 2

what stages are in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?

Answer 2

• sensorimotor (0-2) - object permeance
• pre operational (2-7) - egocentrism, symbolic thinking
• concrete operational (7-11) - logical thoughts
• formal operational (adolescence +) - scientific reasoning

Question 3

what happens in the sensorimotor stage? (0-2)

Answer 3

• infants develop basic motor skills and learn to perceive and interact with their environment through physical sensations and body coordination.
• Infants do not think conceptually but instead use their sensory and motor capacities to gain a basic understanding of their environment and construct sensorimotor coordination

Question 4

what happens in the preoperational stage? (2-7)

Answer 4

• thinking is influenced by how things look or appear to them rather than logical reasoning. (intuitive)
• Thought is prelogical, perception bound and egocentric
• continue to add or create new schemas
• struggle with understanding views from others

Question 5

what happens in the concrete operational stage? (7-11)

Answer 5

• children can think logically much more successfully if they can manipulate real (concrete) materials or pictures of them. they can classify, categorise and use logic to help them understand information
• concrete stage a major turning point in the child’s cognitive development because it marks the beginning of logical or operational thought. This means the child can work things out internally in their head (rather than physically try things out in the real world).
• less egocentric as they understand their thoughts are unique + not everyone else shares the same thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Question 6

what happens in the formal operational stage? (adolescence+)

Answer 6

• ability to think abstractly, the ability to combine and classify items in a more sophisticated way, and the capacity for higher-order reasoning.
• consequences are now considered and planned in advance
• use scientific reasoning

Question 7

what is a schema?

Answer 7

• a basic structure for organising information.

Question 8

what is object permanence?

Answer 8

• recognition that things continue to exist even though hidden from sight; infants generally gain this after 3 to 7 months of age

Question 9

what is egocentrism?

Answer 9

• A person only able to view the world from their own perspective, while failing to recognize that other people’s perspectives or point of view

Question 10

what is cognitive development?

Answer 10

• focuses on a child’s development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development

Question 11

what are the stages in Piaget’s schematic development theory?

Answer 11

• assimilation
• equilibrium
• disequilibrium
• accommodation

Question 12

what happens in assimilation?

Answer 12

• process of taking in new information into our already existing schemas

Question 13

what happens in equilibrium?

Answer 13

• balancing assimilation + accommodation
• child’s existing schemas are capable of explaining what it can perceive around it

Question 14

what happens in disequilibrium?

Answer 14

• new information disturbs a child’s original schema, causing imbalance and confusion

Question 15

what happens in accommodation?

Answer 15

• child adjusts their schemas to restore equilibrium.
• modifying the schemas when new information and experiences occur