Child development: Cognition and intelligence

Question 1

What are Jean Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development

Answer 1

Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, concrete operational, form operational

Question 2

What are examples of abilities for an 8 month-old infant?

Answer 2

Obeys simple request, points to objects and follows the pointing gesture of an adult, holds cup to dolls mouth, demonstrates affection by hugging and kissing, shakes head or says “no” in refusal, shoes/toes when they are named by mother.

Question 3

When and what is the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 3

0-2 years: knowing the physical environment only by seeing and touching

Question 4

Schema?

Answer 4

Theories about how the physical and social world operate

Question 5

Assimilation?

Answer 5

Understanding a new object

Question 6

Accommodation?

Answer 6

modifying a schema

Question 7

When and what is the pre-operational stage?

Answer 7

2–7 years
Centration: thinking about one idea at a time
Egocentrism: self-centred, difficulty taking another’s perspective.

Question 8

Operation?

Answer 8

Logical thought

Question 9

Conservation?

Answer 9

Understanding that on feature stays the same even though its appearance changes

Question 10

When and what is the concrete operational stage?

Answer 10

7-11 years
Thinking in relation to things that are real or imaginable ( drect sensory access)

Question 11

When and what is the formal operational stage?

Answer 11

11+ years
Thinking in purely symbolic terms
Consider alternatives and plan ahead
Systematic testing of hypotheses