Development - Stages

Question 1

What are the stages (briefly)

Answer 1

There are 4 stages of cognitive development.
Each one occurs at a different age.
As the brain matures you think in a different way and this happens in same order for everyone.

Question 2

Explain the sensorimotor stage

Answer 2

0–2 years
Focus on relating what is seen/heard (sensory) with movement (motor).
Object permanence: children < 8 months don’t understand that although an object is not visible it still exists.

Question 3

Explain the pre-operational stage

Answer 3

2–7 years
By 2, they can walk but language not fully developed.
Children < 7 years can’t think in consistently logical way so are egocentric and lack conservation.

Question 4

Explain the concrete operational stage

Answer 4

7–11 years
At 7, most kids can conserve and are less egocentric.
Logical thinking = key characteristic, but can only be applied to physical objects.

Question 5

Explain the formal operational stage

Answer 5

11+ years
Can come to conclusions about problems given in an abstract form.
Can focus on form of an argument and not be distracted by its content.

Question 6

Weakness with Piaget’s theory (underestimated)

Answer 6

He underestimated children’s abilities.
Other research found that younger children can show conservation and reduction in egocentrism.
Suggests certain types of thinking develop earlier than he proposed.

Question 7

Weakness of Piaget’s theory (overestimated)

Answer 7

He overestimated what kids can do.
He argued that 11 year olds are capable of abstract reasoning when other research (e.g. Wason’s card task) has found this is not true.
This shows that not all kids thinking is as advanced as he suggests.

Question 8

Strength of Piaget’s theory (correct)

Answer 8

It does show that children’s thinking changes with age.
Although research suggests that changes in thinking occur earlier, they still occur.
Shows the basic principle of the theory is valid.