Lifespan Development: Piaget's Four Stage Theory of Cognitive Development Flashcards
Dos everyone pass through the stages at different rates?
Yes
Does everyone he reach the finial stage? Why/why not?
No, due to education or everyday experiences
True or false: individuals can’t progress to the next stage without developing the mental abilities in the previous stage.
True
What are the four stages and their age ranges?
- Sensorimotor 0-2yrs
- Pre-operational 2-7yrs
- Concrete operational 7-12yrs
- Formal operational 12+yrs
Define the sensorimotor stage.
What cognitive achievements occur during this stage?
Understanding of the world is constructed through the coordination of sensory experiences (vision, touch) and motor abilities (movement).
Object permanence and goal directed behaviour.
Define object permanence and provide an example.
The understanding that objects still exist even if they cannot be seen or touched.
Eg. Explains why babies are amused by peekaboo
Define goal directed behaviour and provide an example.
Behaviour that is carried out with a particular purpose in mind
Eg. Learning to reach objects on a table by pulling themselves up.
Define the pre-operational stage.
What cognitive achievements occur during this stage?
Individuals develop their ability to internally represent events, ie. To think and imagine things in their own mind.
Symbolic thinking, egocentrism/decentring, animism, transformation, centration and reversibility.
Define symbolic thinking and provide an example.
The use of symbols to represent objects - may lead to “pretend play”.
Eg. A box becomes a TV
Define egocentrism and describe it in relation do decentring.
When children have difficulty seeing situations from another person’s point of view (not selfish behaviour)
Decentring is when children are able to see things from another person’s perspective, usually happens by the end of the pre-operational stage.
Define animism and provide an example
The belief that everything that exists has some sort of consciousness or awareness
Eg. A toddler may think a rusty bike is sick.
Define transformation and provide an example.
The understanding that something can change from one form to another - at this stage, they can understand WHAT happens but not WHY.
eg. Can identify that ice changes to water but not because it has melted.
Define centrism and provide an example.
The ability to focus on one quality or feature at a time.
Eg in two lines of dots (the second spread apart much further) they will identify the second line as further apart because they can only focus on the size of the line, not the quantity or the spacing
Define reversibility and provide an example
The ability to follow a line of reasoning back to its original point.
Eg. 2 statements read in order, but can’t link the second statement to the first.
Define the concrete operational stage.
What cognitive achievements occur during this stage?
Revolves around what they know and what they can experience through their senses - concrete and definite.
Conservation and classification.
Define conservation and provide an example.
The idea that an object does not change in weight, mass, volume or area when the object changes its shape or size.
Eg. Conservation of volume: same amount of liquid, different sized glasses
Conservation of mass: same sized pieces of play dough but one is squished.
Define classification and provide an example.
The ability to organise information into categories based on shared distinctive characteristics.
Eg. Organising superhero cards into superpowers
Define the formal operational stage.
What cognitive achievements occur during this stage?
More complex thought processes become evident and thinking becomes more sophisticated in this stage.
Abstract thinking, logical thinking, adult thinking
What are other cognitive achievements of the formal operational stage?
Thinking in idealistic ways, thinking about the future, plans and goals
Define abstract thinking and provide an example
A way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see or visualise things in order to understand concepts.
Eg. Intangible concepts (what is honesty?) beliefs, values, morality
Define: logical thinking and provide an example
The ability to develop strategies and to solve problems, identify a range of solutions, develop hypotheses and systematically test solutions.
Eg. Understanding the concepts of distance and time
Define adult thinking and provide an example
An extension of the abilities that develop area
What are 3 criticisms of Piaget’s theories?
Infants sometimes know more information and completed cognitive achievements earlier than Piaget thought - varying age range
Overestimated language abilities - assumed answers were from faulty thinking but may have come from misunderstandings or loss of concentration
Small sample size (sometimes from his own children) so the results can’t be generalised.
What does Piaget’s Four Stage Theory of Cognitive Development involve/suggest?
That we move through four distinct and sequential stages from birth to adulthood in developing our cognitive abilities.
