Piaget Flashcards
Theory of intellectual development
We develop intellect through interaction with the environment and through inate stages of development. We also have inate mental structures which allow us to gain knowledge of the environment
Variant structures
-Change and adapt as we develop new knowledge, these are schemas and operations
Variant structures-Schemas
Schemas are cognitive frameworks of information about something based on previous experiences
-Functional invariants
-Stay the same-includes the processes of accomodation-changing/making new schemas or adapting existing schemas to accomodate new information
-Equilibriation
Functional invariants- Idenify
Accomodation and Equlibriation
Variant structures-identify
Schemas and operations
Stages of intellectual development
-Piaget observed children of the same ages struggle with the same tasks suggesting we develop intellectual abilities such as conversion, de-egocentrism, object permenance and class inclusion through a biologically controlled set of stages
Sensori Motor stage
0-2-Children develop object permenance by 2Y-observed children under 8 months wont look for partially hidden objects-by 2y they look for them
Pre operational stage
2-7-Develop object permenance but lack abilities such as conversion and are egocentric-observed unable to complete conversion tasks involving numbers and volume
-Cant accurately imagine a view from others perspective-swiss doll study
Concrete operational stage
7-11- Decentre and develop conversion skills, also develop class inclusion but lack abstract reasoning skills
Formal operational-11+
-Develop abstract reasoning, able to imagine hypotheticals etc.
Object permenance
The ability to have an internal symbolic representation or conceptualise an object and understand it exists even when it is hidden or not physically present.
Conversion
The ability to understand the amount of an object stays the same even if the physical appearence changes, for example to know an amount of liquid is the same even if it is poured into a longer glass and looks like there is more.
Decentration
The ability to imagine something from anothers viewpoint
Class inclusion
The ability to know that one object can be in multiple classes of things at the same time.
Strength-research support-swiss mountain doll and centration studies
-Used a swiss mountain model with a doll facing the model, children asked to match which image matched the view of the model-children under 7 chose the picture which matched their own view-are egocentric-shows children develop intellect in a set of stages, decrentration isn’t developed until the concrete operational stage-theory has validity.
Limitation-Reductionist
Overlooks the importance of social interaction in developing cognition, Vygotsky suggests that interaction with others is necessary to develop skills and knowledge of the environment, overlooks that intellect develops through social interaction it is not just an automatic innate process with no external input.
Limitation-Bower found infants have object permenance at an early age
-He was observing poor motor skills, infants in the sensorimotor stage show suprise when objects dissapear suggesting they understand objects should exist and have concept formation
