Piaget - Cognitive Development Theory

Question 1

Piaget’s definition of learning

Answer 1

Children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore the world.

“Little scientists that constantly explore to make sense of the world”

Question 2

What are the four factors that lead to cognitive development?

Answer 2

1) Maturation
2) Experience with the physical world
3) Experience with the social world
4) Equilibration

Question 3

What is Equilibration?

Answer 3

Equilibration is the biological drive to produce an optimal state of equilibrium between cognitive structures and the environment.

Question 4

What is adaption?

Answer 4

When an individual is out of equilibrium and they are working to get back to an equilibrium.

Question 5

What does Piaget mean by cognitive structures?

Answer 5

Prior knowledge.

Question 6

What must happen to reach equilibrium?

Answer 6

One must make revisions to prior knowledge.

Question 7

Why would an individual be out of equilibrium?

Answer 7

Either they have misconceptions in their prior knowledge OR their prior knowledge is incomplete.

Question 8

What methods are used to reach equilibrium?

Answer 8

There are two methods

1) Assimilation
2) Accommodation

Question 9

What is Assimilation?

Answer 9

It is the integration of external elements into evolving or completed structures of an organism.

Layman’s terms: The integration of new information with prior knowledge. Just adding to our existing schema.

Question 10

What is Accommodation?

Answer 10

Is any modification to an assimilatory scheme or structure by the elements it assimilates.

Layman’s terms: Is making a change to prior knowledge that is not just integrating more information with the prior knowledge, but changing the prior knowledge. Or create a new Schema altogether.

Question 11

What is Maturation?

Answer 11

The change of an individual which is due to age.

Question 12

What are the four distinct Maturation stages?

Answer 12

1) Sensorimotor
2) Preoperational
3) Concrete operational
4) Formal Operational

Question 13

What is the age range of Sensorimotor?

Answer 13

From birth to 18 months.

Question 14

What develops in the Sensorimotor stage?

Answer 14

Babies use their senses & motor skills to learn about the world. Object permanence develops between 4 - 7 months.

Question 15

What is the age range of preoperational?

Answer 15

18 months to 6 years.

Question 16

What develops in the preoperational stage?

Answer 16

Language skills develop, the use of symbols to represent earlier sensorimotor skills. Make-believe play begins.

Question 17

What is the age range of the concrete operational stage?

Answer 17

6 to 12 years.

Question 18

What develops in the concrete operational stage?

Answer 18

Reasoning becomes logical and better organized. The notion of conservation (reversibility) develops.

Question 19

What is the age range of the Formal operational stage?

Answer 19

12 years to adult.

Question 20

What develops in the Formal operational stage?

Answer 20

Abstract, systematic thinking to allow hypothesis formation, deduction of testable inferences to confirm or disconfirm inferences.

Question 21

According to Piaget, do kids move in and out of the maturation stages?

Answer 21

No, according to Piaget, the maturation stages are chronological. That is one can not develop language skills until they have developed all of their sensorimotor skills.