Piaget's theory

Question 1

What is cognitive development?

Answer 1

Refers to the ways in which certain mental processes change and develop throughout the human lifespan

Question 2

Cognitive development is the growth of mental abilities including what?

Answer 2

• Thinking
• Reasoning
• Memory
• Language
• Developing an understanding of the world

Question 3

What did Piaget see intelligence as?

Answer 3

He saw intelligence as a process rather than a static state

Question 4

What did Piaget suggest about children?

Answer 4

That they think in entirely different ways to adults and have to learn to think

Question 5

What is the cognitive development equation?

Answer 5

Cognitive development = innate capabilities + environmental events

Question 6

What are the 3 basic components to Piaget’s theory?

Answer 6

• Schemas
• Adaptation processes: equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation
• Stages of cognitive development

Question 7

What did Piaget state about children’s schemas?

Answer 7

Children are born with a small number of schemas, just enough to allow them to interact with other people

Question 8

What is a baby’s earliest schema?

Answer 8

Inborn reflexes such as sucking. These give babies something to interact with the environment and therefore help them discover knowledge

Question 9

What are early schemas?

Answer 9

External and physical

Question 10

What are later schemas?

Answer 10

Internal and cognitive - these are the earliest forms of thinking

Question 11

What happens to schemas over time?

Answer 11

They become less reflex and more deliberate and under the infant’s control

Question 12

What are the stages of cognitive development relating to a baby sucking?

Answer 12

1. Babies suck everything (assimilation)
2. If this works - equilibrium

    If it doesn’t work - disequilibrium

3. Babies are motivated to return to equilibrium. To do this they must alter their existing schema to accommodate the new experience

Question 13

What is assimilation?

Answer 13

Fitting new information into existing mental schemas

Question 14

What is accommodation?

Answer 14

Adjusting or changing a schema to fit new information

Question 15

What does cognitive development involve regarding equilibrium and disequilibrium?

Answer 15

Cognitive development involves constantly swinging between equilibrium and disequilibrium, through a continuous series of assimilation and accommodation

Question 16

What does assimilation allow for when new schemas are former?

Answer 16

The practice of the new experiences until they are automatic

Question 17

What are Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?

Answer 17

Sensorimotor stage
Pre-operational
Concrete operational
Formal operational

Question 18

At what age does the sensorimotor stage occur?

Answer 18

0-2 years old

Question 19

At what age does the pre-operational stage occur?

Answer 19

2-7 years old

Question 20

At what age does the concrete operational stage occur?

Answer 20

7-11 years old

Question 21

At what age does the formal operational stage occur?

Answer 21

11 years +

Question 22

What is the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 22

Focus is on physical sensations. Baby recognises that they are able to act intentionally: baby relates what they see (sensory) with what they can do (motor)

Question 23

What cognitive ability occurs in the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 23

Object permanence

Question 24

What is object permanence?

Answer 24

The ability to realise that an object still exists when it passes out of the visual field

Question 25

When does object permanence develop?

Answer 25

Around 8 months old

Question 26

What study is related to object permanence?

Answer 26

Blanket and ball study

Question 27

What was the aim of the blanket and ball study?

Answer 27

To determine the age that children develop object permanence

Question 28

What was the procedure of the blanket and ball study?

Answer 28

The child watched Piaget hide a toy under a blanket Piaget observed whether or not the child searched for the hidden toy

Question 29

What were the findings from the blanket and ball study?

Answer 29

Infants under 8 months old did not reach for the hidden toy Infants 8 months+ searched for the hidden toy

Question 30

What was the conclusion of the blanket and ball study?

Answer 30

- Searching for the toy was evidence of object permanence because an infant can only search for something if they have a mental representation of it - These findings suggests that a child is not born with object permanence but it is acquired during the sensorimotor stage at around 8 months

Question 31

What is the pre-operational stage?

Answer 31

Toddler is mobile, language is developing but lacks reasoning skills

Question 32

What are the 2 cognitive abilities that are associated with the pre-operational stage?

Answer 32

Conservation and egocentrism

Question 33

What is conservation?

Answer 33

The ability to realise that quantity remains the same even when the appearance of an object or group of objects changes

Question 34

When does conservation develop?

Answer 34

7 years old

Question 35

What is egocentrism?

Answer 35

Child's tendency to only be able to see the world from their own point of view

Question 36

At what age does the ability to decentre from egocentrism occur?

Answer 36

7 years old

Question 37

What study is related to egocentrism?

Answer 37

The Swiss Mountain study

Question 38

What was the aim of the Swiss Mountain study?

Answer 38

To see at what age children are able to see the mountain scene model from their viewpoint

Question 39

What was the procedure of the Swiss Mountain study?

Answer 39

Children aged 4-8 were presented with 3 papier mache mountains, each with something different on top; a red cross, snow or a chalet. Children walked around and explored the model, then sat on one side while a doll was placed on one of the other sides They were shown pictures and asked which one showed the dolls view

Question 40

What were the findings from the Swiss Mountain study?

Answer 40

Four year old chose the picture matching their own view - they were still egocentric Six year olds showed an understanding of other viewpoints, but often selected the wrong picture Seven and eight year olds consistently chose the picture representing the doll’s view - they were able to decentre

Question 41

What conclusion was drawn from the Swiss Mountain study?

Answer 41

Children are egocentric until they are at the end of the pre-operational stage (7 years old). It is only at this age they are able to take the perspective of others

Question 42

What was the aim of conservation tasks?

Answer 42

To determine at what age a child can recognise that the appearance of an object can change without affecting its volume, length or number

Question 43

What was the methos of conservation tasks?

Answer 43

Piaget presented children with two identical objects or set of objects They are first shown that the objects are the same (in a key property such as number, size or volume) Then one object is changed so that it ‘appears’ different from the other (longer, wider or taller but the key property actually remains the same Children are then asked if the two objects are the same or different

Question 44

What were the findings of the conservation tasks?

Answer 44

Children in the pre-operational stage (2-7) typically judged the objects to be different after the transformation, even though the key property had not changed, suggesting they could not conserve Children on the concrete operational stage (7+) could recognise that the object remained the same, and so could conserve

Question 45

What conclusion was drawn from the conservation tasks?

Answer 45

Piaget stated that the incorrect responses were an indication that these children had not yet mastered the ability to conserve. They focussed on the change rather than on the fact that the key property remained the same. The findings suggest that conservation skills are acquired at the beginning of the concrete operational stage.

Question 46

What did McGarringle and Donaldson do regarding conservation?

Answer 46

Carried out an experiment to test conservation skills

Question 47

What was the aim of McGarringle and Donaldson's conservation study?

Answer 47

To see if children are capable of conservation when the counters were moved accidentally instead of deliberately

Question 48

What was the method of McGarringle and Donaldson's study?

Answer 48

80 Scottish children (aged 4-5) were shown two rows of 8 red and white counters They were asked “Are there more here? Here? Or are they both the same number?” In one condition a teddy deliberately moved the counters in one row. The researcher asked the questions again In another condition a ‘naughty teddy’ jumped out of his box and accidentally messed the counters in one row. The researcher pointed to each row and asked again “Are there more here? Here? Or are they both the same number?”

Question 49

What were the findings from McGarringle and Donaldson's study?

Answer 49

About 40% gave the correct answer after the teddy messed with the rows deliberately About 68% gave the correct answer after the teddy messed with the rows accidentally More children aged 5 gave the correct answer than children aged 4

Question 50

What conclusion was drawn from McGarringle and Donaldson's study?

Answer 50

In this study many of children could conserve quantity during the preoperational stage (at 4-5 years old) younger than Piaget suggested BUT there were still age differences, so the study supports Piaget’s idea that children progress at different rates within the stages of their cognitive development

Question 51

What is the concrete operation stage?

Answer 51

Child is able to think logically - e.g. now has skills of conservation and performs well on egocentrism tasks. But these ‘operations’ are concrete - so only applied to physical objects. No abstract reasoning yet.

Question 52

What cognitive ability is associated with the concrete operational stage?

Answer 52

Class inclusion

Question 53

What is class inclusion?

Answer 53

When a child masters the ability to compare both the whole and the parts that make up the whole

Question 54

What did Piaget do in his class inclusion tasks?

Answer 54

Piaget’s class inclusion test used white and brown wooden beads. He found that children in the pre-operational stage were unable to give the right answer to the question, “Are there more brown beads or more wooden beads?”

Question 55

What did McGarrigle do regarding class inclusion?

Answer 55

Used a slightly different version of Piaget's test. He used four model cows, three of them black, and one white. He laid all the cows on their sides, as if they were sleeping. Six year old children were then asked: 1. Are there more black cows or more cows? 2. Are there more black cows or sleeping cows?

Question 56

What were the findings from McGarrigle's class inclusion tasks?

Answer 56

25% of the children answered question 1 correctly 48% of the children answered question 2 correctly

Question 57

What conclusion was drawn from McGarrigle's class inclusion tasks?

Answer 57

This suggests that children are capable of understanding class inclusion during the preoperational stage (at 6 years old) earlier than Piaget believed. This is probably because the task was made easier to understand. McGarrigle concluded that it was the way Piaget worded his question that prevented the younger children from showing that they understood the relationship between class and sub-class.

Question 58

What is the formal operational stage?

Answer 58

Abstract and hypothetical thinking develop, children are now capable of focusing on the ‘form’ of an argument and not get distracted by its content

Question 59

What cognitive ability is associated with the formal operational stage?

Answer 59

Piaget believed that children at this stage are capable of scientific reasoning and can appreciate abstract ideas