Piaget's theory of cognitive development Flashcards
based on developmental psychology L3
How old are children in the sensorimotor stage?
0-2
How old are children in the pre-operational stage?
2-7
How old are children in the concrete operational stage?
7-11
How old are children in the formal operational stage?
11+
What are the main features of the sensorimotor stage?
- beginning to develop object permanence
- learning about the world through their senses and through doing things
How did Piaget find out that babies from 0-2 years old (sensorimotor stage) don’t have/are still developing object permanence?
Through using an item and a bowl sort of like hide-and-seek to see if the child could find/would start to look for the item that was hidden under the bowl
What is the main feature of the pre-operational stage?
egocentrism - children are unable to see things from another person’s point of view.
How did Piaget find out that children in the pre-operational stage (2-7) struggled with egocentrism and were unable to see things from other perspectives?
Through using model mountains
explained-
EG: 3 mountains are visible from the child’s side and 2 are visible from the researcher/adult’s side. They asked the child if they could describe the scene from where the adult was standing, and children under 7 could only describe their own view with 3 mountains.
What are the main features of the concrete operational stage?
- less egocentric
- developed some reasoning skills- but only applying to physical objects
- conservation- knowing that the amount of something stays the same even if its appearance changes.
How did Piaget find out that children develop conservation at age 7-11 years old?
By using counters
explained:
Two rows of counters are laid out, both have the same amount of counters, but the second one is more spaced out to look longer. Children under/close to the beginning of the age range chose the second row after being asked which one has more counters.
What are the main features of the formal operational stage?
Children become capable of systematic thinking and solving abstract problems.
How did Piaget find out that children become capable of systematic/abstract thinking at 11+ years?
Pendulum task
Explained:
Children were given a pendulum and asked to find out how weight and string length affected the speed of the pendulum’s swinging.
Children under 11 would change both the weight and the string at the same time, while children 11 and over would systematically change one thing at a time.
Define schema
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing.
Define assimilation
Using new information taken on board and adding to what is already known (adding to an existing schema).
Define accommodation
Taking on board new information and understanding it (changing and developing a new schema).
