Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Question 1

Give the four stages and duration of Piaget’s theory.

Answer 1

1. Sensorimotor: 0-2
2. Pre-operational: 2-7
3. Concrete operational: 7-12
4. Formal operational: 12+

Question 2

Give 4 features of the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 2

1. Object permanence at 6 months
2. Live in present - no concept of space and time
3. Rely on senses only
4. Use reflex actions mostly before learning to control movement.

Question 3

Give 2 ways we can aid sensorimotor development.

Answer 3

1. Singing and rhythm for language development

2. Variety of sounds, sights, tastes, textures and smells as stimulation - stimulation helps to build schemas

Question 4

Give 4 features of the pre-operational stage. (symbolic function stage only)

Answer 4

Symbolic function stage (2-4):

• symbolic play
• animism
• egocentrism
• beginning of language development

Question 5

Give features of the pre-operational stage. (intuitive thought stage only)

Answer 5

Intuitive thought stage (4-7):

• centration
• irreversibility
• conservation not yet achieved
• start of reasoning and curiosity

Question 6

Give 2 ways we can aid pre-operational development.

Answer 6

1. Use of models, diagrams, and visual aids to aid learning

2. Encourage learning by discovery

Question 7

Give 5 features of the concrete operational stage.

Answer 7

1. Difficulty with abstract concepts i.e morality
2. Begin to apply rules and strategies to thinking
3. Abilities:
   
   • decentration
   • reversibility
   • conservation

Question 8

Give 2 ways to aid concrete operational development.

Answer 8

1. Encourage to look at multiple aspects of a situation

2. Teachers should assume children can see from viewpoints other than their own

Question 9

Give 5 features of the formal operational stage.

Answer 9

1. Begin to form their own ideas
2. Understand that events have a sequence
3. Understand how time changes things
4. Understand that they and others exist in the real world and are separate from each other
5. Begin to think about controlling objects and events in the real world

Question 10

Give 3 ways to aid formal operational development.

Answer 10

1. Variety of subjects to learn other ways of thinking
2. Variety of complex questions involving mental reasoning
3. Explore different norms within different social groups

Question 11

Give two strengths of this theory.

Answer 11

1. Has practical applications
   
   • Teachers can assign tasks according to a child’s stage of development
2. Has generated research/experiments to show the existence of the stages & how children build knowledge through schemas
   
   • i.e Three Mountains task

Question 12

Give two weaknesses of this theory.

Answer 12

1. Doesn’t account for influence of social interactions and cultural settings
   
   • Pierre Dasen’s (1994) study showed Aboriginal children developed conservation later than Piaget’s Swiss sample
2. Data came from interviews and observations of children
   
   • Interpretations of scenarios could have been subjective, leads to some bias
   • Lack validity: other studies with similar methods in more realistic scenarios produced different results

Question 13

Define the following:

1) object permanence
2) symbolic play
3) egocentrism
4) animism
5) irreversibility
6) centration
7) schema
8) assimilation
9) accomodation
10) equilibrium

Answer 13

1) Knowing that an object still exists even though it cannot be perceived
2) Using objects and ideas to represent other objects and ideas
3) An inability to see from viewpoints other than your own
4) Believing that objects that are inanimate can behave as if they are alive
5) Not understanding that an action can be reversed
6) Focusing on only one aspect of a situation
7) Mental representations of the world based on experiences
8) Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas
9) Changing a schema to deal with new experiences
10) When a schema can explain all you experience