Piaget's Theory of Intellectual Development

Question 1

List Piaget’s stages of intellectual development in order from earliest to latest.

Answer 1

Sensorimotor stage
Pre-operational state
Concrete operations stage
Formal operations stage

Question 2

Outline the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 2

Occurs between 0-2 years
Child recognises that humans are separate objects
Acquire some basic language skills.
Object permanence - after 8 months, the child will realise that an object continues to exist even when out of sight.

Question 3

Outline the pre-operations stage.

Answer 3

Occurs between 2-7 years.
Children are egocentric (Piaget and Inhelder’s three mountains study).
Children have a lack of class-inclusion (McGarrigle’s cows study - 25% reported there to be more cows than black cows)

Question 4

Outline the concrete operations stage.

Answer 4

Occurs between 7 and 11 years
Children have mastered conservation (volumes of matter remain constant)
Though they have only improved on class inclusion and egocentrism.
They are still only able to reason on physical objects in their presence.

Question 5

Outline the formal operations stage.

Answer 5

Occurs over the age of 11.
Children develop their abstract reasoning
Children are able to form an abstract argument without being distracted by the content of the argument.
Children are able to process syllogisms.

Question 6

Give two advantages of Piaget’s theory of intellectual development.

Answer 6

Advantages:
- Supporting evidence for a lack of class inclusion - McGarrigle found that only 25% of children aged 6 were able to correctly distinguish that black cows are a sub-category of cows - However, he found that 48% of children correctly stated that there were more sleeping cows - suggesting that the format of questions can affect the response. 

• High practical validity as it has been used as the starting point for many later theories and research into human development - e.g. Schaffer - most comprehensive account of child development - furthermore his theory is amicable - Piaget changed it in line with critical evidence - e.g. regarded the stages as ‘spirals of development’ - in response to evidence of transitional periods between stages.

Question 7

Give two disadvantages of Piaget’s theory of intellectual development.

Answer 7

Disadvantages:
- Piaget’s flawed methodology has led to him underestimating the abilities of children - Hughes - even at 3.5 years old, a child was able to position a doll to be out of the sight of a policeman - children are able to decentralise far earlier than Piaget proposed - questions the accuracy of his theory.

• Idea that children only progress when biologically ready is challenged - e.g. Meadows found that direct tuition can speed up cognitive development - Piaget’s concept may have negative implications regarding the curriculum that is designed to teach certain things a certain ages - he underestimated the abilities of children - may hinder children’s development if the curriculum believes children progress slower.

Question 8

Define ‘class inclusion’.

Answer 8

Any object can, at the same time, be an example of a subordinate group (e.g. apple) and also and example of a superordinate group (e.g. fruit).

Question 9

Define ‘conservation’.

Answer 9

Understanding that things are the same (e.g. liquids) even though they may look different (e.g. tall and thin glass compared to a short and stout glass).

Question 10

Define ‘ego-centricism’.

Answer 10

A child believes the perspective of those around them is the same as their own. E.g. if they cover their face with their hands, they will assume everyone else will be unable to see them.

Question 11

What are the six sub-stages in the Sensorimotor stage?

Answer 11

1) Reflexes
2) Primary circular motions
3) Secondary circular motions
4) Co-ordination of reactions
5) Tertiary circular motions
6) Early representational thought.

Question 12

Outline the reflexes stage of the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 12

• Occurs between 1-2 months

- A child will explore their world through innate actions e.g. sucking.

Question 13

Outline the primary circular motions stage of the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 13

• Occurs between 1-4 months.

- Child will deliberately repeat actions that are pleasurable.

Question 14

Outline the secondary circular reactions stage or the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 14

• Occurs between 4-8 months.

- A child will attempt to control their environment by deliberately repeating actions that trigger a reaction.

Question 15

Outline the co-ordination of reactions stage of the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 15

• Occurs between 8-12 months.
• A child will begin to display intentional actions.
• They will also begin to imitate the actions of others.

Question 16

Outline the tertiary circular reactions stage of the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 16

• Occurs between 12-18 months

- Children engage in trial and error experimentation.

Question 17

Outline the early representational thought stage of the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 17

• Occurs between 18 and 24 months.
• Children are able to use symbols to represent objects in the physical world.
• They therefore are able to understand the world through mental operations rather than just actions.

Question 18

What is the pre-conceptual stage of the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 18

• Occurs between 2 and 4 ears.
• Centration - a child is unable to classify things in a logical manner.
• Transductive reasoning - e.g. a dog has 4 legs, so does a cat, therefore a dog is a cat.
• Animistic thinking - inanimate objects are living.
• Seriation - Children cannot place items in order.

Question 19

What is the intuitive stage of the pre-operational stage?

Answer 19

• Occurs between 4 and 7 years.
• Children find it difficult to think logically but they are able to think in relative terms.
• E.g. Do you have a brother? Yes. Does your brother have a brother? No.
• Children are therefore egocentric.