Piagets theory of cognition development Flashcards
Define cognitive development
- Cognitive development refers to the ways in which these processes change and develop throughout the human lifespan.
Piaget: broad assumptions
Piaget suggested that children:
- Think in an entirely different way to adults.
- Have to learn to think.
He saw intelligence as a process rather than a static state.
What did Piaget state cognitive development was?
Cognitive development= innate capacities + environmental events.
- These proceed through a series of stages in intellectual development.
RECAP: What are schema?
- Schemas are mental frameworks of beliefs and expectations that help us to understand the world.
Piaget + schemas
- According to Piaget, children are born with a small number of schemas, just enough to allow them to interact with other people.
Earlier schemas
A baby’s earliest schemas are inborn reflexes such as sucking. These give babies something to interact with the environment and thus help to discover knowledge with.
- Earlier schemas are external and physical.
Later schemas
- Later schemas are internal and cognitive- these are the earliest forms of thinking.
- Over time schemas become less reflex and more deliberate and under the infants control.
Innate schema example (pt.1)
- Babies suck everything (assimilation) them trying to grasp whether the sucking (interaction) matches with their understanding of the world.
* Assimilation is knowledge that fits.
Innate schema example (pt.2)
- a) If this works= equilibrium (happy state of balance/ everything makes sense).
b) If it doesn’t work= disequilibrium (unpleasant state where things don’t make sense).
Innate schema example (pt.3)
- Discomfort= babies are motivated to return to the state of equilibrium. To do this they must alter their existing schema to accommodate the new experience.
- Once accommodated the world now makes sense again and they are back in a state of equilibrium.
What is equilibration?
- Piaget developed the concept of equilibration to describe how new information is balanced with existing knowledge.
- It involves the processes of assimilation (fitting new information into existing schemas) and accommodation (adjusting or changing a schema to fit new information).
What does cognitive development involve?
- Cognitive development involves constantly swinging between equilibrium and disequilibrium, through a continuous series of assimilation and accommodation.
What happens when new schemas are formed?
- When new schemas are formed, assimilation allows for the practice of the new experiences until they are automatic.
