The Piagetian Theory

Question 1

What are the four stages of cognitive development in the Piagetian Theory

Answer 1

1. Sensorimotor stage (o-2 years old);
2. Preoperational stage(2-7 years old);
3. Concrete operational stage(7-12 years old);
4. Formal operational stage(12 years old +).

Question 2

What is object permanence?

Answer 2

It is the knowledge of the continued existence of objects even when they are not visible(directly perceived).

Question 3

What tasks are used to test whether object permanence has been fully developed?

Answer 3

1. A-not-B task(9-12 months old);

2. invisible displacement task (18-24 months old).

Question 4

What is the engine that powers cognitive development? (How do children learn the world around them?)

Answer 4

1. Assimilation(the process in which new information is incorporated into an already existing cognitive structure (schema or scheme));
2. Accommodation (the process in which already existing structures are changed to accommodate new information).

Question 5

What is equilibration in Piagetian Theory?

Answer 5

The process by which an individual uses assimilation and accommodation to restore or maintain a psychological equilibrium, that is, a cognitive state devoid of conflicting schemas

Question 6

What’s the meaning of schema in Piagetian Theory?

Answer 6

A mental structure that organizes perceptual input and connects it to the appropriate responses.

Question 7

What’s the meaning of schema in cognition?

Answer 7

A collection of concepts that specify necessary and optional aspects of a particular situation.

Question 8

What is conservation?

Answer 8

The awareness that physical quantities do not change in amount when they are altered in appearance, such as when water is poured from a wide, short beaker into a thin, tall one.

Question 9

What is reversibility in Piagetian Theory?

Answer 9

A mental operation that reverses a sequence of events or restores a changed state of affairs to the original condition.

Question 10

What is an example of reversibility?

Answer 10

Realize that a glass of milk poured into a bottle can be poured back into the glass and remain unchanged.

Question 11

Please give at least two examples of achievements infants make during the sensorimotor stage.

Answer 11

Object permanence; form enduring mental representations (e.g. deferred imitation).

Question 12

What is the foremost cognitive acquisition during the preoperational stage?

Answer 12

Symbolic representations.

Question 13

What are the notable weaknesses of children during the preoperational stage?

Answer 13

Egocentrism and centration.

Question 14

What are the three basic aspects of reasoning that children need to understand to solve conservation problems?

Answer 14

Identity, compensation, and reversibility.

Question 15

What is the major achievement for children during the concrete operational stage?

Answer 15

Logical reasoning of concrete problems.

Question 16

What is the major limitation of children’s thinking during the concrete operational stage?

Answer 16

Unable to reason about hypothesis situations or think systematically.

Question 17

Children start using ___reasoning during the concrete operational stage and start using ___ reasoning during the formal operational stage.

Answer 17

inductive; deductive.

Question 18

At which stage is thinking of moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues enabled?

Answer 18

The formal operational stage.