Piagets Theory

Connor Taylor AP Psychology Mr. OG Piagets’s Theory: Cognitive Development Developmental psychology is the study of human growth and development which occurs throughout the entire lifep. Cognitive development is the beginning to the ability to think and understand. Cognitive development focuses on child’s development of information processing, conceptual resources, perpetual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development. Piaget has four stages to his theory: Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Much of the research has gone into understanding how a child imagines the world.

In Piaget’s view, early cognitive development includes processes based upon actions and it later changes in mental operations. The first stage of Piaget’s theory lasts from birth until about age two, and it based upon the baby trying to make sense of the world. During the sensorimotor stage the child uses skills and abilities they were born with such as looking, sucking, grasping, and listening to learn more about the environment. Object permanence is a child’s understanding that objects are still there even though they cannot be seen or heard, and according to Piaget it is one of the most important.

By 18 to 24 months children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in the world, and children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than through just actions. The preoperational stage occurs between about the ages 2 and seven. One of the milestones at this period is language development. Piaget states that at this stage do not yet understand concrete logic and are unable to take the point of view of other people. Piaget’s focus on this stage is what children could not do yet.

Children lack the knowledge that things look different to other people and that objects can change in appearance while still maintaining the same properties In the “Three Mountain Task” children almost always choose the scene showing their own view of the mountain image. Before the age of 5 Piaget found that not many children showed an understanding of conservation prior to the age of five, many children found that the cup filled higher contained more liquid, though they each had an equal amount. The concrete operational stage starts at about age 7 and continues approximately until age 11.

During the concrete operational stage children begin a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin to think logically, but do have difficulty understanding hypothetical concepts. Children have trouble using general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event according to Piaget. Piaget states that one of the most important processes in this stage is reversibility, and being aware that things can be reversed. The last stage is operational stage, the operational stage lasts from about age 12 and lasts into adulthood. During this period people learn the ability to think about abstract concepts.

Logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning are all developed during the operational stage. Deductive logic is the ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome, and Piaget thought that deductive logic was very important during the formal operational stage. You use deductive logic in something such as hypothetical situations, and is also very often required in science and math. Children at the formal operational stage are usually able to plan an organized approach to problem solving and quite quickly, unlike when they were younger and tested things in a trial and error type way.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development provided great detail in how a child’s mind acts throughout life from birth, sensorimotor stage, all the way to adulthood, formal operational stage, and for the most part I agree with him. In the early life of a child they don’t understand anything and have to develop, and to start they must use tools they do know how to do, the ones the obtained since birth and they are essential to the growth of a child.

As a child developing they gain knowledge by interacting with the world, and every time they understand something new it completely alters their world, something such as just knowing something is there just because you cant see it alters the whole way a child sees the world and alters their knowledge greatly. I agree with Piaget’s steps in cognitive development throughout childhood, demonstrates how children develop very well and make sense, I agree with Piaget.