Jean Piaget's Stage Theory of Cognitive Development

m Jean Piaget believed that children pass through a series
of four qualitatively different stages of cognitive

development from infancy to adulthood.
m Each of these stages is broken down into substages as

well.
m Also we have processes of cognitive development in

Piaget¶s theory.
m (processes meaning characteristics of the child¶s mind

that cause cognitive abilities to change)
m According to Piaget each person strives to make
sense out of the experiences that life provides.
m We do so by organizing the world into concepts, or

schemas.
m These schemas give the person a general way of

categorizing perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors
that simplifies the world¶s complexities.
m (An example of an early schema is sucking)
m The processes of Cognitive Development are:
m 1. Assimilation ± the process of adding new

information to existing schemas.
m E.g. an infant discovering that his/her thumb can

be included in the schema of suckable objects, he
is assimilating new information into an existing
schema.
m ï. Equilibrium : A state of balance when the
knowledge of a child fits existing schemas.
(as long as the child is able to deal with all new

experiences by incorporating them into existing
schemas, he is in a comfortable state of balance).
m Accomodation: The process of adding new information
that forces a child to modify existing schemas.
m For example, the child¶s initial sucking schema might

classify all objects as things that can be sucked.
Parents are very careful to keep objects that are not safe
to suck out of the reach of infants, so the child does not
initially come into contact with anything that is not
pleasurable to suck. Later on the child will try to suck
teddy bears or shoes coated in this way he/she will
discover that his schema must be accommodated- to fit
this new information.
m Four stages of Cognitive Development
m First stage: Sensorimotor Stage

Lasts from birth until about two years of age
Babies learn through their senses and actions during

this stage.
Babies are completely egocentric.
During the sensorimotor period a baby learns the

important concept of object performance.
m lasts from about the age of two to seven.
m Children think about everything in terms of their

own activities and what they see and hear at the
moment.
m The name of this stage comes from the fact that

the child cannot perform logical mental operations.
m þther ways in which the cognition of the
preoperational child is distinct is:
The young child¶s thought is egocentric or self-centered.

(not meaning that the child is selfish but that the child is simply
not able to understand that she/he is not the center of the
universe)
For example: egocentrism leads young children to believe that

inanimate objects are alive, just as they are (known as
animism).
At this time it is difficult for the child to distinguish real from
imaginary.
m Children also begin to understand abstract terms
like ³love´ and ³beauty´.
m Problems are solved by pretending or imitating

rather than thinking them through.
m Learning stage from seven to eleven years.
m The stage that marks the beginning of the stage is

the increased ability to reason logically.
m Child¶s thinking becomes less egocentric, more

logical and more complex.
m The child still cannot fully understand or reason
with abstract concepts ( justice, infinity or the
meaning of life; however the child can deal with
concrete concepts such as: animals, pollution etc.
m Children can understand that pouring water from

one container to another does not change the
amount.
m Children also learn to classify objects into

categories.
m 0egins at age eleven and continues throughout
adulthood.
m Children become capable of abstract thinking.

(they can think about what might happen or what
might have been the cause without really
experiencing it).
m This stage allows problem solving just by thinking.

m ëuch abstract thinking allows adolescents to make
more realistic future plans and goals.
m Adolescents also form ideals and understand

double meanings.
m They do not automatically accept everything that

is said or read but think things through critically
first.
m To summarize Piaget has shown that adult
intelligence has its origins in infancy.
m However his work also shows that attempts to

impose adult ideas on children are bound to fail.
Why?
m older children can learn through using words
and numbers to represent ideas.
m The Developing Child 0k. 0y Holly 0risbane
m 1988, Published by Mc Graw Hill pgs ï10-ï14
m Psychology 0k. An Introduction by 0enjamin

Lahey 1989, Published by C.0rown Publishers,
pgs 301-304
m

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m Jean Piaget believed that children pass through a series

of four qualitatively different stages of cognitive

m Each of these stages is broken down into substages as

m Also we have processes of cognitive development in

m (processes meaning characteristics of the child¶s mind

m We do so by organizing the world into concepts, or

m These schemas give the person a general way of

m 1. Assimilation ± the process of adding new

m E.g. an infant discovering that his/her thumb can

(as long as the child is able to deal with all new

m For example, the child¶s initial sucking schema might

m First stage: Sensorimotor Stage

 Babies learn through their senses and actions during

 Babies are completely egocentric.

 During the sensorimotor period a baby learns the

m Children think about everything in terms of their

m The name of this stage comes from the fact that

 The young child¶s thought is egocentric or self-centered.

For example: egocentrism leads young children to believe that

m Problems are solved by pretending or imitating

m The stage that marks the beginning of the stage is

m Child¶s thinking becomes less egocentric, more

m Children can understand that pouring water from

m Children also learn to classify objects into

m Children become capable of abstract thinking.

m This stage allows problem solving just by thinking.

m Adolescents also form ideals and understand

m They do not automatically accept everything that

m However his work also shows that attempts to

m Psychology 0k. An Introduction by 0enjamin

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Babies learn through their senses and actions during

Babies are completely egocentric.

During the sensorimotor period a baby learns the

The young child¶s thought is egocentric or self-centered.