Topic Summaries

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

A-Level > Psychology > AQA > A-Level Psychology Topic Summaries > Cognition and development > Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
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  • 👥 Piaget (1952) suggested there were two types of learning: assimilation and accommodation.
    • Assimilation is when we are exposed to new information which does not completely change our existing knowledge so we assimilate it into an existing schema.
    • Accommodation is when we are exposed to new information which completely changes our existing knowledge and therefore to deal with this information, we accommodate it by forming a new schema.
    • The main difference between accommodation and assimilation is the creation of new schemas. Piaget suggested that when we are put in an unfamiliar situation and assimilation is not enough to understand it, we are in a state of disequilibrium. This means that we want to learn more about our environment improve our understanding of the new situation which can develop our schemas. This is called equilibration. Some schemas are innate (e.g.having reflex actions for grabbing) whereas some are more sophisticated with time which allows us to explore new situations.
  • Evaluation for Piaget’s research:
    • Piaget only used a small sample of children who were predominantly white, middle class, and from well-educated families. Therefore, his research lacks representativity and ecological validity.
    • However, his research encouraged change in methods in education. He placed emphasis on the fact that learning is an active process, resulting in schools creating environments for children to explore (e.g. sensory sand pits). Additionally, it encouraged more project-based, hands-on learning projects to be implemented.
  • Stages of development: 👥 Piaget (1971) suggested there are key cognitive abilities which all children gain as they move through the 4 stages of intellectual development.
    1. Sensorimotor stage (0–2 years old): in this stage, infants explore the world around them using their senses and their movements – hence the term ‘sensorimotor’. A key feature during this stage is the development of object permanence, which is the understanding that objects still exist even though the infant may not be able to see, feel, or hear them (e.g.knowing that their favourite toy doesn’t disappear if their parent puts it in a toy box). Infants will also start to perform behaviours with a specific purpose in mind – this is called goal-directed behaviour (e.g.crawling over to the toy box in order to take out their favourite toy again).
    2. Pre-operational stage (2–7 years old): during this stage, young children are able to mentally imagine different objects and experiences. They will begin to increasingly use symbolic thinking, which is the ability to use words and pictures to represent things that aren’t present. Piaget also believed that children in this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to consider things from another’s point of view. Often, children in this stage will use a type of thinking named animism, which is the belief that everything that exists has a consciousness. For example, they may worry that a broken toy may be ‘hurt.’ Another key cognitive accomplishment that occurs during this stage is reversibility, which is the ability to mentally follow a series of events back to the start (e.g.explaining the plot of a fairy tale from the happy ending back to the beginning).
    3. Concrete operational stage (7–12 years old): during this stage, the child can now perform true logical thought, and can accurately imagine the consequences of an action without actually performing the action. Children in this stage also understand the conservation of mass – that is, if something changes shape (e.g.pouring water from a tall glass into a wide one), its mass is still the same. Another key cognitive step is the understanding of classification (i.e.organising or separating objects into groups based on common features).
    4. Formal operational stage (12+ years old): during this stage, thought processes become more sophisticated. A key part of this is the use of abstract thinking, which involves being able to understand something without seeing, visualising, or experiencing it (which is required in the concrete operational stage). Children also further develop their ability to solve problems systematically, and develop deductive reasoning skills where they are able to combine multiple pieces of information to draw a conclusion (e.g.1. If Bob catches the ball he wins. 2. Bob won. Therefore, Bob must have caught the ball). Finally, adolescents develop idealistic thinking which involves thinking about their (or others’) most desirable characteristics, and try to be ‘perfect.’

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