Cognitive Development: Erikson, And Vygotsky

LASA 1 Promoting Cognitive Development
Argosy University

Everyone has a different opinion when it comes to raising children. Most parents do not look kindly on people telling them what they are doing is wrong. There are several different theorists that developed theories on how our children grow and develop. Cognitive development is one of the main categories studied by theorists and is still a leading area of study among people today. Jean Piaget, Burrhus Skinner (B.F. Skinner), Erik Erikson, and Lev Vygotsky are four of the leading psychologists that studied cognitive development. Each had their own theory about how children develop. Studying these theories can help us to understand and aid our children’s
Piaget developed the theory of cognitive development. According to Piaget “children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge is based” (McLeod, 2009). He believed that children developed in stages. These stages occur in succession and always in the same order and he suggested that “movement from one stage to the next occurred when a child reached an appropriate level of physical maturation and is exposed to relevant experiences” (Feldman, 2011, p. 142). Piaget’s stages were the sensorimotor stage (birth-2 years), the preoperational stage (2-7 years), concrete operational stage (7-11 years), and the formal operational stage (12 and up). In the sensorimotor stage of life Piaget suggested that babies know their surroundings by their movements and sensations. In this stage they develop the sense that when they do something they get a reaction such as when they cry they get picked up. Piaget discovered that babies learn through assimilation and accommodation. Piaget’s second stage, the preoperational stage, children learned language and symbolism. He believed children at this stage were egocentric and think only of
He believed in placing children in a rich environment and letting them explore it. He believed that children should not be praised very much because they may get hooked on the praise and they may put forth the energy to impress the adults instead of into learning. He would suggest that letting the child play around and explore the environment rather than making the child sit and listen to someone teaching them. Burrhus Skinner would suggest that the Jacksons use operant conditioning with Jasmine. He believed that in order to produce optimal learning and behavior Jasmine should be rewarded and punished appropriately. When she does something good or right then she should be rewarded or praised. Likewise if she participates in a behavior that is undesirable or is wrong she should meet with negative reinforcement or be punished accordingly. Erikson’s approach would suggest that the Jacksons that they let Jasmine participate in play with other children. Like Piaget he would suggest putting the child in a rich environment and letting her play and explore. Erikson might suggest that they let Jasmine plan activities and make up games. Also he might suggest encouraging Jasmine to initiate activities with others. This would help develop her imitative and make her feel competent in her decision making skills. He might also tell them to not treat any questions Jasmine may have as trivial or a nuisance. This can cause