Jean Piaget's Stages Of Cognitive Development

Michelle Francisco 4/30/15
General Psychology
Friday 8am-10: 45am

Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist, who from early age had a huge interest in how people come to know the world around them. Piaget also developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. Based on his observations, he concluded that adults were not smarter than children, children just think differently. Piaget 's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive processes and abilities. Piaget believed that early cognitive development involves processes based on actions that are later progressed into mental
The child can now make use of internal representational systems to describe people, his feelings and his environment. Symbolic play also evolves at this stage, allowing the child to engage in pretend play using available objects to represent something else, such as a spoon being waved in the air to represent an airplane. During the preoperational stage the child goes through an egocentric time. The child believes that everything is seen from his point of view. A child cannot comprehend that there are other ways of viewing or handling a situation. For example a child playing hide and seek will stand in plain sight with his eyes covered and believe that no one else can see them standing there. During the preoperational period a child also does not yet understand the idea of constancy. If a child was given the option of a ball of clay or the same ball smashed like a pancake, they would choose the one that looked like a pancake, simply because it looks bigger. One of the most important milestones in the preoperational stage is the development of language. Role-playing also becomes
This stage begins at approximately age twelve and continues through adulthood. During this time people begin to develop the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning are also developed during this stage. Piaget believed that deductive logic becomes important during the formal operational stage. Deductive logic requires the ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome. This type of thinking involves hypothetical situations and is often required in science and mathematics. In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to solve problems. During the formal operational stage, the ability to systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges. Children at the formal operational stage of cognitive development are often able to quickly plan. "The formal operational thinker has the ability to consider many different solutions to a problem before acting. This greatly increases efficiency, because the individual can avoid potentially unsuccessful attempts at solving a problem. The formal operational person considers past experiences, present demands, and future consequences in attempting to maximize the success of his or her adaptation to the world."
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