Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development - Research Paper Example

The stages include infant, toddler, preschooler, grade school, and teenager. These developments are described in five categories: patterns of growth, vital signs, organ development, vision and hearing and development stage. Our subject belongs to the last stage, teenager. The physical size is normal for the Asian race. His vital signs are presumed normal since he was dancing with his friends at the park. Their group is composed of dance enthusiasts. I cannot assume about his organ development. But looking at him physically, nothing seemed to be abnormal. He dances well and this shows that his vision and hearing are refined. The subject’s developmental stage showed his capability to function normally.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
The Swiss biologist and psychologist Jean Piaget observed his children and in the end, developed a four-stage model of how the mind processes new information met. He speculated that children improve through 4 stages and they all do in the same order. The four stages of Piaget’s cognitive development include the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operations, and formal operations. Our subject belongs to the formal operations stage which includes ages 11 to 15. The cognition is in its final form. Our subject no longer needs concrete objects to make reasonable and logical judgments. He is already competent in hypothetical and deductive reasoning. His capability of creating a healthy friendship with the children in the park showed that he was able to think that it is important for him to socialize and he is able to choose between what he knows to be good and bad.
Erikson’s Developmental Stages
Erik Erikson believed that the ego exists from birth and that behaviour is not totally defensive. He became aware of the massive influence of culture on behaviour and put more importance on the external world. He believed that the way of development is determined by the interaction of the body, mind, and cultural influences. Erikson organized life into eight stages from birth to death. Our subject belongs to the adolescence stage. The basic conflict in this stage is identity versus role confusion. The important event that influences this stage is social relationships. The teens in this stage need to develop a sense of personal identity. This may lead to an ability to stay true to oneself or to role confusion and a weak sense of self. Our subject socialized with the children in the park. He was happy dancing with them. This shows that he already established his personal identity as a dancer and socialized with a group of dancers. As an Asian, there are certain insecurities on his part. But he was able to overcome this issue of identity and chose to blend in with kids and make friends with them. Read More