Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget - Essay Example

Lifespan Development: Jean Piaget and His theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is one of the most influential specialists in the field of child development. His love for the natural sciences grew at early age (Cherry 1). He wrote a short paper at the age of eleven which acted as the very beginning of his career as a researcher. He pursued studies in natural sciences and in 1918, he obtained a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Neuchatel (Cherry 1). He would call himself a genetic epistemologist as he was determined to discover the roots of different forms of knowledge. He was concerned with the nature of thoughts, how they develop and how this process is affected by genetics (Cherry 2). Having concluded that children think more differently than adult while working with Binet’s intelligence, he was inspired to find out how knowledge grew throughout childhood. He carried extensive research which enabled him to explain children’s cognitive development (Johnson 10). Through studying his own children, he developed a theory that explained the stages that children go through as they develop their formal thought processes and intelligence (Cherry 2). While working with Binet institute in 1920, he became more curious to examine children’s reasoning. This was because the children could give wrong answers for questions that required logical thinking. This made him curious to understand the reasons behind this as it clarified that children reasoned differently compared to adults (Johnson 7). His findings led him to conclusions that influence contemporary clinicians and researchers. Through series of simple igneous tests, he discovered different cognitive abilities among different children. He concluded that adolescent cognitive development was influence by five characteristic indicators. These indicators are: formal operations, deductive reasoning, propositional thought, imaginary audience and personal fable (Johnson 8). Piaget helped to clarify the misconception that children were less competent thinkers compared to adults. He achieved this through showing that children noticeably think in different ways compared to adults (Opfer 15). In his view, children are born with a basic mental structure upon which subsequent learning and knowledge are based. As a result of biological maturation and environmental interaction, mental processes are progressively reorganized and led to cognitive development. Piaget’s Cognitive Theory There are three basic components of Piaget’s cognitive theory which are: schemas, processes facilitating transition from one stage to another and the stages of development. Schemas are the intelligence behavior’s basic building blocks (Wood, Smith and Grossniklaus 2). They are units of knowledge and each of them is related to one aspect of the world such as actions, abstract concepts and objects. Schemas enable children to explain what they can perceive around them in the state of equilibrium called cognitive balance (Opfer 15). This led to a definition that schemas are connected mental representations of the world which help in understanding and responding to situations. To draw this conclusion, Piaget assumed that children store these mental representations and use them only when they are needed. Even the babies were believed to posses some inmate schemas even without interaction with the world. These schemas in babies aid in innate reflexes such as suckling. Piaget also suggested four different stages of mental development in which children go through. These stages are drawn from understanding how children acquire knowledge and the nature of intelligence among them. The first step of mental development is sensorimotor stage (Ojose 27). It is a stage experienced by babies form birth to two years. The infants know the world around them through their sensations and movements. This stage is made up of various developmental changes. Infants are able to learn about object permanence in which they get to understand that objects continue to exist even when they are not within the view (Cook and Greg 5). They also realize that they are separate being from objects and people in their surroundings and their actions can cause thing happen in their immediate environment. Learning in this stage is acquired through assimilation and accommodation. The second stage is preoperational stage. It occurs among children aging between 2 and 7 years (Ojose 28). At this stage, children are able to think symbolically and begin using pictures ad words to represent objects. In this stage, children tend to be egocentric and consequently see things in their point of view only. They also get better with thinking and language except that they think about objects in concrete terms. The third stage is concrete operational stage which occurs for children between 7 and 11 years (Wood, Smith and Grossniklaus 4). Children in this state are able to think logically about concrete events. They are also able o understand conservation concepts and interpret things logically. Although they are still concrete in reasoning they begin to think in more logically and in organized manner. By the end of this stage, children are able to use inductive logic to explain general principles. The fourth stage is formal operational stage which is experience by children from 12 years and above (Wood, Smith and Grossniklaus 5). In this stage, young adults are able to think abstractly as well as reasoning about hypothetical problems. It is in this stage where abstract thoughts emerge. This sees the teens start thinking much about philosophical, moral, social, political and ethical issues in their environment (Wood, Smith and Grossniklaus 5). All issues that require abstract and theoretical reasoning becomes easy for the teens to handle. They are also able to draw specific conclusions from general information. This marks the end of cognitive development as per the Piaget theory. The transition from one stage to another involves three processes as per the Piaget theory. These processes include: assimilation, accommodation and assimilation. They help in the process through which children adapt to the world (Opfer 15). Assimilation is a process through which an existing schema deals with a new situation or an objected in a manner that enable children to understand it. The new situation is registered and stored in memory. Accommodation occurs when the existing schema fails to work and consequently changed to deal with a new situation or an object (Cook and Greg 4). In this case, the schema is forced to change to handle the new situation. Piaget believed that equilibration serves as a force that drives development along. Cognitive development according to him does not occur steadily but through leaps and bounds. Equilibration is a factor of both assimilation and accommodation. Equilibrium exists as long as the existing schema is able to deal with all the situations that a child comes across. If a situation that existing schema cannot handle is experienced, it is assimilated to achieve equilibrium. In the event of frustration the situations causing it are accommodated so as to restore equilibrium. Conclusion Piaget’s theory is one of the most applicable in defining cognitive development in children. Over the years, it has served as the bench mark to many research works and many have concurred with it. This makes Piaget to remain reputable ling was after he is gone. Works Cited Cherry, Kendra. Jean Piaget Biography (1896-1980). 2013. Web. November 9, 2013. Cook, Joan. Littlefield and Greg Cook, Child development Principles & Perspectives. Boston. Allyn & Bacon. 2005. Print. Johnson Laird, P., Deductive reasoning. Annual Review of Psychology. 2000. Vol. 50, pp. 109–135. Print. Ojose, Bobby. Applying Paget’s Theory of Cognitive Development to Mathematics Instruction. The Mathematics Educator. 2008, Vol.18, No.1, 26–30. University of Redlands, California. Web. November 9, 2013. Opfer John. Theories of Cognitive Development: Piaget’s theory, Sociocultural theories, Core-knowledge theories, Information-processing theories. 2006. Web. November 9, 2013. Wood, Kay C., Smith Harlan and Grossniklaus Daurice, Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology, University of Georgia. Web. November 9, 2013. Read More