Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development - Essay Example

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: A critical look at the evidence for and against it Piaget's theories have increasing undergone numerous criticisms in the past few years. His theory which separates the development of a child's cognitive skills into proscribed stages of development that are absolute has been the source of much dispute in the psychological world. Modern day psychologists and theorists dispute the claims that have otherwise been widely accepted and in fact used as the basis of the educational structures practiced today. "Was Piaget right or wrong" is the question we will try to answer within the limits of this essay. A look at the scientist Jean Piaget was a Swiss scientist whose influence and impact on the filed of cognitive development was immense. Born in Neuchatel (Switzerland) on the 9th of August 1896 to Rebecca Jackson and Arthur Piaget, the young jean Piaget was already ahead of his time in his thinking. At age 11, he had already written a paper on sparrows, which he had observed at their local park. Later on, mollusks became the focus of his interests and he later on earned himself a degree in biology (Toulmin 2001). It was while participating in an experiment in Paris that he became fascinated at how different the answers of younger students were from their older counterparts that Piaget postulated that these answers were different primarily because the children approached the problem from a different perspective. They were not 'dumber' but saw the questions differently (Huitt & Hummel 2003). Since then, his goal became that of determining how knowledge grew and had later concluded 'that the growth of knowledge is a progressive construction of logically embedded structures superseding one another by the process of inclusion of lower less powerful logical means into higher and more powerful ones up to adulthood. Therefore, children's logic and modes of thinking are initially entirely different from those of adults.' (Toulmin 2001). The theory discussed Piaget hypothesised that cognition was "essentially an adaptation to the physical and social environment" (Segal 2001). He concluded that a complex interweaving of assimilation and accommodation happens when we learn new things. Assimilation occurs when we modify or change new information to fit into our schemes (what we already know) and accommodation is when we modify what we already know to fit in better with what we had already learned. Piaget had also determined that there were four major areas of cognitive development: AGE STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 0-2 years Sensorimotor Period Begins to make use of imitation, memory mad thought. Begins to recognise that objects don't cease to exist when they are hidden. Moves from reflex actions to goal-directed activity 2-7 years Preoperational Period Gradual language development and the ability to think in symbolic form. Able to think operations through logically in one direction. Has difficulty in seeing another person's point of view 7-11 years Concrete Operational Period Able to solve concrete (hands on) problems in a logical fashion. Understands the laws of conservation and is able to classify and seriate. Understands reversibility 11-15 years Formal Operational Period Able to solve abstract problems in logical fashion. Thinking becomes more scientific. Develops concerns about social issues, identity. According to Piaget, in the sensory-motor stage, a child learns through interaction with his environment. He is also, initially, without knowledge of the concept of object permanence. They believe that an object that is out of sight is also out of existence. Piaget came to this conclusion when upon observing how at seven months old his daughter Jacqueline could not keep track of a toy that had fallen out of view (Monastersky 2000). Gradually, however, this belief is altered and eventually the child realises that an object that has been hidden from him is not necessarily non-existent. It is also during this stage that children begin to take intentional action by experimenting with their environment, primarily out of curiosity but eventually because they want to achieve a specific goal (Cognitive Development 2005). These goals can range from merely satisfying their curiosity or achieving a means to an end, i.e. he has found out that crying would bring his parents who would in turn come to feed him, thus alleviating his hunger (Monastersky 2001). In the second stage of Piaget's cognitive development (Pre-operational thought), the child gradually but increasingly develops the ability to think in symbolic form. Children develop the ability to internally anticipate consequences before actually doing an action (Campbell 2002). This is also stage that is predominated by egocentrism. A child, according to Piaget, cannot take another's perspective and thereby does not engage in any real conversation (Segal 2001) primarily because at this stage a child's thinking is done in a non-logical, non-reversible manner (Huitt & Hummel 2003). The third stage of concrete operations is where children begin to think more 'mentally' with symbolic thinking beginning at this stage (Cognitive Development 2005). Children are less egocentric and now have the ability to take into consideration the perspectives of others even if it is different from their own (Segal 2001). The last stage of his theory according to Piaget deals with formal operations when the child has achieved the highest level of learning in that he can now learn to formulate solutions to all classes of problems because he is now able to think logically and are cognitively the same as adults (Toulmin 2001). Criticisms : The flaws in the theory In recent years, the theories propounded by this Swiss scientist turned psychologist has been the subject of collective criticism by modern day theorists who believe that Piaget's theories are too limited in its consideration that it cannot possibly have merit, specially in today's increasingly progressive environment. Here are some of the major arguments against Piaget's theories 1 Piaget believed that biological development drives the movement from one cognitive stage to the next (Huitt & Hummel 2003) Piaget believed that the transition from one cognitive stage to another is sequential, that is, each stage builds on and expands the previous stage. Unfortunately, this would also mean that the transition from one stage to another is dependent upon the child successfully completing the previous stage (Piaget and Vygotsky: Language and the mind). According to Huit and Hummel (2003), although "data from cross-sectional studies of children in a variety of western cultures seem to support this assertion for the stages of sensorimotor, preoperational, and concrete operations" (Figure 1); "data from similar cross-sectional studies of adolescents do not support the assertion that all individuals will automatically move to the next cognitive stage as they biologically mature" (Figure 2). Furthermore, a study by Dansen (1994) tells us that the ability to think about abstract concepts is said not to exist at all in some areas of the world. 2. Piaget believed his theories were universal One of the criticisms that haunt his theory has to do with the universality with which he has bestowed on it. This is due in part to the fact that for Piaget, an individual learns to think with his or her body. Our need to learn is biologically driven and since these biological needs are species -specific, it has universal regularities and thereby applicable to all regardless of culture (Russell 1994). The problem with this conclusion was that Piaget had failed to take into consideration the impact of culture upon learning. He looked at matters from a purely biological point of view and according to modern day theorists, failed to view children as social beings. In doing so, Piaget discounted the influences that had made Vigotsky popular. To quote from Bruner & Haste (1987) "We have begun to think again of the child as a social being - one who plays and talks with others, learns through interactions with parents and teachers ... Before that, we had fallen into the habit of thinking of the child as an "active scientist", constructing hypotheses about the world, reflecting upon experience, interacting with the physical environment and formulating increasingly complex structures of thought. We see (that) given an appropriate shared social context, the child seems more competent as an intelligent social operator than she is as a "lone scientist" coping with a world of unknowns." 3. Piaget underestimated the ability of children (Monastersky 2000) In postulating that children did not have a sense of object permanence, Piaget did not credit children with the intelligence they deserved. In an experiment done by Mrs. Baillargeon, she demonstrated that infants can remember a toy after it has been hidden. In her experiments, she found that by using a hinged screen that could swing to a vertical position or lie flat. A box that was clearly seen by the infant was placed at the far end of the table and its view was blocked once the screen was swung up. When the researcher alternately placed or removed the box at the end, she found that most of the infants stared longer at the scene when the box had disappeared. The were surprised that the screen seemed to pass through it showing the empty table. They were clearly expecting the box to be there (Monastersky 2000). . 4. Piaget's tasks were methodologically flawed Most of the criticism of Piaget's work centered on his methodology, which according to his peers were flawed. They say that the questions he had used did not follow a set standard and as such was tailor-fitted toward the individual hence compromising its objectivity, and by extension, the validity of his entire interview process. He also used a descriptive means of interpreting the data and did not use any statistical means whereby correlation between the results would have made the information he gleaned easier to translate, compare and analyse for concrete trends (Evaluate Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development in the Light of Recent Criticism). Piaget's theory: a look on the bright side Despite the numerous arguments against his theories, it cannot be discounted that his theory cannot be touted as invalid. It has after all, undergone the intense observation of the man for 60 years. He may have observed a small number of children, but he did observe them for extended periods of time (Toulmin 2001). It also clear that though the there is a discrepancy between the ages at which Piaget states cognitive development occurs, they still do happen (The Main Difference between the Adult and the Child Problem-Solver is Experience. Discuss). The popularity of a Piagetian point of view stems from the fact that though many have tried to disprove his theories, they have not succeeded in conclusively proving it invalid. Neo-piagetians will argue that they have found much to learn about cognitive development and have in fact used Piaget's theories, distilled all the good that was in them and improved upon it. In conclusion The principles espoused by Piaget are by no means infallible. We have seen how his vision has been proved flawed in the sense that he too suffered from a certain sense of egocentrism in that he limited its views to individuals of only one target population and had not bothered to cross-culturally check his assumptions. However, it cannot be touted that Piaget's impact upon the field of psychology is tremendous. He saw children as individuals with the capability to innately make sense of the environment around him and therefore learn on his own. He was also the first to acknowledge that children see the world through different eyes and had initiated the very first studies to look into the matter. His work has brought forth the upsurge in the development of child psychology and he has, through his actions started us on the path to learning. Works Cited: Bruner, James, and Haste, H. Making sense: The child's construction of the world. New York: Methuen, 1987. Campbell, Robert. Jean Piaget's Genetic Epistemology: Appreciation and Critique. Department of Psychology. Clemson University: Clemson SC. 25 April 2002. 30 July 2005. Huitt, W, and J Hummel. "Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development." Educational Psychology Interactive. 2003. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. 3o July 2005. < http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html> Monastersky, Richard. "A New Round of Research Rattles Old Ideas of How Infants Interpret the World." 2000. 30 July 2005. Russell, David. "Piaget's Structuralism: A Reply." JAC 14.1. 1994. 31 July 2005. Segal, Erwin. "Development of Cognition." Psy 416: Reasoning and Problem Solving (2001). Department of Psychology. University at Buffalo: State University of New York. 30 July 2005. Toulmin, Alice. "JEAN PIAGET: - His life in a nutshell." 3o July 2005. < http://evolution.massey.ac.nz/assign2/AT/alicetpiaget.html> "Cognitive Development." 30 July 2005. "Evaluate Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development in the Light of Recent Criticism." Neocortex Psychology Essays. 30 July 2005. "Piaget and Vygotsky: Language and the mind." 30 July 2005. "The Main Difference between the Adult and the Child Problem-Solver is Experience. Discuss." Neocortex Psychology Essays. 30 July 2005. "What Contribution has research in Human Inference made to our understanding of Intelligence" Neocortex Psychology Essays. 30 July 2005. Read More