Jean Piaget: Stepwise Sequence of Moral Development During Childhood - Case Study Example

Running Head: Cognitive Development Cognitive Development Customer’s name: Institution: Customer’s Course Tutor’s Name 10th July, 2014 Introduction Jean Piaget is termed as being among the most influential and well known specialist in child development. In the year 1936 he made a systematic study that was related to cognitive development. His contribution in the field of psychology entails a theory that explains the cognitive development, a very detailed observational studies that are more related to cognition in young children as well as a series of tests that are simple but so ingenious as to reveal that children have different cognitive abilities based on their age and that they tend to progress from one stage to the other with time though at different rates. Prior to his work there was a common assumption in regard to psychology and based on it children were termed as being less competent thinkers when compared with the adults. In his theory Piaget demonstrated that younger children usually think in a manner that is so different when compared to adults. Based on Piaget, children are usually born with a metal structure that is very basic and it is on this that all the subsequent knowledge and learning are based upon. Thus the main aim of this theory was to offer some explanation of the processes as well as the mechanisms through which young children develop to become individuals who can be able to think and reason by the use of hypotheses. Based on these Piaget outlined the four steps to show how children develop cognitively. Discussion Piaget theory demonstrates that children mostly tend to think in ways that are different than the adults, but this does not imply that they the thought of children are at a slower pace or that the children think at lesser intelligent levels. The cognitive development is seen as progressive reorganization of the mental processes which were as a result of maturing and experience (Santrock, 2008). Piaget has a believe that children will construct a clear understanding of the world that surrounds them and then will experience the discrepancies amid what they know and what they can be able to discover from their environment. According to Jean Piaget, children normally go through four main stages when it comes to their cognitive development. Each of the stages is usually marked by shifts related to how children understand the world (Keating, 1979). The stages include the sensory-motor stage, pre-operational stage, stage of concrete operations and stage of formal operations. Singer and Revenson, 1997, offers an explanation and support for the Piaget theory of cognitive development that all the four stages usually unfold over time and all the young children will need to pass through them for them to be able to achieve adult level functioning. In all the stages, the later ones will evolve from and usually build upon the earlier ones in the sequence. The sequence of the stages also seems to be fixed as well as unchangeable and that children cannot be able to skip either of the stages (Piaget, 1973). Therefore the assumption is that all the children will proceed through the four stages in the same chronological order, though at times the rate in which they progress through the stages may vary. Piaget theory also receives a lot of praise in its impact to education. Based on the fact that Piaget focused more on the qualitative development this had a very noteworthy impact on education. Though Piaget did not exclusively apply his theory in this manner, a great number of the educational programs have been built on the belief that young children ought to be taught based on the level for which they are prepared for developmentally (Piaget, 1973). Additionally, a great number of instructional strategies are usually derived from Piaget theory. Some of the strategies include, but are not limited to the offering of a supportive environment, peer teaching, making good use of social interactions and assisting young children in seeing the inconsistencies and fallacies when it comes to their thinking. Irrespective of the argument in support of Piaget ideas there are also arguments that are against his ideas. Though a great number of researchers agree with the stages of cognitive development in children, questions are raised in regard to the measures of assessing their development. It is commonly agreed that object permanence is usually developed as the infant develops a better understanding of durability of objects and a good example if this is when the child discovers a toy that has been hidden (Wadsworth, 2004). Individuals feel that Piaget did not consider issues such as motivation so as to encourage a child to search. Based on the Kagan theory of object permanence, 9 months old children will depict ability to look for hidden objects based on the fact that they have grown in term of their memory capacity as opposed to the fact that they have attained a new cognitive structure as proposed by Piaget (Kagan, cited in Berger, 1988). Another argument against is ideas is based on the fact that other researchers asserts that Piaget description of the sensory-motor intelligence usually places a lot of emphasis on the motor aspects. Piaget asserted that young children usually portray their intellectual development by their actions, but other researchers have a strong believe that the children know a lot more than what they can be bale to demonstrate (Vygotsky, 1978). It has been found out that newborns at times tries to look for grasp objects or sounds or at times respond to human faces and thus there is a believe that perceptual learning even occurs before birth. Researchers have now accepted that fact that Piaget may have in a way underestimated the cognitive development and perceptual abilities in the first six months of a child’s life. In the preoperational stages, researchers argue that the task that Piaget asked the 3 year old to tackle was too composite in testing the child’s ability to view someone else’s viewpoint. Young children can be able to see another person’s viewpoint if it is presented in a very simple way. Correspondingly, the conversations test that Piaget used would also have been too complex and research has depicted that in instances when the conversation was presented to the child in a more simplified and fun manner, children would have been able to understand the concept behind it so easily. In regard to this Piaget was on the right tract by indicating that though young children are usually capable of demonstrating some level of understanding of these concepts, experience and maturity are needed prior to children mastering the logical structures and applying them in their day to day activities (Siegler, DeLoache & Eisenberg, 2003). Another argument against Piaget idea is based on the fact that Piaget spent a considerable amount of time in explaining the typical child, and in a way he failed to consider the individual differences that exists in children or the differences that are brought about by issues such as education, culture and heredity. Based on this theory Piaget placed a lot of emphasis on an individual’s internal search for knowledge and neglected aspects such as teaching and external motivation (Bruner, 1966). Also, it seems like he did not carry adequate research when it came to issues related to personality and emotional development of the children and based on this it would have seemed more appropriate to consider cognitive development in children as being a process that is gradual and continuous rather than it having stages that are definite (Piaget, 1958). Also, though his information processing approach offers a good and concise way when it comes to assessing intelligence and also in the gathering of information related to the development of the memory and other cognitive processes, it fails to consider aspects related to social interaction and creativity (Paplia, Olds, and Feldman, 1998). The other criticism is related to Piaget’s last stage. It is commonly believed that the last stage is not a perfect portrayal of cognitive development. Practically half of adults are not able to achieve the level of formal operations and also not everybody is proficient in abstract reasoning. These people cannot be termed as being cognitively immature, but they tend to have various aspects of maturity that have not been outlined by Piaget (Piaget, 1957). As Piaget defines formal logic, it consists of aspects such as conservation of volume and pendulum problem, this demonstrates that based on Piaget view cognition is more inclined into scientific thinking and mathematics (Piaget, 1983). Nevertheless, this kind of formal logic seems to be inadequate in fields that are unscientific, such as history, arts, personal judgment and social understanding. The formal logic does not deal with various other aspects related to mature intelligence, for example, acquired experience and wisdom and practical problem solving (Paplia, Olds, and Feldman, 1998). Based on Piaget description the overall cognitive events show that when children move from one cognitive stage to the other, individuals will usually reflect on all the aspects of their daily lives. On the other hand, it has been found out that cognitive development can at times occur in certain areas and not in others. Thus a more accepted view in relation to child cognitive development is to view it as uneven process, and that child will arrive at each stage little by little as they acquire new behaviors and skills (Berger, 1988). Also criticism of his idea is based on the fact that he was observing his own children when coming up with the theory (Piaget, 1977). The theory would have been more applicable and relevant if he chooses different children from various backgrounds, religion and also from different educational settings (Dasen, 1994). This would have offered more accurate and precise results which would have aided him in his judgment. Conclusion In conclusion Piaget’s theory of cognitive development seems to have played a major role in the education sector. Thus, there seems to be a need to appreciate the Piaget’s legacy and influence. His work has in a way generated a lot of interests on child development and thus it is viewed that it will have a major impact on the future of developmental psychology and education. A great number of researchers, including Piaget believe that development cannot take a smooth to a predictable path. It is also important to note that though a lot of criticism has been presented, the theory has in a way played a major role when it comes to the understanding of child development. The observation that Piaget made that children actually think in a totally different manner from adults has created the basis for a new era of research related to the mental development in young children. References Berger, K.S. (1988). The developing person through the life span (2nd Ed.). New York: Worth Publishers Ltd. Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, Mass.: Belkapp Press. Dasen, P. (1994). Culture and cognitive development from a Piagetian perspective. In W .J. Lonner & R.S. Malpass (Eds.), Psychology and Culture. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Keating, D. (1979). Adolescent thinking. In J. Adelson (Ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, pp. 211-246. New York: Wiley Papalia, D.E., Olds, S.W., & Feldman, R.D. (1998). Human development (7th Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Piaget, J. (1957). Construction of reality in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. AMC, 10, 12. Piaget, J. (1973). Main Trends in Psychology. London: George Allen & Unwin. Piaget, J. (1977). Gruber, H.E.; Voneche, J.J. Ed. The essential Piaget. New York: Basic Books. Piaget, J. (1983). Piaget's theory. In P. Mussen (Ed). Handbook of Child Psychology. 4th edition. Vol. 1. New York: Wiley. Santrock, John W. (2008). A topical approach to life-span development (4 Ed.). New York City: McGraw-Hill. Siegler, R. S., DeLoache, J. S., & Eisenberg, N. (2003). How children develop. Macmillan. Singer, D.G. & Revenson, T.A. (1997). A Piaget Primer: How a Child Thinks (Revised Edition). Madison, Connecticut: International Universities Press Inc. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wadsworth, B. J. (2004). Piaget's theory of cognitive and affective development: Foundations of constructivism. Longman Publishing. Read More

Singer and Revenson, 1997, offers an explanation and support for the Piaget theory of cognitive development that all the four stages usually unfold over time and all the young children will need to pass through them for them to be able to achieve adult level functioning. In all the stages, the later ones will evolve from and usually build upon the earlier ones in the sequence. The sequence of the stages also seems to be fixed as well as unchangeable and that children cannot be able to skip either of the stages (Piaget, 1973).

Therefore the assumption is that all the children will proceed through the four stages in the same chronological order, though at times the rate in which they progress through the stages may vary. Piaget theory also receives a lot of praise in its impact to education. Based on the fact that Piaget focused more on the qualitative development this had a very noteworthy impact on education. Though Piaget did not exclusively apply his theory in this manner, a great number of the educational programs have been built on the belief that young children ought to be taught based on the level for which they are prepared for developmentally (Piaget, 1973).

Additionally, a great number of instructional strategies are usually derived from Piaget theory. Some of the strategies include, but are not limited to the offering of a supportive environment, peer teaching, making good use of social interactions and assisting young children in seeing the inconsistencies and fallacies when it comes to their thinking. Irrespective of the argument in support of Piaget ideas there are also arguments that are against his ideas. Though a great number of researchers agree with the stages of cognitive development in children, questions are raised in regard to the measures of assessing their development.

It is commonly agreed that object permanence is usually developed as the infant develops a better understanding of durability of objects and a good example if this is when the child discovers a toy that has been hidden (Wadsworth, 2004). Individuals feel that Piaget did not consider issues such as motivation so as to encourage a child to search. Based on the Kagan theory of object permanence, 9 months old children will depict ability to look for hidden objects based on the fact that they have grown in term of their memory capacity as opposed to the fact that they have attained a new cognitive structure as proposed by Piaget (Kagan, cited in Berger, 1988).

Another argument against is ideas is based on the fact that other researchers asserts that Piaget description of the sensory-motor intelligence usually places a lot of emphasis on the motor aspects. Piaget asserted that young children usually portray their intellectual development by their actions, but other researchers have a strong believe that the children know a lot more than what they can be bale to demonstrate (Vygotsky, 1978). It has been found out that newborns at times tries to look for grasp objects or sounds or at times respond to human faces and thus there is a believe that perceptual learning even occurs before birth.

Researchers have now accepted that fact that Piaget may have in a way underestimated the cognitive development and perceptual abilities in the first six months of a child’s life. In the preoperational stages, researchers argue that the task that Piaget asked the 3 year old to tackle was too composite in testing the child’s ability to view someone else’s viewpoint. Young children can be able to see another person’s viewpoint if it is presented in a very simple way. Correspondingly, the conversations test that Piaget used would also have been too complex and research has depicted that in instances when the conversation was presented to the child in a more simplified and fun manner, children would have been able to understand the concept behind it so easily.

In regard to this Piaget was on the right tract by indicating that though young children are usually capable of demonstrating some level of understanding of these concepts, experience and maturity are needed prior to children mastering the logical structures and applying them in their day to day activities (Siegler, DeLoache & Eisenberg, 2003).

Read More