Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Pragmatic (constructivist) theories of development
Focuses on action – Piaget are actively engaged in their own learning and not just
passive recipients of what’s in their environment.
A philosophy that focuses on action
How does children’s capacity for action help them to adapt to the world of objects
and concepts?
Cognitive development is a process of internalising action or social interaction
(Russell, 2004)
Unlike empiricist accounts, constructivist theories view the child as actively
‘constructing’ their understanding of the world
Remember…
Dominant accounts within the field of developmental psychology focused on the
nativist and empiricist divide
Piaget offered an interactionist perspective
Piaget viewed the environment and experience as “necessary and essential” but
“insufficient by itself” (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969, p.156)
Jean Piaget’s Big Idea
Children’s understanding of the world is qualitatively different from that of adults
Cognitive development involves movement through a series of ordered, invariant,
irreversible stages.
o Ordered – they occur in a sequence set out across the species
o Invariant – they are in stages that you have to work through, you can’t skip a
stage
o Irreversible – once you gain a certain understanding of the world you can’t go
back to a more naïve way of thinking
Cognitive stages are universal – he is not interested in individual differences
Each cognitive stage is characterised by a distinct way of thinking about the world – a
particular logic
He sees that all forms of development are underpinned by basic developments in
logic (the way we reason about the world)
It is about the way the child interacts
Discontinuity – doesn’t see development as continuous and there are increases in
ability across development
Motor actions develop into abstract thought through transactions with the
environment.
Process of Cognitive Development
, Equilibration by self-regulation
Every time the child discovers
something new it is filtered by the
schemes
When they are in a state of
disequilibrium, they will update the
scheme
If something that happens that
matches the scheme then they
would be in equilibrium
Stages of development
“Through millions of transactions with the environment and reflections on these
transactions, children move from an understanding of the world based on action
schemes, to one based on representations, to one based on internalised, organised
operations” (Miller, 2010, p.651)
Piaget didn’t really focus on ages
Sensorimotor birth – 2 years
o Differentiates self from objects
o Recognises self as agent and begins to act intentionally; for example, pulls a
string to set a mobile in motion
o Achieves object permanence: realises that things continue to exist even when
no longer present to the senses
Preoperational 2 – 7 Years
o Learn to use language and to represent objects by images and words
o Thinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others
o Classifies objects by a single feature; for example, groups together all the red
blocks regardless of shape.
Concrete operational 7 – 12 years
o Can think logically about objects and events
o Achieves conservation of number (age 7), mass (age 7) and weight (age 9)
o Classifies objects by several features and can order them in a series along a
single dimension, such as size
Formal operational 12 years and up
o Can think logically about abstract prepositions and test hypothesis
systematically
o Becomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological
problems
Sensorimotor stage
Lack of ‘symbolic function’, reliance on movement and sensation
Build up ‘schemes’ through reflexes, experiences and interpretation of perceptual
information
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Pragmatic (constructivist) theories of development
Focuses on action – Piaget are actively engaged in their own learning and not just
passive recipients of what’s in their environment.
A philosophy that focuses on action
How does children’s capacity for action help them to adapt to the world of objects
and concepts?
Cognitive development is a process of internalising action or social interaction
(Russell, 2004)
Unlike empiricist accounts, constructivist theories view the child as actively
‘constructing’ their understanding of the world
Remember…
Dominant accounts within the field of developmental psychology focused on the
nativist and empiricist divide
Piaget offered an interactionist perspective
Piaget viewed the environment and experience as “necessary and essential” but
“insufficient by itself” (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969, p.156)
Jean Piaget’s Big Idea
Children’s understanding of the world is qualitatively different from that of adults
Cognitive development involves movement through a series of ordered, invariant,
irreversible stages.
o Ordered – they occur in a sequence set out across the species
o Invariant – they are in stages that you have to work through, you can’t skip a
stage
o Irreversible – once you gain a certain understanding of the world you can’t go
back to a more naïve way of thinking
Cognitive stages are universal – he is not interested in individual differences
Each cognitive stage is characterised by a distinct way of thinking about the world – a
particular logic
He sees that all forms of development are underpinned by basic developments in
logic (the way we reason about the world)
It is about the way the child interacts
Discontinuity – doesn’t see development as continuous and there are increases in
ability across development
Motor actions develop into abstract thought through transactions with the
environment.
Process of Cognitive Development
, Equilibration by self-regulation
Every time the child discovers
something new it is filtered by the
schemes
When they are in a state of
disequilibrium, they will update the
scheme
If something that happens that
matches the scheme then they
would be in equilibrium
Stages of development
“Through millions of transactions with the environment and reflections on these
transactions, children move from an understanding of the world based on action
schemes, to one based on representations, to one based on internalised, organised
operations” (Miller, 2010, p.651)
Piaget didn’t really focus on ages
Sensorimotor birth – 2 years
o Differentiates self from objects
o Recognises self as agent and begins to act intentionally; for example, pulls a
string to set a mobile in motion
o Achieves object permanence: realises that things continue to exist even when
no longer present to the senses
Preoperational 2 – 7 Years
o Learn to use language and to represent objects by images and words
o Thinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others
o Classifies objects by a single feature; for example, groups together all the red
blocks regardless of shape.
Concrete operational 7 – 12 years
o Can think logically about objects and events
o Achieves conservation of number (age 7), mass (age 7) and weight (age 9)
o Classifies objects by several features and can order them in a series along a
single dimension, such as size
Formal operational 12 years and up
o Can think logically about abstract prepositions and test hypothesis
systematically
o Becomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological
problems
Sensorimotor stage
Lack of ‘symbolic function’, reliance on movement and sensation
Build up ‘schemes’ through reflexes, experiences and interpretation of perceptual
information
