SOCW: 6200
Piagets Cognitive Development
SOCW: 6200 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I
Development of how Piaget came about Cognitive Development
Piagets theory of cognitive development was developed by specific theories and
frameworks concerning how a person develops their capacity to think and understand a process.
Cognition involves the ability to take information that is given and process it, store it, and
retrieve I when given. According to Piaget people go through various stages in learning how to
think. This process starts from infancy to adulthood. Piagets theory was based on his own
children’s growth and development. Piaget states that all people learn how to think in the same
way as they go through different stages of development and growth; and how they interpret
things. As a child grows older the development becomes more abstract and complex. Each stage
is based off ways in which an individual thinks as they develop and grow.
Piagets first example in child development was showing a different age range of kids a
glass of water that was alike in shape and substance; and a glass of water that was different in
shape but same substance. When Piagets showed the first two glasses that had the same
substance a same shape they agreed that it was the same. Then he showed two glasses that had
the same substance, but one was taller. The children stated the taller glass had more substance
based off age. This example demonstrated how kids in different cognitive stages conceptualized
the situation. The younger children based their response off what they see. The older children
were more logical thinkers about the problem put in front of them. The older children could take
various forms and notice the same amount of water could look different, no matter the shape.
This concept is called conservation; even though a substance can change in shape while
remaining the same in amount. The ways of thinking about something and organizing ideas is
, based on one’s cognitive level is called schema. A person perceives things different as they
level up in age during each stage. Each stage is a foundation for the next stage.
There are three stages that are important in the cognitive development: adaption,
assimilation and accommodation. The first important step is adaption, which is having the ability
to adjust to one’s environment. Assimilation is taking new information and structuring it into
schema of thought. Lastly, accommodation; is when children change thinking process in order to
think higher on a more abstract level of cognition. The main four stages that develop the
cognitive development theory is that will be discussed is Sensorimotor period, preoperational
period, the period of concrete operations, and lastly the period of formal operations.
Sensorimotor Period
The first stage of development is the sensorimotor development. This stage of
development is from birth to the age of 2. In this stage the infant progress from simple reflex
reactions to a basic understanding of one’s environment. During this stage, the child has three
major accomplishments.
The infant first learn they have senses in which they can receive information. For
example, she can see and hear her parents talking and referring to objects; but not able to
associate to the two types of sensory. At the end of this period, he/she will understand that he/
she can both hear and see his/ her parents at the same time. The second accomplishment during
the sensorimotor period is the goal directed behavior. Instead of displaying simple responses, the
child will put together several behaviors in order to accomplish a goal. For example, putting a
puzzle together and trying to place it in the appropriate slot. The child will plan to put the puzzle
together, but the thought process is too small because of the ability to plan is limited. The third
accomplishment is object permanence; which is knowing that an object is permanent; whether
insight or out of sight. initially they forget about the object but by the age of 2 they state to have
Piagets Cognitive Development
SOCW: 6200 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I
Development of how Piaget came about Cognitive Development
Piagets theory of cognitive development was developed by specific theories and
frameworks concerning how a person develops their capacity to think and understand a process.
Cognition involves the ability to take information that is given and process it, store it, and
retrieve I when given. According to Piaget people go through various stages in learning how to
think. This process starts from infancy to adulthood. Piagets theory was based on his own
children’s growth and development. Piaget states that all people learn how to think in the same
way as they go through different stages of development and growth; and how they interpret
things. As a child grows older the development becomes more abstract and complex. Each stage
is based off ways in which an individual thinks as they develop and grow.
Piagets first example in child development was showing a different age range of kids a
glass of water that was alike in shape and substance; and a glass of water that was different in
shape but same substance. When Piagets showed the first two glasses that had the same
substance a same shape they agreed that it was the same. Then he showed two glasses that had
the same substance, but one was taller. The children stated the taller glass had more substance
based off age. This example demonstrated how kids in different cognitive stages conceptualized
the situation. The younger children based their response off what they see. The older children
were more logical thinkers about the problem put in front of them. The older children could take
various forms and notice the same amount of water could look different, no matter the shape.
This concept is called conservation; even though a substance can change in shape while
remaining the same in amount. The ways of thinking about something and organizing ideas is
, based on one’s cognitive level is called schema. A person perceives things different as they
level up in age during each stage. Each stage is a foundation for the next stage.
There are three stages that are important in the cognitive development: adaption,
assimilation and accommodation. The first important step is adaption, which is having the ability
to adjust to one’s environment. Assimilation is taking new information and structuring it into
schema of thought. Lastly, accommodation; is when children change thinking process in order to
think higher on a more abstract level of cognition. The main four stages that develop the
cognitive development theory is that will be discussed is Sensorimotor period, preoperational
period, the period of concrete operations, and lastly the period of formal operations.
Sensorimotor Period
The first stage of development is the sensorimotor development. This stage of
development is from birth to the age of 2. In this stage the infant progress from simple reflex
reactions to a basic understanding of one’s environment. During this stage, the child has three
major accomplishments.
The infant first learn they have senses in which they can receive information. For
example, she can see and hear her parents talking and referring to objects; but not able to
associate to the two types of sensory. At the end of this period, he/she will understand that he/
she can both hear and see his/ her parents at the same time. The second accomplishment during
the sensorimotor period is the goal directed behavior. Instead of displaying simple responses, the
child will put together several behaviors in order to accomplish a goal. For example, putting a
puzzle together and trying to place it in the appropriate slot. The child will plan to put the puzzle
together, but the thought process is too small because of the ability to plan is limited. The third
accomplishment is object permanence; which is knowing that an object is permanent; whether
insight or out of sight. initially they forget about the object but by the age of 2 they state to have
