Chapter 7: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

1. Chapter 7: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Module 7.1 General Principles of Piaget’s Theory Module 7.2 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Module 7.3 Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Module 7.4 Beyond Piaget’s Theory Children and Their Development, 3/e by Robert Kail

2. 7.1 General Principles of Piaget’s Theory Schemes Assimilation and Accommodation Equilibration and Stages of Cognitive Development

3. Schemes are like categories; they organize experience and knowledge Schemes first based on actions, then functions, and conceptions 7.1 Schemes

4. In assimilation, new experiences are readily incorporated into existing schemes In accommodation, existing schemes must be changed to incorporate new information 7.1 Assimilation and Accommodation

5. Equilibrium: when assimilation and accommodation are in balance Periodically, schemes are inadequate and disequilibrium occurs. Equilibration is the process of reaching a new state of equilibrium Metaphor of child as scientist Three reorganizations of theories lead to 4 stages of cognitive development 7.1 Equilibration and Stages of Cognitive Development

6. 7.2 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development The Sensorimotor Stage The Preoperational Stage The Concrete Operational Stage The Formal Operational Stage

7. From birth to approximately 2 years Begins with reflexive responding and ends with using symbols Object permanence: understanding that objects exist independently 7.2 The Sensorimotor Stage

8. From approximately 2 to 7 years Children use symbols but are many errors in thinking Egocentrism Centration Confuse appearance and reality 7.2 The Preoperational Stage

9. Three Mountains Problem 7.2: The Preoperational Stage

10. Conservation Tasks 7.2: The Preoperational Stage

11. Models as Symbols or “Shrinking Rooms” 7.2: The Preoperational Stage

12. From approximately 7 to 11 years Thinking based on mental operations (strategies and rules that make thinking more systematic and powerful) Operations can be reversed Focus on the real and concrete, not the abstract 7.2 The Concrete Operational Stage

13. From approximately 11 years to adulthood Adolescents can think hypothetically Use deductive reasoning 7.2 The Formal Operational Stage

14. 7.3 Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Piaget’s Contributions to Child Development Criticisms of the Theory

15. Piaget’s contributions: the study of cognitive development itself a new, constructivist view of children fascinating, often counterintuitive, discoveries 7.3 Piaget’s Contributions to Child Development

16. Some criticisms: alternative accounts of performance consistency in performance training on Piagetian concepts actual versus possible thinking 7.3 Criticisms of the Theory

17. Object Permanence and the “Impossible Event” 7.3: Criticisms of the Theory

18. 7.4 Beyond Piaget’s Theory Neo-Piagetian Approaches to Cognitive Development The Child as Theorist The Sociocultural Perspective: Vygotsky’s Theory

19. Retain Piaget’s basic claim of stages of intellectual development Each child develops distinct conceptual structures that reflect experience Working memory improves with age which allows children’s thinking to become more complex 7.4 Neo-Piagetian Approaches to Cognitive Development

20. Builds on Piaget’s metaphor of child as scientist Research traces children’s knowledge of naive physics (understanding objects) naive psychology (theory of mind) and naive biology (understanding unique properties of animate objects) 7.4 The Child as Theorist

21. “Impossible” Physics Problem 7.4 The Child as Theorist

22. Movement in Animate and Inanimate Objects 7.4 The Child as Theorist

23. Theory of Mind 7.4 The Child as Theorist

24. Cognitive development is inseparable from social and cultural contexts Zone of proximal development: difference between what can do alone or with assistance Scaffolding: teaching style that matches assistance to learner’s needs Private speech: comments intended to regulate own behavior Inner speech: thought 7.4 The Sociocultural Perspective: Vygotsky’s Theory

25. Cultural Differences in Parental Scaffolding 7.4: The Sociocultural Perspective