1 3: cognitive development - piaget outline –what is cognition? –piaget’s theory overview...
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3: Cognitive Development - Piaget
Outline– What is cognition?– Piaget’s Theory
Overview Features of the theory Sensorimotor stage Preoperational stage Concrete operations stage Formal operations stage
– Problems with the theory– Learning Outcomes
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What is cognition?
Virtually everything we do involves thinking or cognitive functioning– Recalling a phone number– Remembering a list– Following directions– Reading your watch (how much time until…?)
How do children become able to do all these things?
Why are some better at some tasks?Why are some quicker to develop?
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Overview of Piaget’s theory
Very influentialStage theory
– 1) Sensorimotor stage0-2 years
– 2) Preoperational stage2-7 years
– 3) Concrete operational stage7-11 years
– 4) Formal operation stage11+ years
Stages are invariant and universal
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Features of Piaget’s theory
genetic epistemology biological approach structuralism
Mechanisms of development– Cognitive organisation– Cognitive adaptation
AssimilationAccomodation
– Cognitive equilibriation
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Sensorimotor stage
6 substages:– Modification of reflexes (0-1 month)– Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)– Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months)– Coordination of secondary schemes (8-12
months)– Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)– Mental combinations (18-24 months)
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Trends in sensorimotor stage
Rigidity flexibility– Behaviour adapts to larger range of stimuli
Isolation coordination– Series of different actions can be performed
on an objectReactivity intentionality
– Progression to planned behaviourOvert actions mental representations
– Objects and people are represented symbolically
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Object permanence
Objects are tied to infant’s awareness of them– “out of sight, out of mind”
Hidden toy experiment– 4 months: no attempt to search for hidden
object– 4-9 months: visual search for object – 9 months: search for and retrieve hidden object
A-not-B task (Diamond, 1985)– 9 months: A/B error after 1/2 second delay– 12 months: 10 second delay needed to produce
error
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Preoperational stage
Egocentrism– 3 mountains
Rigidity of thought– Cannot mentally reverse sequences
Therefore no addition or subtraction
Semilogical reasoning– Transductive reasoning
“I haven’t had my nap so it isn’t afternoon”
Limited social cognition– Lack of awareness of intentions in others
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Concrete operations stage
Seriation– mentally arrange items along a dimension
(e.g. height, weight, time or speed)Classification
– Sort objects into groups– Class inclusion
Number concepts– Numbers are arbitrary– Invariance of number
Conservation
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Formal operations stage
Reasoning about abstractions– Hypothetical and abstract notions
Future ‘other worlds’
Applying logic– Deductive reasoning (“if … then…”)
Advanced problem solving– Systematic
Pendulum task
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Problems with Piaget
Did Piaget underestimate children’s abilities?– Object permanence in 3-month-olds (Bower,
1974)– Number conservation in 4 year olds
(McGarrigle & Donaldson, 1974)
Does development take place in stages?– Domain specficity vs. domain generality
Perspective-taking– Perceptual– Affective– Cognitive
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Problems with Piaget
What about culture?– Piaget’s tasks are culturally biased– Schooling and literacy affect rates of
developmente.g. Greenfield’s study of the Wolof
– Formal operational thinking is not universale.g. Gladwin’s study of the Polynesian islanders
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Learning outcomes
Demonstrate an understanding of Piaget’s theory.
Be familiar with the experiments carried out by Piaget
Show an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the theory.
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Reading
Just about every book on developmental psychology has a section on Piaget. – e.g.:
– Bee, H. (2000). The developing child. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Ch. 6
– Bukatko, D. & Daehler, M. W. (2001). Child development. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Ch. 8
– Dworetzky, J. P. (1996). An introduction to child development. St Paul, MN: West. Ch. 9.
– Seifert, K. L. , Hoffnung, R .J. & Hoffnung, M. (2000). Lifespan development. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
– Smith, P. K. & Cowie, H. (1992). Understanding children's development. Oxford: Blackwell