processes of development - · pdf filemoral development theory moral development...

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COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

THEORIES:

PIAGET, VYGOTSKY, KOHLBERG

KEY IDEAS

• Cognitive development is the product of children’s efforts to understand the world

• In order to adapt to our world, we constantly build schemes (actions or mental representations that organize knowledge)

• Children constantly assimilate and accommodate as they seek equilibrium

PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Adaptation – how one handles new information

a) Assimilation – using existing schemes in dealing with new experiences

b) Accommodation – adjusting one’s schemes in dealing with new experiences

2. Organization – grouping isolated and behaviors into a higher-order system

3. Equilibration – striving for balance; shifting from one stage to the next

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years old)

- infants understand the world by coordinating

one’s senses with motor actions

• Schemes developed:

Habits – based on a reflex that has become

completely separated from its eliciting

stimulus

Circular reaction – repetitive behavior

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

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SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

Substages of the Sensorimotor Stage

1. Reflexes – coordinating senses and actions through inborn reflexes

- Example: Sucking reflex

2. Primary circular reactions – first signs of intentionality

- Example: Sucking one’s thumb,

3. Secondary circular reactions – interaction with the environment; repeat action that bring interesting results

- Example: Shaking a rattle; cooing to get attention

SENSORIMOTOR STAGESubstages of the Sensorimotor Stage

4. Coordination of secondary circular reactions – coordination of schemes and intentionality

- Example: Using a stick to bring an object nearer; grasping a toy simultaneously

5. Tertiary circular reactions – “little experimenter”

- Example: Making a block fall, spin, and hit another object

6. Internalization of schemes – representational ability develops; ability to use primitive symbols

- Example: Mimicking matchbox being opened and closed by using one’s mouth

PREOPERATIONAL STAGE

Preoperational stage (2-7 years old)

- children begin to represent the world with words,

images, and drawings (representational ability)

- child does not perform operations (reversible mental

actions that allow them to do mentally what they can

do physically)

- children uses more symbols (internalized sensory

image or word that represents an event)

PIAGET: PREOPERATIONAL STAGE

Substages:

1. Symbolic Function Substage

- between ages 2 to 4

- child gains the ability to use mental representations (symbols) to which a child has attached meaning

- Ex. Pretend play (play involving imaginary people and situations)

PIAGET: PREOPERATIONAL STAGE

Substages:


Limitations:

a. Egocentrism – inability to consider another person’s point of view

Ex. The three-mountain task (Piaget and Inhelder, 1969)


Substages:


Limitations:

b. Animism – tendency to attribute life to objects that are not alive

- “The sun is shy.”

- “The TV is tired.”

- “That tree pushed the leaf off, and it fell down.”

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Substages:

2. Intuitive Thought Substage

- around ages 4 to 7

- child begins to use primitive reasoning

- child wants to know the answers to all sorts of questions

- intuitive � child knows something but knows it without the use of rational thinking


Centration

– centering of attention on one

characteristic to the exclusion

of all others

- another limitation of the

preoperational stage

- clearly demonstrated in the

child’s lack of conservation


Conservation

- Awareness that two things

that are equal remain equal

even if the appearance is

altered, as long as nothing is

added or taken away

- Children in the preoperational

stage tend to lack

conservation

- Example: Piaget’s beaker test

THEORY OF MIND

Theory of mind - awareness of one’s own mental

processes and those of others

• 2-3 years old: Children begin to understand the

following:

a.) perceptions of others

b.) differences between positive & negative emotions

c.) the concept of desire

• 4-5 years old: Children can understand that the mind

can represent objects accurately or inaccurately

- They realize that people can have false beliefs

CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE

• Concrete operational stage (7-11 years old)

- children can now perform concrete operations (reversible mental actions that apply to real, concrete objects)

- child develops logical thinking, but not abstract thinking

- less egocentric thinking


Concrete Operations:

1. Conservation – in the beaker test, the child is able to re-imagine the water in the original beaker

2. Classification – child can divide things into different sets and consider how they are related to one another

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Concrete Operations:

3. Seriation – arranging

stimuli according to a

certain dimension (e.g.

color, length)

4. Transitivity – ability to

logically combine

relations to understand

certain conclusions

PIAGET:

FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE• Formal operational stage

(11 years old and onwards)

- individual is now capable of

doing abstract thought

- individuals are now able to

think of make-believe

situations and develop

hypothetical scenarios

- adolescents become more

idealistic

PIAGET:

FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGEKey Abilities:

1. Abstract thinking

2. Idealistic thinking – extended

speculation about ideal

characteristics

3. Logical thinking

a. Hypothetical-deductive

reasoning

– ability to develop, consider,

and test a hypothesis

(Example: “Pinoy Henyo”)

BEYOND PIAGET:

ADOLESCENT EGOCENTRISM

• Adolescent egocentrism

- David Elkind’s concept of

the heightened self-

consciousness of

adolescents

- for Elkind, this is partly

because the adolescent is

still starting to explore

his/her formal operational

thought

BEYOND PIAGET:

ADOLESCENT EGOCENTRISM

Key Components

(1)Imaginary audience –

adolescent’s belief that

others are as interested

in them as they

themselves

(2)Personal fable –

adolescent’s belief of

adolescents that they are

special

BEYOND PIAGET: COGNITIVE

DEVELOPMENT IN ADULTHOOD

• Reflective thinking –continuous, active evaluation of information in light of new evidence and implications; may develop at around ages 20-25

• Postformal thought –mature thinking that relies on emotion, intuition, and logic to deal with a chaotic and uncertain world

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CRITICISM OF PIAGET’S THEORY

1. Some cognitive abilities emerge earlier than

Piaget thought.

2. Some abilities appear in earlier stages.

3. Some children can be trained to reason at a

higher cognitive stage.

4. Culture may play a role in how their skills

develop.

VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY

- For Vygotsky, children learn through social contexts and social interaction

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

- gap between what they are able to do by themselves and what they are not ready to accomplish by themselves

- the “buds” of development, as opposed to the “fruits”


Scaffolding

- temporary support given to a

child to do the task until

he/she can do it alone

- a more skilled person

(teacher or adult) adjusts the

amount of guidance to fit the

child’s current performance


Private speech

- talking to oneself with no intent

to communicate with others

• Piaget: Private speech is

egocentric and immature

- Children tend to vocalize what is

on their minds

- They could not distinguish the

words and the actions they

symbolize

EGOCENTRIC

SPEECH

SOCIAL SPEECH

INNER SPEECH

Awareness of others

Awareness of others


Private speech

• Vygotsky: Private speech is

an important tool of

thought

- It is important in the

transition from social speech

to inner speech

- It serves as a transition

towards internal control of

behavior

EXTERNAL

SOCIAL SPEECH

PRIVATE SPEECH

INNER SPEECH

Internalization

Internalization

CRITICISM OF VYGOTSKY’S THEORY

1. Overemphasis of the role of language on

thinking

2. Facilitators might become too helpful in

some cases

3. Children might become lazy and expect help

when they could do it on their own

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KOHLBERG:

MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Moral development – development of thoughts,

feelings, and behaviors about what people should do

Piaget: Children undergo two stages of morality:

1. Heteronomous morality (4-7 years old)

– rules are fixed and people can’t control it

- believes in immanent justice (if a rule is broken,

punishment will be given right away)

2. Transition (7-10 years old)

3. Autonomous morality (10 years old and

beyond)

– rules are created by people; in judging an action,

the intentions and the consequences must be

considered

KOHLBERG: MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

LEVEL I:

Preconventional

Moral decisions are based on consequences.

(Ages 4-10)

Stage 1: Obedience

and Punishment

Orientation

Moral decisions are based on fear of

punishment.

Stage 2: Individualism

and Exchange

Moral decisions are based on self-interest and

what others can do for them.

LEVEL II: Conventional Moral decisions are based on standards of

authority figures. (Ages 10-13 or beyond)

Stage 3: Good

interpersonal

relationships

Moral decisions are based on desire to please

others.

Stage 4: Maintaining

social order

Moral decisions are based on one’s sense of

duty to maintain law and order.

KOHLBERG: MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

LEVEL III: Post-

conventional

Moral decisions are based on one’s own

principles and convictions. (Adolescence,

adulthood, or never)

Stage 5: Social

contract and

individual rights

Moral decisions are based on respect for one’s

values, rights, and dignity, even if contrary to

the law.

Stage 6: Universal

Ethical Principles

Moral decisions are based on one’s

personalized conscience, even if contrary to

the law.

KOHLBERG: MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Criticisms

1. Moral thoughts: Too focused on

moral thoughts and little focus on

moral behavior.

2. Culture: May not apply to

nonwestern cultures, especially if

it emphasizes communal equity

and collective happiness

3. Parents: Never considered parents

as important to moral

development; for him, it limits the

child’s perspective

KOHLBERG: MORAL DEVELOPMENT

4. Gender:

- Carol Gilligan says that Kohlberg’s

theory is more focused on men and

puts more focus on abstract thoughts

over relationships with others

- Rather than a justice perspective

(focused on the rights of the

individual), Gilligan says that women

make moral decisions based on a care

perspective (focused on

connectedness with others)

- Research shows no evidence of

male bias in Kohlberg’s theory

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