Cognitive Theory of Development (Jean Piaget) | Jean Piaget | Schema | Assimilation | Accommodation | Equilibration | Piaget’s Stages to Cognitive Development | Sensorimotor period | Pre-operational period | Concrete operational period | Formal operational period | Educational Implications | Criticisms of Piaget's Theory

Cognitive Theory of Development (Jean Piaget)

Development refers to growth, adaptation, and change that occur over the course of a lifetime. Through the process of development we have all changed significantly in many different ways. While changes are one’s physical make-up (physical development) may be the most apparent form of development. People also develop in their ability to form and use language (language development) interact with other (social development) and process information and make meaning from experiences (cognitive development).Different theories have been evolved by psychologists which will identify the significance of each development.

Cognitive Theory of Development (Jean Piaget)

Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget is well known for his theory which describes how humans gather and organize information and how this process changes developmentally. Piaget used a clinical-description method to collect his research data. The method involved asking children carefully selected questions and recording their response along with meticulous observation of children’s behaviour. Although he frequently observed small numbers of children his observation were longitudinal in nature that is, following the development of these same children over a period of years. While much of his early work was based on systematic observation of his own three children, a large part of his later work was based on statistical friendship.

Piaget identified four concepts, which he used to explain how and why cognitive development occurs. These include schema, assimilation, accommodation and equilibration.

1.         Schema: Piaget used the term scheme to refer to the cognitive structures by which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment. Based on his interests in biology. Piaget postulated that the mind has mental structures or schemata, just as the body has physical structures. Piaget suggested that when an organism encounters stimulation or a new experience, and relies on its structures to assist in that adaptation. Thus, just as the human body is “organized’ into various structures such as the stomach, kidneys etc., which assist in ongoing adaptation, so too does the mind have structures or ways of organized experiences, which facilitate adaptation to the experiences.

2.         Assimilation: This process of integrating new perceptual, motor or conceptual material or experiences into existing schemata is termed assimilation. Teachers often facilitate the student’s use of assimilation by connecting the new material to the student’s existing knowledge. Thus, often watching a nature film, a child may discover new animals to add to existing groups of animals she has already stored in memory.

3.         Accommodation: When this process of assimilation is not possible because there are no schemata into which to fit new data or the characteristics of an available schema, a new schema will have to be developed in order to adapt to these new and unique experience. This process of creating a new schema Piaget termed accommodation.

4.         Equilibration: Piaget hypothesized that a self-regulatory process called equilibration operated in all children and adults. This equilibrium is a state of balance between assimilation and accommodation. Piaget believed that one of the most effective methods for motivating a child was to set up a state of cognitive disequilibrium in which the child is thrown into “cognitive conflict” when he expects something to happen a certain way and it does not.

Piaget’s Stages to Cognitive Development

According to Piaget, cognitive development unfolds as the child passes through four district and qualitatively different stages:

i.)         The Sensorimotor period (birth to 18-24 months)

ii.)        The Pre-operational period (2 to 7 years)

iii.)       The Concrete operational period (7 to 11 years)

iv.)       The Formal operational period (over 11 years)

Sensorimotor period (birth to 18-24 months)

The first stage, sensorimotor, begins at birth and lasts until 18 months-2 years of age. This stage involves the use of motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge is limited in this stage, because it is based on physical interactions and experiences. Infants cannot predict reaction, and therefore must constantly experiment and learn through trial and error. Such exploration might include shaking a rattle or putting objects in the mouth. As they become more mobile, infants' ability to develop cognitively increases. Early language development begins during this stage. Object permanence occurs at 7-9 months, demonstrating that memory is developing. Infants realize that an object exists after it can no longer be seen.

Pre-operational period (2 to 7 years)

The preoperational stage usually occurs during the period between toddlerhood (18-24months) and early childhood (7 years). During this stage children begin to use language; memory and imagination also develop. In the preoperational stage, children engage in make believe and can understand and express relationships between the past and the future. More complex concepts, such as cause and effect relationships, have not been learned. Intelligence is egocentric and intuitive, not logical.

Concrete operational period (7 to 11 years)

The concrete operational stage typically develops between the ages of 7-11 years. Intellectual development in this stage is demonstrated through the use of logical and systematic manipulation of symbols, which are related to concrete objects. Thinking becomes less egocentric with increased awareness of external events, and involves concrete references.

Formal operational period (over 11 years)

The period from adolescence through adulthood is the formal operational stage. Adolescents and adults use symbols related to abstract concepts. Adolescents can think about multiple variables in systematic ways, can formulate hypotheses, and think about abstract relationships and concepts.

             Piaget believed that intellectual development was a lifelong process, but that when formal operational thought was attained, no new structures were needed. Intellectual development in adults involves developing more complex schema through the addition of knowledge.

Educational Implications

An important implication of Piaget's theory is adaptation of instruction to the learner's developmental level. The content of instruction needs to be consistent with the developmental level of the learner.

               The teacher's role is to facilitate learning by providing a variety of experiences. "Discovery learning" provides opportunities for learners to explore and experiment, thereby encouraging new understandings. Opportunities that allow students of differing cognitive levels to work together often encourage less mature students to advance to a more mature understanding. One further implication for instruction is the use of concrete "hands on" experiences to help children learn.

Criticisms of Piaget's Theory

Researchers during the 1960's and 1970's identified shortcomings in Piaget's theory.

•          First, critics argue that by describing tasks with confusing abstract terms and using overly difficult tasks, Piaget under estimated children's abilities. Researchers have found that young children can succeed on simpler forms of tasks requiring the same skills.

•          Second, Piaget's theory predicts that thinking within a particular stage would be similar across tasks. In other words, preschool children should perform at the preoperational level in all cognitive tasks. Research has shown diversity in children's thinking across cognitive tasks.

•          Third, according to Piaget, efforts to teach children developmentally advanced concepts would be unsuccessful. Researchers have found that in some instances, children often learn more advanced concepts with relatively brief instruction. Researchers now believe that children may be more competent that Piaget originally thought, especially in their practical knowledge.