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KEY IDEAS
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
THEORIES:
PIAGET, VYGOTSKY, KOHLBERG
• 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
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
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SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
Substages of the Sensorimotor Stage
1. Reflexes – coordinating senses and actions through
inborn reflexes
- Example: Sucking reflex
Substages 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
2. Primary circular reactions – first signs of intentionality
- Example: Sucking one’s thumb,
5. Tertiary circular reactions – “little experimenter”
- Example: Making a block fall, spin, and hit another
object
3. Secondary circular reactions – interaction with the
environment; repeat action that bring interesting results
- Example: Shaking a rattle; cooing to get
attention
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
PIAGET: PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
Preoperational stage (2-7 years old)
Substages:
- children begin to represent the world with words,
images, and drawings (representational ability)
1. Symbolic Function Substage
- child does not perform operations (reversible mental
actions that allow them to do mentally what they can
do physically)
- child gains the ability to use
mental representations
(symbols) to which a child has
attached meaning
- children uses more symbols (internalized sensory
image or word that represents an event)
PIAGET: PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
- between ages 2 to 4
- Ex. Pretend play (play
involving imaginary people and
situations)
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
Substages:
Substages:
1. Symbolic Function
Substage
1. Symbolic Function Substage
Limitations:
b. Animism – tendency to
attribute life to objects that
are not alive
a. Egocentrism – inability
to consider another
person’s point of view
Ex. The three-mountain
task (Piaget and Inhelder,
1969)
Limitations:
- “The sun is shy.”
- “The TV is tired.”
- “That tree pushed the leaf
off, and it fell down.”
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PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
Substages:
Centration
2. Intuitive Thought Substage
– centering of attention on one
characteristic to the exclusion
of all others
- 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
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
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
- another limitation of the
preoperational stage
- clearly demonstrated in the
child’s lack of conservation
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
- Children in the preoperational
stage tend to lack
conservation
c.) the concept of desire
- Example: Piaget’s beaker test
- 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
• 4-5 years old: Children can understand that the mind
can represent objects accurately or inaccurately
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
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 OPERATIONAL STAGE
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
Key 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
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
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
BEYOND PIAGET:
ADOLESCENT EGOCENTRISM
• Adolescent egocentrism
- David Elkind’s concept of
the heightened selfconsciousness of
adolescents
- for Elkind, this is partly
because the adolescent is
still starting to explore
his/her formal operational
thought
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”
VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY
VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY
Scaffolding
Private speech
- temporary support given to a
child to do the task until
he/she can do it alone
- talking to oneself with no intent
to communicate with others
• Piaget: Private speech is
egocentric and immature
- a more skilled person
(teacher or adult) adjusts the
amount of guidance to fit the
child’s current performance
- Children tend to vocalize what is
on their minds
- They could not distinguish the
words and the actions they
symbolize
VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY
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
Internalization
PRIVATE SPEECH
Internalization
EGOCENTRIC
SPEECH
Awareness of others
SOCIAL SPEECH
Awareness of others
INNER SPEECH
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
INNER SPEECH
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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)
Moral decisions are based on desire to please
Stage 3: Good
others.
interpersonal
relationships
Stage 4: Maintaining
social order
KOHLBERG: MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
LEVEL III: Postconventional
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.
Moral decisions are based on one’s sense of
duty to maintain law and order.
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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