JEAN PIAGET
1896-1980
HALIMA SHARIAT & TENI KURIAN
KEY PRINCIPLES OF PIAGET’S THEORY
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Piaget proposed that cognitive development occurs as we adapt to
the changing world around us.
He described adaption as the continuous process of using the
environment to learn and to adjust to changes that occur in the
environment.
According to Piaget, adaption occurs through two closely related
processes which he called assimilation and accommodation.
ASSIMILATION
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Assimilation is the process of taking in new information and fitting it into
and making it part of an existing mental idea about objects or the world.
We elaborate or make sense of new information in terms of our existing
knowledge and understanding.
For example:
A young child may see a truck and call it a car, simply because a car is
the only vehicle for which the child has an existing mental idea
ACCOMODATION
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Accommodation refers to changing an existing mental idea in order to fit
new information.
The process of assimilation fits new information into an existing mental idea
without modifying the information, accommodation involves modifying
existing information, so the new information may be incorporated.
When places on a nursing mother’s breast, infants demonstrate assimilation
by using a nipple in the activity of sucking. However, not all objects can be
sucked in exactly the same way.
If they are unsuccessful in achieving the results, infants have to modify their
behaviour by changing the shape of their mouth, the placement of their
gums, the amount of suction used, the rhythm of the activity and so on.
(accomodation)
ACCOMMODATION
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The process of assimilation and accommodation, also enable a child to
form what Piaget calls a schema.
Schema : A mental idea, or organized mental representation, of what
something is and how to deal with it.
The first schema infants form consist of a small number of actions; for
example, reflexes such as sucking.
We use schema is perception to interpret, organize and assign meaning
to information obtained through our senses such as sight, sound, smell,
taste and touch. Thus we use schema through experience.
PIAGET’S FOUR-STAGE THEORY OF
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
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Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
proposes that we move through for
distinct and sequential stages from birth
to adulthood in developing our cognitive
abilities
Each stage in the process is linked to an
approximate chronological age range.
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
BIRTH TO TWO YEARS
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Infants construct their understanding of the world by coordinating
sensory experiences with motor.
After the first three months, most infants begin to integrate sensory and
motor information and can start to coordinate their behaviour to grasp an
object or turn towards a noise.
According to Piaget, object permanence is the key cognitive
accomplishment of the sensorimotor stage. ( explain beek-a-boo game)
Goal directed behaviour: behaviour which is carried out with a particular
purpose in mind.
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
IMAGES
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
TWO TO SEVEN YEARS
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Children think about and imagine things in their own mind.
Symbolic thinking: The ability to use symbols such as words and pictures to represent objects, places
and events.
Egocentrism: having difficulty seeing or being unable to see things from another person’s point of view.
He was indicating that preoperational children are capable only of seeing the world from their point of
view.
Animism: The belief that everything which exists has some kind of consciousness or awareness.
Example: an old bike may be thought of as ‘sick’.
Another key accomplishment in the latter part of the pre-operational stage is called transformationunderstanding that something can from one state to another.
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Centration: The pre-operational child can focus only one feature of an object at a time.
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Reversibility: The ability to follow a line of reasoning back to its original starting point.
PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE
IMAGES.
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
SEVEN TO TWELVE YEARS
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It revolves around what they know and what they can experience through their senses.
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Key cognitive accomplishment is understanding conservation.
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Conservation refers to the idea that an object does not change its weight, mass, volume or area when
the object changes its shape or experience.
The ability to organise information into categories based on common features that sets them apart from
other classes or groups.
Classification: A procedure devised by Piaget to asses a child’s ability to classify information that is
outlines.
Children learn to view the world more accurately and precisely. They begin to think logically about
concrete objects and to understand simple changes in them.
By the end of this stage, children demonstrate the ability to create ‘mental’ pictures ob objects and
processes and begin to move towards abstract thinking
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
IMAGES
CONSERVATION OF MASS:
Children are able to deal with the fact that two identical
plasticine balls still have equal amounts of plasticine even if
one is changed into the shape of a sausage.
Conservation of mass is another
aspect of this logical thinking
process that is acquired during the
stage of concrete operations.
CONSERVATION OF NUMBER:
The shape appearance but same amount of balls.
The appearance change but the length still remains
An example of a task used to asses
classification.
FORMAT OPERATIONAL STAGE
TWELVE YEARS AND OLDER.
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In the formal operational stage, more complex thought processes becomes evident and thinking
becomes increasingly sophisticated.
Abstract thinking: a way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see things in order to understand
concepts.
For example:
they develop further ideas about their own beliefs- whether god exists or whether actions are right or
wrong.
Logical thinking: As individuals move through this stage, they are able to develop strategies to solve
problems, identify a range of possible solutions to problems and systematically test actions.
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They are able to think about the future and what is possible, make plans and set goals.
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According to Piaget, the formal operational stage is the final stage of cognitive development.
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He acknowledged that individuals can progress at different rates, so the age ranges for each stage
should only be viewed as a guide.
In 1972, Piaget suggested that, unlike earlier stages, formal operation thinking may not be achieved at
all, depending on the education that individuals have.
CRITICISMS OF PIAGET’S THEORY
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Piaget’s theory has had a great impact in psychology and his place in the history of psychology is
significant.
Interests in the development of cognitive abilities ‘developmental readiness’ of young children for
reading, writing, mathematics and other cognitive tasks needs to be considered before giving
them such tasks.
On the basis of Piaget’s theory, many child development experts warn that children should not be
‘pushed’ too early, before they have sufficiently ‘cognitively matured’.
Key cognitive accomplishment described by Piaget for the different stages are often achieved by
children much younger than the age proposed by Piaget, consequently, many psychologists now
believe that the age ranges for each stage proposed Piaget vary more widely than Piaget
described.
Overestimated young children language ability, leading him to assume that wrong answers came
from faulty thinking.
Piaget often referred to examples involving his own children. Some psychologists have
expressed concerns about the generalisations Piaget made from such limited data.
THE END.