Theory of Cognitive

Development
Jean Piaget

 1896-1980
Born in Neuchatel,
Switzerland
Was the eldest child,
and as such was
precocious (bright for
his age)
Strong interest in
seashells, initially

 Piaget was interested in philosophy,

psychology & religion
He worked with Simon, of the Simon-Binet
intelligence testing, but Piaget was more
concerned with how children learn, rather
than distinguishing right/wrong
His academic work forms the basis for our
current educational system

 He married Valentine Chatenay in 1923

and together they had
2 daughters followed
by 1 son
After a lifetime of efforts he was known as
one of the most significant psychologists
of the 20th century

1. Sensorimotor Period
Lasts from birth to 2 years of age
The child:
uses his senses and his increasing motor
skills to explore the environment
begins to use to use language to imitate
and represent the environment

Seriation is
The placing or grouping of like objects
together

Object Permanence
or Person Permanence is when
The child learns
that an object or
person continues
to exist even when
not in sight

Egocentric
The child is aware only of himself and his
own likes, dislikes, and wants
He cannot see other peoples perspectives

Assimilation means
To incorporate new ideas into an existing
schema (or concept)
i.e. a ball

Accommodation means
To adapt old schema (concept) and
develop new schema for interacting with it
when a child adapts his/her existing ideas
to fit new understandings
For example

 According to Piaget:
Assimilation + Accommodation = Learning

2. Pre-operational Period

Lasts from 2 7 years of age

The child can speak and print words
His memory and imagination develops
His thinking is often not logical
Much ego-centric thinking occurs
He learns that symbols represent
something else; for example

 A Stop sign
means to
STOP!

3. Concrete Operations Period

Lasts from 7-11 years of age
The child has the ability to do simple math
and measurement, with manipulatives
He begins to understand cause & effect
He can think about real, concrete things in
systematic ways, but cannot understand
abstract concepts
He is no longer egocentric (he can now
understand other peoples points of view)

 A number line is useful for math

Conservation means
The amount, weight, volume & number of
things stays the same even when the
outward appearance of objects or groups
is changed

A short glass of water is the same amount

as a tall glass half full of water

Reversability means
An action can be undone or reverted to its
previous state

A ball of clay

Can be made into a clay bowl

But it can be reformed into a ball of clay

4. Formal Operations Period

Lasts from about 11 15 years of age
A child is able to think and reason in
purely abstract terms (in his head, without
having concrete items in front of him)
He is able to use logic and abstract
thinking
He questions previously accepted
thoughts, ideas and values

Piagets Theory of
Cognitive Development