Jean Piaget and the Four Major Stages of Cognitive Theory Essay

During this stage, the child can engage in symbolic play, and have developed an imagination. This child may use an object to represent something else, such pretending that a broom is a horse. An important feature a child displays during this stage is egocentrism. This refers to the child’s inability to see a situation from another person’s point of view. To test whether or not children are egocentric, Piaget used the ‘Three Mountain Task’. Piaget concluded that the four-year olds thinking was egocentric, as the seven year olds was not. Children, at this stage, do not understand more complex concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison.

Hence, the 3-year-old can use symbols that include language, objects and drawings, all of which help the child illustrate his or her ideas of the world. This can also be seen in the 3-year-old’s increasing ability to play pretend. An example of this child’s ability to play pretend is in his or her ability to use an object to represent something else. An example of this animism is when a brush becomes a microphone or a broom becomes horse; both show the child engaging in symbolic thought and shows that the mental representation differs from the real world. But, children are also able to role play in roles such as parents, teachers, doctors, etc. which emphasizes their understanding of the real world. One problem, however, with the 3-year-old is that they are egocentric and are unable to see the perspectives and points of views of others. A 3-year-old has a very central and irreversible sense of thinking. Another problem that the 3-year-old has is their inability to hold a conversation. Instead, the child is constantly asking questions in order to understand what is being

The second stage of cognitive development is the Preoperational Stage. During this stage children start to

In the sensorimotor stage the child discovers the environment through physical actions such as sucking, grabbing, shaking and pushing. During these first two years of life children realize objects still exist, even if it is out of view. This concept is known as object permanence. Children in the preoperational stage develop language skills, but may only grasp an idea with repeated exposure. As Piaget describes in the next stage, children draw on knowledge that is based on real life situations to provide more logical explanations and predictions. Lastly, in the formal operational stage children use higher levels of thinking and present abstract ideas.

Children who are in the formal operation stage of developmenthave the ability to think logically and abstractly meaning then can tackle higher level problems. They can also reason in the theoretical sense letting them comprehend matters from an outside environment. According toPiaget this the ultimate stage of development, it enables them to grasp foreign concepts as long although they will still need to revise their knowledge base from previously learnt material. Piaget claims that this way of thinking was as powerful as it would get and can be improved via practicing and continuing the

Throughout ones life, their brain and way of thinking is constantly changing. Jean Piaget is a developmental scientist who studies how a persons thinking may change over time (Calvillo, 2014). There are four stages of stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development which include sensorimotor, pre operational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The first stage is sensorimotor which occurs from birth too two years of age. During this stage, the brain realizes there are certain consequences for their actions such as hearing a sound when squeezing a rubber duck. Also they began to to suck on things due to their development of motor skills. Another big part of this stage is object permanence which is when babies start to understand things exist even when they cannot see them. The second stage of cognitive development is pre operational which occurs from the years of two to seven. In this stage, children began to use their language with a purpose star to use their words with a purpose because they can distinguish the names by shapes or colors. Though they can do this, they can still not thing logically or put themselves in someone else's shoes.

Jean Piaget is considered to be very influential in the field of developmental psychology. Piaget had many influences in his life which ultimately led him to create the Theory of Cognitive Development. His theory has multiple stages and components. The research done in the early 1900’s is still used today in many schools and homes. People from various cultures use his theory when it comes to child development. Although there are criticisms and alternatives to his theory, it is still largely used today around the world.

The term cognitive development refers to the process of developing intelligence and higher level thinking that allows a person to acquire problem-solving skills from the age of infancy through adulthood. A Swiss philosopher by the name of Jean Piaget took an interest in in developmental psychology; specifically in children during infancy through pre-adolescence. This model developed by Piaget still has a modern-day relevancy.

In this stage, children learn the abstract concepts such as quantity, space and time. Children can also apply these concepts in real life situations, but at the same time, they face problems in thinking independently. According to Piaget, children's ideas about space and time are inconsistent sometimes, but they have basic knowledge of logic that they use for the cognitive operations. At this stage, children can learn rules very easily but face complications in having the thorough understanding of the logical implications of the rules that are changed in the unusual situations. The fourth and last stage of the cognitive development is the formal operation stage that started at the age around 12 and lasts until later life. In this stage, children become more able to have more hypothetical and theoretical reasoning. Rules can be applied to the various situations with the most effective use of ‘if' reasoning. In this stage, individuals accept the valid reasoning (Modgil, Modgil, & Brown, 2013).

The main theorist that worked on and studied cognitive development was Piaget. Piaget was a Swiss developmental psychologist and Philosopher, and was well known for his studies encompassing children. His theory focuses on the ways children think, reason, and solve problems, as well how they then adapt

Through my work experiences I was seemed to work with children at the concrete and formal operational stages. Which my ideology towards other realms of cognitive development were lacking the full scope. As I started to understand that there was more to Jean Piaget cognitive development theory of stages. Chapter nine took a deeper look into formal operational stages. What really caption my attention was the aspects of the stage that detailed the reasoning behind the purpose of his or her thinking patterns start to differ.

The concrete operational stage involves children from ages seven to eleven years of age. At this stage children begin to logically think and organize based off detail. Children begin to demonstrate seriation, which involves being able to organize based off “quantitative dimension” such as length (Santrock 185). An example being having a teacher instruct his or her students to organize wooden sticks by length.

The second stage is the preoperational stage, which is from ages 2-7. This is the stage where the child’s language has developed and they have the ability to maintain mental images. However, they do not yet have the ability to think logically.

Piaget came up with the Theory of cognitive development. The theory of cognitive development has four stages. Sensorimotor is the first stage. The first stage of Piaget 's theory lasts from birth to approximately about the age of two. This stage is centered on the infant trying to make sense of the world around them through hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting, and feeling.

Jean Piaget, a cognitivist, believed children progressed through a series of four key stages of cognitive development. These four major stages, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational, are marked by shifts in how people understand the world. Although the stages correspond with an approximate age, Piaget’s stages are flexible in that if the child is ready they can reach a stage. Jean Piaget developed the Piagetian cognitive development theory. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes that a child’s intellect, or cognitive ability, progresses through four distinct stages. The emergence of new abilities and ways of processing information characterize each stage. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence.