COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Development
Development
refers to the changes which takes place in human being or animals from its
creation to death. Development can be classified into physical development,
personal development, social development and cognitive development. People
develop at their own pace as they have different rates of development.
Development occurs in a logical order,
this it takes place gradually.
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Certain
ways of thinking that are quit simple for an adult are not simple for a child,
Piaget (1954). As per his theory maturation is unfolding of biological changes
that are genetically programmed. So the social interactions have a very little
impact on a person's cognitive development.
Thinking
As
per Piaget all the species inherit two basic tenancies. They are:
- Organization
- Adaptation
According
to his theory, thinking is based on schemes, which is mental system or
categories of perception and experience.
Adaptation
Adaptation
includes both assimilation and accommodation
Ø Assimilation takes place when people
fit their new information into existing schemes, to make sense out of it.
Ø Accommodation takes place when
existing schemes are altered to response new information as data cannot be fit
into the existing schemes.
Equilibration
According
to Piaget actual changes in thinking takes place through equilibration – Search
for mental balance between cognitive schemes and information from the
environment.
Four
Stages of Cognitive Development
1. The Sensimotor
Stage
ü 0-2
years
ü Child's
thinking involves seeing, moving, touching, tasting, and so on
ü Infant
develops object permanence – The understanding that objects have
a separate, permanent existence
ü Begin
logical goal-directed actions – Deliberate actions towards a goal
2. The Preparational
Stage
ü 2-7
years
ü Make
action schemes symbolic, develops ability to think in symbolic form
ü Able
to think about operations only in one direction
ü Have
tenancy to be egocentric – assuming that others experience the
world same way as you do. So they have difficulty in understanding others view
point.
3. The
Concrete-Operational Stage
ü 7-11
years
ü Recognition
of the logical stability, the realization that elements can be changed and
still conserve many of its original characteristics
ü Master
classification and reversibility – think about series of steps and reverse them
4. Formal Operations
ü Focus
of thinking can change from “what is” to “what might be”
ü Includes
hypothetico-deductive reasoning – Begins by identifying all the
factors that might affect a problem and then deduce and systematically
evaluates specific solutions.
ü Includes
inductive reasoning – Using specific observations to identify
general principles
ü Develops
concern about social issues, identity
Limitations of Piaget's Theory
- The trouble
with stages:
û Lack
of consistency in children's thinking
û Process
maybe continuous than they seem
- Underestimate
children's ability
û Underestimated
cognitive ability of children
û Does
not explain how even young children can perform at an advanced level
- Cognitive
development and culture
Overlooks
the important effects of the child's culture and social group
References
1. Woolfolk,A.
(2010). Educational Psychology-Eleventh Edition: Pearson Education,Inc.,
2. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
