Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development 1
Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 11.1.1
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development: Sensorimotor
Piaget summarised four distinct stages of development of cognition (thinking). They are based on intellectual development and how they correlate with age.
Four stages of development
- The four stages are:
- Sensorimotor.
- Preoperational.
- Concrete operational.
- Formal operational.
Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
- The keyword here is sensory.
- Babies take in information via their five senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste).
- Through these five senses, babies begin to develop their understanding of the world.
Sensorimotor (0-2 years) cont.
- Eventually, object permanence is developed.
- This is the concept where babies understand that an object is still there even though they cannot see them.
- For example, if a parent hides a toy in a box or if the parent leaves the room, they still exist in the mind of the child.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development: Pre-operational
Piaget summarised four distinct stages of development of cognition (thinking). They are based on intellectual development and how they correlate with age.
Pre-operational (2-7 years)
- Children develop three important concepts:
- Egocentrism.
- Irreversibility.
- Centration.
Egocentrism
- Egocentrism is when a child can only take the viewpoint of their own.
- They cannot see the perspective of another person.
- This was exemplified in the three mountain task.
Irreversibility
- Irreversibility is when a child does not understand that certain actions cannot be undone.
- For example, if a paper is torn in two or a toy is broken, it cannot be put together again.
Centration
- Centration is when a child focuses on certain parts of a task; they do not see it as a whole.
- For example, a child that asked to group animals into categories may only focus on the colour of the animal rather than the size, amount of legs, species, if they have wings, etc.
Pre-operational (2-7 years) cont.
- Additionally, language begins to develop and children can communicate more effectively.
- But they still make mistakes as they develop their schema.
- For example, a child may see a baby koala at the zoo and call it a puppy. This is because in their mind, all baby animals are called puppies.
Test yourself on Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development 1
What age correlates with the sensorimotor stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
According to Piaget, between what ages does a child go through the pre-operational stage?
What three concepts does a child develop in the pre-operational stage of cognitive development?
What three concepts do children develop in the pre-operational stage?