Critically consider Piagets theory of cognitive development.

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Critically consider Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

This essay will look at the theory put forward by Jean Piaget (1896-1980) that cognitive development is a process that is defined by stages of thinking which change as a person grows from infancy to adulthood. It will examine his theory, commenting on its strengths and weaknesses and compare it to other cognitive development theories put forward by Jerome Bruner and Lev Vygotsky.

Cognitive development is defined as being "the development of intelligence, conscious thought, and problem-solving ability that begins in infancy" (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). Piaget was interested in the way that thinking develops in an individual and he developed his theory after becoming unhappy with the idea that intelligence is a fixed attribute. Instead he considered it to be a process which developed over time due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment. As the brain grows and becomes more intricate, it is able to develop more complex ways of thinking. Children are limited in their ability to benefit from experience as their brains are not adequately developed enough. The environment is also linked to cognitive development as children are fundamentally programmed to explore and test the world around them. This is why Piaget called children "little scientists" (http://alevelpsychology.co.uk). In this way Piaget is seen to be constructivist.

According to Piaget, there are four stages of cognitive development, sensorimotor, pre-operational, operational, concrete operational and formal operational. Underpinning these stages are a series of mental constructs that a child must build in order to aid their understanding of the world. The child builds schemata, mental patterns which enable the individual to understand and interact with the world. Schemas continue to be built upon and develop as an individual encounters new experiences and their learning increases. In order for schemas to develop, a process of assimilation needs to occur, this involves the understanding of new objects, ideas or situations fitting in with existing knowledge. Accommodation occurs when new information is taken in and an existing schema is modified to absorb this knowledge. Piaget believed that equilibrium occurs when a child achieves a balance between assimilation and accommodation. As a child moves through developmental stages it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous knowledge and modifying behaviour to account for new knowledge. This helps to explain how a child progresses through the stages (Hill, 2001, pp35).

The first stage, sensorimotor stage, takes place between birth and the age of two. This stage is characterised by the infant developing their thoughts through sensory information and actions. During this stage the infant is deeply egocentric and is unable to differentiate between itself and its environment. During this stage Piaget describes schemas as reflex actions that gradually become more intentional. One of the major defining factors of this stage is the development of "object permanence". This is the understanding that objects can still exist even when they are hidden. Piaget investigated this theory by observing his own children when he hid an object from them. He found that a child will not search for an object hidden from view between the ages of 0-5 months, but by the age of 8 months, the child will actively look for it (ibid, pp36).
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According to Piaget, around the age of 2-7 years, a child will become pre-operational. Schemas are now largely symbolic, represented internally by words. The child is not mentally developed enough to carry out logical operations and still has difficulty in understanding that others do not see, think and feel things as they themselves do (ibid). To demonstrate this, Piaget and Inhelder (1956) carried out their Three Mountain Experiment. Children were shown a series of photos of the mountains from different viewpoints and were asked to pick the one which best fitted the view the doll had. Four year ...

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