Psychology / Unit 7: Development
7.3 Piaget's Cognitive Development
Notes
Jean Piaget said children actively build knowledge using schemas (mental frameworks), through assimilation (fitting new info into existing schemas) and accommodation (changing schemas to fit new info).
| Stage | Age (approx.) | Key feature |
|---|---|---|
| Sensorimotor | 0 to 2 | Learn through senses and actions; object permanence |
| Preoperational | 2 to 7 | Symbolic thought, pretend play; egocentrism; lacks conservation |
| Concrete operational | 7 to 11 | Logical thinking about real objects; conservation |
| Formal operational | 12 and up | Abstract and hypothetical thinking |
- Example: a toddler calls a cow a "dog" (assimilation), then learns the new word "cow" (accommodation).
- Later research suggests children can do some tasks earlier than Piaget thought.
Practice
A 5-year-old thinks a tall thin glass holds more juice than a short wide glass with the same amount. She has not yet mastered:
Conservation is understanding that quantity stays the same despite shape changes. It develops in the concrete operational stage.
A baby looks for a toy that has been hidden under a blanket. This shows:
Knowing hidden objects still exist develops in the sensorimotor stage.
A teen can imagine "What if gravity were twice as strong?" and reason about it. This is which Piagetian stage?
Abstract and hypothetical thinking mark the formal operational stage.
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