Developmental psychology relates to the changes in behaviour and abilities that transpire over time as development advances. (Harwood & Miller, 2008). Infancy and childhood is a time of rapid development of social, sensory and cognitive abilities. Infants acquire perceptual and motor skills which allow them to comprehend the world they live in. Cognitive development is “the growth of cognitive abilities and capacities from birth to old age” (Colman, 2008). In this essay I will address Piagetian Theory, the cognitive performance of children from age seven to eleven, (the concrete operational period), and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development. This essay will begin by analysing Piagetian Theory. Cognitive development cannot …show more content…
Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who regarded cognitive development as a maturational process (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2010). Piaget constructed his conclusions through the observation of his own children and children at his Centre of Genetic Epistemology in Geneva. Piaget observed that children depend on an altered type of thinking when compared to the way in which adults think. A child’s thinking is qualitatively different than an adult’s thinking. Through his study, Piaget found that children of a similar age are inclined to behave in a similar manner and make similar mistakes when problem-solving. According to Piaget, as children develop they acquire cognitive structures known as schemata and concepts. Schemata are mental representations / rules to help children understand their world and solve problems. Concepts are rules that describe properties of environmental events and their relations to other concepts (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2007). Children obtain schemata and concepts by engaging with their surroundings. The …show more content…
Conversely, Vygotsky disputed that the culture in which a person lives also plays a substantial part in cognitive development. Vygotsky believed that a child’s cognitive development was stimulated by the interaction of the child and its social environment (Vygotsky, 1987). Vygotsky also believed that children’s use of speech also influenced their cognitive abilities (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2010). Vygotsky stated that language was the basis for cognitive development, including the ability to remember, solve problems, make decisions and formulate plans (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2010). Studies have shown that children who use speech when met with difficult tasks are more focussed and show better improvement in cognitive performance then those who are less talkative (Behrend et al., 1992). While Piaget argued for a purely maturational outlook on children’s cognitive development, Vygotsky assigned superior significance of sociocultural influences such as interactions with other people and language (Martin, Carlson & Buskist,
Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development brings in culture as a factor. Vygotsky’s theory incorporates how children learn from the world around them (Owens,
Abstract There are many influences that can impact a child’s health and development. A child’s social environment, the relationships that they have, the parenting styles of that child’s parents can greatly impact that child’s life and development. In this paper, we look at sociocultural impacts on child development, specifically how culture can impact a child and influence the way they see, do, and behave.
Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development is the formal operations stage. This stage goes from adolescence to adulthood; approximately from eleven years of age onward. Through this stage, the “ability to develop hypotheses and deduce new concepts” (“Child Psychology,” n.d.) flourish. Many concepts and ideas are developed through this stage because this is the longest stage during the average person’s lifetime. A couple different concepts learned are idealism, flights of fantasy, advanced understanding of language/advanced language facility, and advanced pragmatism.
What are some important features of young children’s education? Piaget’s theory and Vygotsky’s theory and their difference of opinions were interesting to compare. Piaget’s theory that children develop their thinking and understanding through their actions with the physical world compared to Vygotsky’s theory that children develop their thinking and understanding through their social experiences I think social experiences have a higher influencing factor on a child’s development. “Buds” and “Flowers” Vygotsky referred to these two items as how children develop by having interaction
Piaget’s theory focuses immensely on how a child processes the experiences around them. He was drawn to their thinking pattern, and essentially studied how the intellectual development in children takes place and how they evolve from children to adults. He discovered that during the course of development, children are as intelligent as adults, the only distinction being their thinking processes which is relatively different. James, at ten years of age, is categorized under the concrete operational stage of Piaget’s developmental theory which age range is 7 – 11 years old.
Jean Piaget, known for his interest in the Epistemology in children is seen as the pioneer of Developmental Psychology. Piaget 's Cognitive development theory led to a great deal of research work in the field of educational philosophy . But in the discipline of Psychology, every theory has been faced with a counter theory or an alternative. So is the case with Piaget 's theory. Lev Vygotsky, a soviet psychologist came up with the socio-cultural theory, which is another strong theory emphasizing child development and is seen as a major counter theory to Piaget 's work (Saul McLeod, 2004).
Piaget and Maslow: Teaching the whole child Exceptional educators keep their fingers on the pulse of what their students need, in order to teach them effectively. Examining Piaget and Maslow’s theories, and applying them to the classroom will facilitate achieving this goal. Considering Piaget’s focus on development, and Maslow’s prioritization of human needs, one can integrate these ideas into classrooms and lesson plans that are optimized for student success.
One of the most well known theories in cognitive development is Piaget 's theory. The psychologist Jean Piaget theorized that as children 's minds development, they pass through distinct stages marked by transitions in understanding followed by stability. Piaget describes four different stages of development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operation, and formal operations. Each stage describes the thinking patterns of a child depending on his or her age. In order to compare the thinking processes of a three-year old and a nine-year old using Piaget 's theory, you must compare two sequential stages of cognitive development: preoperational and concrete operations.
Cognitive development is a process which enhancing the ability of learning. The cognitive theories emphasize on conscious thoughts which highlight the mental aspects of development such as logic and memory. The primary factors of cognitive theories is the structure and development of the individual’s thought processes and the means of these processes can effort the person’s understanding of the world. Therefore, the cognitive theories study on how this understanding, and the expectations it creates, can affect the individual’s behavior. There are three types of cognitive development theories in human which are Piaget’s Cognitive development theory, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive theory and Information-Processing theory.
Brief History Jean Piaget was a Twentieth century Swiss psychologist and was the first psychologist to systematically study the cognitive development of children. Thomas (2005) wrote that early in Piaget’s career he worked with children and his observations and interactions with the students led him to the theory that a young person's cognitive processes are inherently different from those of adults (pp. 188-9). According to Ahmad, et al. (2005) , Piaget showed that when compared to adults, young children think in differently and he then came to the conclusion that cognitive development was an ongoing process which occurred due to maturation and interaction with the environment (p. 72).
There are two theorists associated with cognitive development; Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget believes that things children learn and do are organized as schemes, groups of similar actions and thoughts are repeated in response to the environment. Vygotsky believes that thoughts and language are separate functions for infants and toddlers. This is important for me to know because when teaching my first graders using Piaget’s belief that children curiosity to adapt to their environment, will help me in setting up my classroom so as to provide the friendliest environmental atmosphere. Another useful belief of Piaget that I intend to use, is by exploring and manipulating physical objects, children gain a relationship with their physical environment.
Throughout the year we have learned about many different theorists who have done a great but also horrible job at explaining adolescent/ young adult development. In this paper I will be talking about Freud and Piaget, and how I think that Piaget was the better theorist than Freud when it comes to talking about development. I will also be talking about the similarities and difference between the two. For starters, what are their specific steps of development? Jean Piaget used observations of his own children to develop the four stages that we know he created today.
His approach of studying the development of the human mind was a synthesis of ideas drawn from biology and philosophy. He looked at human beings as biological organisms who must adapt successively to their environment. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development revolutionized the study of children’s cognitive development and it has undergone some revisions over the years. It also provides a set of basic principles to guide our understanding of cognitive development that are found in most recent theories.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Cognition is a process where different aspects of the mind are working together that lead to knowledge. Piaget’s cognitive development theory is based on stages that children go through as they grow that lead them to actively learn new information. Cognitive change occurs with schemes that children and adults go through to make sense of what is happening around them. The change that occurs is activity based when the child is young and later in life correlates to mental thinking. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development start from birth to adulthood
For the purpose of this essay, a child developmental theory will be referred to as an approach and development will be defined as “the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the life span” (Santrock, 2011, pp.6). This essay