Jean Piaget’s Four Stages of Development, Research Paper Example

In all psychological theory, it is inevitable that thinking once considered a benchmark is challenged, refuted, expanded, or qualified. It is in nature of humanity that, in seeking to comprehend its own processes of thought, feeling, and behavior, one idea gives rise to others. Within this complex and shifting arena, however, the work of Jean Piaget remains relatively stable in regard to basic cognitive development, and likely due to the simplicity of Piaget’s structure itself. Other theories, including those of Piaget, rely on complexity and are consequently more open to questioning, as well as how external variables influence individual progress. Piaget’s four stages, however, are virtually fundamental, and reflect universality.  In Piaget’s construction, each stage applies to all developing children no matter cultural differences.  Moreover, there is a fixed logic to them, and no stage may be entered into without the others preceding it (Keenan, Evans, 2009, p. 159).  Criticism exists, nonetheless, and more modern thinking tends to view the stages as too limited in terms of the cognitive capabilities of children (Wood, Smith, & Grossniklaus, 2013).  At the same time, even this does not lessen the basic structural value of the theory, as the criticism suggests only a cautionary model of Piaget, rather than an inaccurate one.  In the following, then, Piaget’s four stages of development will be presented in their correct order, and in a manner explaining the nature of each.

Sensorimotor

No single stage, by virtue of the relative impact of each, may be considered more meaningful in terms of development, but it is true as well that the Sensorimotor Stage “lays the groundwork” for all cognitive development to follow. This is the period from birth to approximately two years of age, and it is in fact the least cognitive of all the stages. These are the months in the child’s life wherein experimentation dictates, and trial-and-error processes create learning at a fundamental, and largely physical, level (Wood, Smith, & Grossniklaus). At the end of this stage, Piaget holds, the infant acquires the significant cognitive gain of object permanence; it comprehends that external realities exist in ways independent of how they are perceived, and have a “reality” unto themselves (Keenan, Evans, p. 159).  Moreover, the stage is divided into substages by Piaget, the first of which occurring from birth to one month.  This is the Reflexive Schemes substage, as the infant begins to repeat actions, as in sucking the thumb or opening and closing the fist.  Following this, the Primary Circular Reactions substage expands upon the repetition, and an activity like thumb-sucking takes on meaning as producing gratification.  In this period going to four months, the infant is beginning to connect actions and results, and thus anticipate events through the experience. The Secondary Circular Reactions substage, going to eight months, adds complexity to the infants behaviors; the hand opens to grasp and shake a rattle, and physical movement increases (Keenan, Evans, p. 160).  Actual cognition is not yet apparent, but the reflex operations become more sophisticated.

This leads to the Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions substage, in place until the child is 12 months old and essentially broadening the scope of action and result.  Here, the infant anticipates an actual goal, as in the rattle being seized to produce the anticipated and desired sound.  From 12 months to 18, the Tertiary Circular Reactions substage goes to further experimentation; the infant begins to vary actions, having become habituated to results and seeking new sensations.  In this substage as well children first manifest a sense of self as apart from the external environment, comprehend spatial relationships more clearly, and continue to test the reality and boundaries of what is within their reach.  Finally, the last two months of the Sensorimotor Stage are the Invention of New Means through Mental Combinations substage, in which symbolic thinking begins to replace the reliance on physical activity alone. In a sense, the realities experimented with previously now become fixed ideas of themselves in the child’s mind, and consequently this is the substage during which imaginary play first occurs (Keenan, Evans, p. 162). The latter two substages then create object permanence, in that the infant grasps the concept of realities outside of itself.

Preoperational

This Piaget stage occurs from the age of two to approximately seven years.  Perhaps the most interesting facet of it is that, even as cognitive intelligence is developing, it remains chiefly intuitive, and actual logic is not employed. In this stage, and in accordance with the child’s literal and expanded involvement with the external environment, a variety of processes and modes of thinking take shape.  First and foremost, the child acquires and employs language, which goes to reinforcing the presence of symbols in the mind, as well as more complex relationships between them.  Equally importantly, there is the initial understanding of time in terms of past, present, and future experiences (Wood, Smith, & Grossniklaus).  In a very real sense, this stage broadens the child’s experiences and perceptions of the world and the self in exponential ways, as the development is prompted to the increased exposure to a more complex environment.

For Piaget, two critical substages mark this developmental period, the first being the Symbolic Function.  Before the age of four, children have a firm enough grasp on symbols to translate them into play (Ashcroft, LeCroy, 2009, p. 302).  The child who “plays house,” for example, is completely relying on a knowledge of symbols and their meaning to construct an imaginary scenario, as the child who engages in imaginary discussions with an absent friend is performing the same function.  Similarly, the substage is marked by the child who attempts to draw objects, which is a form of symbolic recreation of reality.  Egocentrism is a component of this substage as well; the child is as yet unable to conceive that others exist apart from the child’s own field of sensory experience.  The child who hides in a way blocking their view of others, for example, believes that those others cannot seen them.  The Intuitive Thinking substage follows, and this is best defined as the substage wherein the child in highly inquisitive.  They believe they have knowledge, but they insist on seeking to understand the reality of the knowledge.  In this substage, logic is not yet present, but an intuitive sense is guiding the child to pursue the basic of rationality (Ashcroft, LeCroy, p. 302).  In a very real sense, play and inquiry in the Preoperational Stage pave the way for the critical transition to the final stages.

Concrete Operational

This stage, commencing at age seven or eight and ongoing through eleven, is when logic and rational cognition begin to manifest themselves.  Egocentrism is lessened because the child understands that others have different vantage points and realities (Wood, Smith, & Grossniklaus). Then, children here develop mental operations indicating understanding of realities as simultaneously constant and altered.  For example, it is noted that children in this stage comprehend elements of conservation. They can grasp that altering the way in which a number of marbles or beads are laid out does not change the actual number of the items, and that creating new shapes with clay does not change the mass of the clay.  Moreover, the Concrete Operational Stage is reflected by the ways in which children understand hierarchies and transitive relationships. A child of nine will be able to sort out baseball cards by teams, and distinguish between types of flowers in a large assortment. Regarding the transitive, children here conduct actual mental calculations expanding on knowledge presented. When the child is told, for example, that Sally lives farther away than Ann, and that Jane lives farther away from Sally, they are able to deduce that Jane lives farther away from Ann than does Sally (Keenan, Evans, p. 167).  Logical competencies are developed in this stage, which may be seen as marking true cognitive processes.

Formal Operational

For Piaget, the onset of the Formal Operational Stage commencing at 11-12 years of age and ongoing through adulthood does not mark the end of cognitive development, but rather the end of the creating of cognitive structures.  It is the final developmental foundation, and the one wherein the child/adolescent engages fully in rational and conceptual thinking.  It is important to note, however, that the line blurs between this stage and the Concrete Operational; moral reasoning developed in the Concrete Operational Stage, for example, often generates fixed thinking in the Formal Operational (Rigter, Diekstra, & Torringa, 2013).  Nonetheless, the Formal stage reflects the full development of all such processes. Not unexpectedly, the young adolescent’s increased involvement with the external world, as well as their biological growth, enhances the evolution of cognitive reasoning.  In this stage there is an increase in communication ability, which in turn translates to a promotion of reasoning and receptivity to other ideas. Assimilation is as well major benchmark of this stage, as the adolescent is able to integrate current experience into known concepts, and develop conclusions based on the rationality.  Abstract propositions become more important, and the individual is capable of engaging in hypothetical reasoning (Ashcroft, LeCroy, p. 443).  For example, the adolescent provided with knowledge of an historical event, as in the assassination of Kennedy, may employ the information to speculate as to other explanations for the event.  When new information is offered, also, the Formal Operational Stage allows for revising of theory (Keenan, Evans, p. 168).  Then, as noted, moral reasoning is integrated within these processes, as the adolescent entering into adulthood combines belief systems with reason, and consequently formulates mechanisms unique to the self.  This is, again, not the end of cognitive development, but rather the final establishing of the cognitive structure the individual will employ throughout adulthood.

Conclusion

If Piaget’s Four Stages of Development are subject to criticism and/or revision, they nonetheless stand as fundamental and widely, if not universally, applicable categorizations of actual mental evolution.  Through an understanding of the individual’s limitations as an infant and child, both in terms of capability and external influences, Piaget fashions a structure essentially stable and relevant. The Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational Stages, composed of multiple elements and/or substages, encompass how the earliest and most intuitive perceptions expand to allow for actual reasoning, and the Piaget model remains a significant template for tracing the complex trajectory of human development in cognitive terms.

References

Ashford, J., & LeCroy, C. (2009).  Human Behavior in the Social Environment: A Multidimensional Perspective. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Keenan, T., & Evans, S. (2009).  An Introduction to Child Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rigter, J., Diekstra, R. F. W., & Torringa, H. (2013). Psychological questions children have: an investigation into the need for psychological knowledge and   understanding among 11-13 year olds.  Cognitive C-CRCS.  Retrieved 5 Nov. 2014 from http://www.c-crcs.com/files/menu_items/other/v8.pdf

Wood, K. C., Smith, H., & Grossniklaus, D. (2013). Piaget’s Stages. Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology.  Retrieved 5 Nov. 2014 from http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/psych406-5.3.2.pdf