Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, Research Paper Example

Introduction

As one of the most important human development researchers of the 20th century, Jean Piaget (1896 to 1980) is best remembered for his four stages of human development related to cognition or the mental process characterized by knowing, thinking, learning, and judging, especially in infants and pre-school children. In basic terms, these four stages of human development begins in infancy by acquiring via the passage of time knowledge and abilities concerning thinking processes, particularly related to the ability to use reason and to think in abstract terms (Carpendale, 2000, p. 183). Piaget as a researcher was most interested in what psychologists refer to as cognitive learning which involves the acquisition of problem-solving abilities through conscious thought. Piaget also clearly understood the connections between learning and behavior as they relate to the environment in which a child is raised (Carpendale, 2000, p. 185) and how researchers can best understand human cognitive development by observing children as they learn about the world around them through experience.

In addition, as a researcher in human cognitive development, Piaget realized that the thought processes of children were not the same as found in adults, due to the fact that the brains of children are not as fully functional and develop over the course of time. In other words, the brain of a two year-old child is quite different as compared to that of a twelve year-old, especially concerning thought processes and the ability to learn. From a biological standpoint, once a child begins to learn as an infant, the structure of the brain undergoes various transformations related to growth and development, and as the child experiences the world around him, his ability to learn also increases.

Stage One: Sensory Motor Development

This first stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Development paradigm begins at birth and ends at around the age of two. During this phase of development, the sight and hearing of an infant develops in rapid succession, along with muscular reflexes and motor sense, being movement that is achieved by evoking a sensory memory for a specific type of movement (Leahy, 1995, p. 180). Also, the first stages of learning occur during this phase, such as knowing the difference between a doll and a teddy bear. This has much to do with what Nakayama refers to as action which plays a vital role in cognitive development in relation to images and perceptions (2006, p. 644), such as acting upon the desire to play with a particular toy or repeating a certain type of action in order to achieve satisfaction or pleasure. Also during this stage of development, a child learns to distinguish between objects, thus creating mental pictures within the brain.

Stage Two: Preoperational

During this second phase of cognitive development which occurs between the ages of two and eight years of age, a child begins to think logically and acquires the ability to express his thoughts with words. Very often, the child develops the ability to express these thoughts through images, such as drawing a picture of an object as he sees it in the real physical world; in other words, the child learns to use his imagination. In addition, the child begins to express his ego via Nakayama’s “roles of action” (2006, p. 650) by becoming self-centered and claiming certain objects like toys as his own. Also during the stage of development, the child begins to question his environment which leads to becoming curious about how things work and why. In some children, the ability to use reason increases substantially which inevitably leads to a higher level of intelligence, such as found in gifted children (Carpendale, 2000, p. 200).

Stage Three: Concrete Functioning

The third stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Development paradigm is perhaps the most important, due to the increasing ability of the child to use concrete mental operations. For example, a child’s thoughts become increasingly logical and coherent so that he is able to classify, sort, order, and organize facts. This also includes problem solving based on what the child perceives in his environment. In Piaget’s system of classification, this phase occurs between the ages of seven and eleven years of age and is highlighted by the ability to think in abstraction. Nakayama’s “roles of action” also increases substantially during this stage in relation to being able to internalize physical reality, such as using one’s imagination to alter physical shapes and objects through mental visualization.

Stage Four: Formal Functioning

In this last stage which begins around the age of twelve and proceeds into the teen years, a child begins to take on the thought patterns of an adult and starts to rationalize reality into concrete patterns via abstract thinking. As Kitchener points out, by the age of fifteen or so, the cognitive ability to solve problems becomes acute, especially related to social relationships and personal problems (2009, p. 216). Also, at this age, a person (no longer a child) develops his/her own system of values related to ethics and morals. In essence, this final stage in Piaget’s Cognitive Development paradigm leads into adulthood when a person becomes a full-fledged thinking individual.

Conclusion

Since the early 1970’s when Jean Piaget first came up with his theories on human cognitive development, much research has been done in this field of study, especially concerning how the brain develops in relation to biology and chemistry and the roles of genetics and heredity in the development of a human being which can be described as a gradual progression from one stage to another with each stage being more complex than the one preceding it.

References

Carpendale, J.M. (2000). Kohlberg and Piaget on stages and moral reasoning. Developmental Review (20) 2, 181-205.

Kitchener, R.F. (2009). On the concepts of the social in Piaget. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Leahy, R.L. (1995). Cognitive development and cognitive therapy. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy (9) 3, 173-184.

Nakayama, Y. (2006). Roles of action in cognitive development: A study on the developmental theories of Piaget and Kephart. Japanese Psychological Review (49) 4, 644-654.