Cognition and Development
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Central Assumption: Child as a little scientist
Piaget suggested children are equipped with innate strategies (schemata) that they
use to interact with the environment
These strategies change with exposure and experience of the environment
Child is innately programmed to explore their environment (voluntary explanation)
and there are invariant sequences in the development of cognitive strategies
Emphasises importance of environmental influences in cognitive development
Development depends on assimilation, accommodation and equilibrium, and that
once disequilibrium occurs.
Child is motivated to resolve this using these processes
Schema – Mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing,
develops from experience
Accommodation – Learning which takes place when we acquire new info which changes our
understanding of a topic to the extent we need to form one or more new schema or radically
change an existing schema to deal with the new understanding
Assimilation – Learning which takes place when we acquire new info or more advanced
understanding of something. If this info doesn’t radically change our understanding it is
assimilated (incorporated into existing schema)
Equilibrium – Takes place when we have encountered new info and built it into our
understanding of a topic, everything is now balanced
Schema theory:
Object Permanence – Realisation an object still exists when it passes out of the visual field.
Piaget argues this appears around 8 months. Before this children lose interest in an object
when it passes out of sight.
,Conservation – The ability to realise that quantity stays the same, despite appearance of an
object or group of objects changing. POC only takes one aspect of a situation into account.
Adults use internalised reversible thought system, lack of reversibility applies to childs
inability to see that what has been done can be undone
Egocentrism – Childs tendency to only be able to see the world from their own point of view,
applies to physical objects
Class Inclusion – An advanced classification skill where we recognise classes of objects have
subsets and are subsets of larger classes. Pre operational children struggle to place things
into more than one class.
Sensorimotor Stage: 0-2 years
Motor and perceptual processes develop, and the child represents thought through
actions associated with the stimulus
Development of object permanence and the general symbolic function
By 8 months is capable of object permenance
Before 8 months immediately switch attention away from object but after 8 would
continue to look for it
Between ages of birth and 2 years, baby learns from interacting physically with
environment, using simple relflexes eg sucking
Develops with a childs increasing control over its environment into ‘primary circular
reactions’ initiated by the infant to more complex sets of reactions and routines
Concrete Stage: 7-11 years
New internal schemata develop including addition, subtraction, serial ordering and
use of inductive reasoning to solve problems but cannot think using abstract
concepts
Can conserve, awareness of class inclusion, develops ability to use transductive
reasoning, memory strategies change, spontaneous use of rehearshal
Between 5-7 child develops concrete operations which includes new internal
schemas
From 7 children are better able to conserve and perform much better on tasks of
egocentrism and class inclusion
Object constancy = understanding that the fundamental properties of an object stay
the same despite difference in appearance
Formal Stage: 11 plus years
Child can think about ideas and objects and can manipulate abstract concepts
efficiently
Searches systematically, methodologically and logically for solutions to problems, by
changing one factor at a time, uses deductive reasoning (making deductions beyond
experiences)
Piaget says the shift occurs at 12/13 years
, Vygotsky Theory
Zone of Proximal Development – Gap between a childs current level of development and
what they can potentially do with the right help from a more knowledgeable other
Scaffolding – Process of helping a learner cross the ZPD and advance as much as they can
give their stage of development, level of help in scaffolding decreases as a learner crosses
the ZPD: Demonstration, Preperation, Indictation of materials, Specific verbal instructions,
General prompts
Child reasoning develops in a particular sequence
Abilities qualitatively different and different ages
Sees cognitive development as a social processor learning from more experienced
others
Knowledge is first intermental before being intramental
Language is a more important part of cognitive development vs Piaget
Cultural Differences
If reasoning abilities develop through interactions with MKOs, it follows children will
acquire the reasoning abilities of those particular people
Children will pick up mental ‘tools’ most applicable and relevant to the physical,
social and work environments of their culture
Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky considers cognitive development to be transmitted through
cultural and social influences, eg languages, views the child as an apprentice,
learning not from maturational influences only but interaction with the people and
situations around her VS little scientist
Culture and Language
Culture is transmitted through language, with the help of experts
Vygotsky suggests language and thought are initially independent of eachother, at
age of 2 or 3 they begin to interact
At this stage the childs use of language changes from being predominantly social to
being egocentric, when they use language to control and modify their own behaviour
Speech Stage Age Function
Social 0-3 years Controls behaviour of
others, expresses simple
thoughts and emotions
Egocentric 3-7 years Controls own behaviour, but
spoken out loud, a bridge
between the social stage
and inner mental stage
Inner Mental 7+ Self-talk, directs behaviour
, and thinking, involved in all
higher functioning, like a
stream of consciousness
Baillargeons Explanation of Infant Abilities
Violation of expectation research – Method used to investigate infant knowledge of the
world. If children understand how the physical world operates, they will expect certain
things to happen in certain situations. If this doesn’t occur, children will show surprise,
suggesting their knowledge of that aspect of the world has developed
Procedure:
1. 24 babies 5-6 months old, short and tall rabbits passing behind a screen with a
window = OCCLUSION STUDY
2. First = familiarisation event, short and tall rabbit pass behind a screen and disappear,
fitting our expectation of object permenance
3. 2 test conditions: Expected and Unexpected
- Expected = as short rabbit passes behind screen it can no longer be seen due to
height of screen, only seen again when it passes out of the other side of the
screen
- Unexpected = tall rabbit is not seen through window as it moves from one side of
screen to the other. Unexpected because rabbit is tall enough to be seen, baby
will show surprise
Findings and Conclusion:
On average babies looked for 33.07 seconds at the unexpected conditions, compared
to 25.11 seconds at expected condition
Interpreted as SURPRISE
Therefore must have understood the tall rabbit should have reappeared at the
window
Demonstrates good object permanence at a young age
Accept alternate hypotheses, non directional
Knowledge of the physical world:
Piagets research into sensorimotor stage, babies under 8-9 months have primitive
understanding of the physical world
Eg lacking object permanence, based on the idea babies would lose interest once an
object passed out of sight
Piaget continually underestimates infant abilities
Baillargeon = young babies have a better understanding of the physical world than
suggested by Piaget
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Central Assumption: Child as a little scientist
Piaget suggested children are equipped with innate strategies (schemata) that they
use to interact with the environment
These strategies change with exposure and experience of the environment
Child is innately programmed to explore their environment (voluntary explanation)
and there are invariant sequences in the development of cognitive strategies
Emphasises importance of environmental influences in cognitive development
Development depends on assimilation, accommodation and equilibrium, and that
once disequilibrium occurs.
Child is motivated to resolve this using these processes
Schema – Mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing,
develops from experience
Accommodation – Learning which takes place when we acquire new info which changes our
understanding of a topic to the extent we need to form one or more new schema or radically
change an existing schema to deal with the new understanding
Assimilation – Learning which takes place when we acquire new info or more advanced
understanding of something. If this info doesn’t radically change our understanding it is
assimilated (incorporated into existing schema)
Equilibrium – Takes place when we have encountered new info and built it into our
understanding of a topic, everything is now balanced
Schema theory:
Object Permanence – Realisation an object still exists when it passes out of the visual field.
Piaget argues this appears around 8 months. Before this children lose interest in an object
when it passes out of sight.
,Conservation – The ability to realise that quantity stays the same, despite appearance of an
object or group of objects changing. POC only takes one aspect of a situation into account.
Adults use internalised reversible thought system, lack of reversibility applies to childs
inability to see that what has been done can be undone
Egocentrism – Childs tendency to only be able to see the world from their own point of view,
applies to physical objects
Class Inclusion – An advanced classification skill where we recognise classes of objects have
subsets and are subsets of larger classes. Pre operational children struggle to place things
into more than one class.
Sensorimotor Stage: 0-2 years
Motor and perceptual processes develop, and the child represents thought through
actions associated with the stimulus
Development of object permanence and the general symbolic function
By 8 months is capable of object permenance
Before 8 months immediately switch attention away from object but after 8 would
continue to look for it
Between ages of birth and 2 years, baby learns from interacting physically with
environment, using simple relflexes eg sucking
Develops with a childs increasing control over its environment into ‘primary circular
reactions’ initiated by the infant to more complex sets of reactions and routines
Concrete Stage: 7-11 years
New internal schemata develop including addition, subtraction, serial ordering and
use of inductive reasoning to solve problems but cannot think using abstract
concepts
Can conserve, awareness of class inclusion, develops ability to use transductive
reasoning, memory strategies change, spontaneous use of rehearshal
Between 5-7 child develops concrete operations which includes new internal
schemas
From 7 children are better able to conserve and perform much better on tasks of
egocentrism and class inclusion
Object constancy = understanding that the fundamental properties of an object stay
the same despite difference in appearance
Formal Stage: 11 plus years
Child can think about ideas and objects and can manipulate abstract concepts
efficiently
Searches systematically, methodologically and logically for solutions to problems, by
changing one factor at a time, uses deductive reasoning (making deductions beyond
experiences)
Piaget says the shift occurs at 12/13 years
, Vygotsky Theory
Zone of Proximal Development – Gap between a childs current level of development and
what they can potentially do with the right help from a more knowledgeable other
Scaffolding – Process of helping a learner cross the ZPD and advance as much as they can
give their stage of development, level of help in scaffolding decreases as a learner crosses
the ZPD: Demonstration, Preperation, Indictation of materials, Specific verbal instructions,
General prompts
Child reasoning develops in a particular sequence
Abilities qualitatively different and different ages
Sees cognitive development as a social processor learning from more experienced
others
Knowledge is first intermental before being intramental
Language is a more important part of cognitive development vs Piaget
Cultural Differences
If reasoning abilities develop through interactions with MKOs, it follows children will
acquire the reasoning abilities of those particular people
Children will pick up mental ‘tools’ most applicable and relevant to the physical,
social and work environments of their culture
Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky considers cognitive development to be transmitted through
cultural and social influences, eg languages, views the child as an apprentice,
learning not from maturational influences only but interaction with the people and
situations around her VS little scientist
Culture and Language
Culture is transmitted through language, with the help of experts
Vygotsky suggests language and thought are initially independent of eachother, at
age of 2 or 3 they begin to interact
At this stage the childs use of language changes from being predominantly social to
being egocentric, when they use language to control and modify their own behaviour
Speech Stage Age Function
Social 0-3 years Controls behaviour of
others, expresses simple
thoughts and emotions
Egocentric 3-7 years Controls own behaviour, but
spoken out loud, a bridge
between the social stage
and inner mental stage
Inner Mental 7+ Self-talk, directs behaviour
, and thinking, involved in all
higher functioning, like a
stream of consciousness
Baillargeons Explanation of Infant Abilities
Violation of expectation research – Method used to investigate infant knowledge of the
world. If children understand how the physical world operates, they will expect certain
things to happen in certain situations. If this doesn’t occur, children will show surprise,
suggesting their knowledge of that aspect of the world has developed
Procedure:
1. 24 babies 5-6 months old, short and tall rabbits passing behind a screen with a
window = OCCLUSION STUDY
2. First = familiarisation event, short and tall rabbit pass behind a screen and disappear,
fitting our expectation of object permenance
3. 2 test conditions: Expected and Unexpected
- Expected = as short rabbit passes behind screen it can no longer be seen due to
height of screen, only seen again when it passes out of the other side of the
screen
- Unexpected = tall rabbit is not seen through window as it moves from one side of
screen to the other. Unexpected because rabbit is tall enough to be seen, baby
will show surprise
Findings and Conclusion:
On average babies looked for 33.07 seconds at the unexpected conditions, compared
to 25.11 seconds at expected condition
Interpreted as SURPRISE
Therefore must have understood the tall rabbit should have reappeared at the
window
Demonstrates good object permanence at a young age
Accept alternate hypotheses, non directional
Knowledge of the physical world:
Piagets research into sensorimotor stage, babies under 8-9 months have primitive
understanding of the physical world
Eg lacking object permanence, based on the idea babies would lose interest once an
object passed out of sight
Piaget continually underestimates infant abilities
Baillargeon = young babies have a better understanding of the physical world than
suggested by Piaget
