Schaie’s Model of Cognitive Development
Proposed by K. Warner Schaie
• A stage theory in which human cognitive processes are posited to
develop within up to five periods during the lifespan.
• Schaie’s model looks at the developing uses of intellect within a social
context.
1) Acquisitive stage
• In the first, the acquisitive stage, an individual’s primary cognitive task
is to acquire knowledge and intellectual skills.
• Occurs in childhood and adolescence who acquire information and
skills mainly for their own sake or as preparation for the participation
in the society.
2) Achieving stage
• Occurs in late teens or early twenties to early thirties. The achieving stage
occurs next, in young adulthood, during which an individual’s primary
cognitive task is to achieve personal goals (e.g., starting a family,
establishing a career) by applying the intellectual skills learned during the
acquisitive stage.
Proposed by K. Warner Schaie
• A stage theory in which human cognitive processes are posited to
develop within up to five periods during the lifespan.
• Schaie’s model looks at the developing uses of intellect within a social
context.
1) Acquisitive stage
• In the first, the acquisitive stage, an individual’s primary cognitive task
is to acquire knowledge and intellectual skills.
• Occurs in childhood and adolescence who acquire information and
skills mainly for their own sake or as preparation for the participation
in the society.
2) Achieving stage
• Occurs in late teens or early twenties to early thirties. The achieving stage
occurs next, in young adulthood, during which an individual’s primary
cognitive task is to achieve personal goals (e.g., starting a family,
establishing a career) by applying the intellectual skills learned during the
acquisitive stage.
