Lwanda Jafta
Student Number: 18J8123
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is a kind of guide that tells us the stages that children go through
during development as they are trying to gain perspective from the world. Through these stages we also find
out how children use assimilation and accommodation to learn new things from new experiences. The stages
are known as the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stages although
this piece will specifically focus on the sensorimotor and preoperational stages which occur during early and
middle childhood.
Children develop by building schemas through assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is when they
add new experiences into already established while accommodation requires adjusting these schemas for the
experiences to still make sense. The first stage of infants doing this is the sensorimotor stage, this happens
when the child is from birth to 2 years old. According to Piaget’s theory, the first 6 weeks of a new-born’s
life involves them exercising their reflex schemas. In the lives of infants who are 4 months and younger,
they are only aware of their immediate actions such as what they see and what they touch. After a year the
infant will begin to develop purposeful behaviour, meaning they repeat the actions that have reactions that
they desire. Another important milestone that the child is expected to reach is to begin language along with
basic symbolic representation.
The second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is known as the preoperational stage and it
takes place between the ages of 2-7 years of age. At this point the language of the child improves
significantly and they find it easier to express their thoughts whether its through scribbles or gestures.
Although the thinking of the child has improved, logic hasn’t fully settled, and they struggle to conserve
information effectively. During this period the child also views the world in a single dimension. They lack
the ability to see others’ perspectives and points of view.
In conclusion, those are the key aspects of the first 2 stages in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
These occur during a child’s early and middle childhood. This piece highlights features and factors of
growing up from being a new born to being a toddler. This is how children get used to the world around
them and learn how to adapt to their environments. (Leslie Swartz, 2016)
Student Number: 18J8123
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is a kind of guide that tells us the stages that children go through
during development as they are trying to gain perspective from the world. Through these stages we also find
out how children use assimilation and accommodation to learn new things from new experiences. The stages
are known as the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stages although
this piece will specifically focus on the sensorimotor and preoperational stages which occur during early and
middle childhood.
Children develop by building schemas through assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is when they
add new experiences into already established while accommodation requires adjusting these schemas for the
experiences to still make sense. The first stage of infants doing this is the sensorimotor stage, this happens
when the child is from birth to 2 years old. According to Piaget’s theory, the first 6 weeks of a new-born’s
life involves them exercising their reflex schemas. In the lives of infants who are 4 months and younger,
they are only aware of their immediate actions such as what they see and what they touch. After a year the
infant will begin to develop purposeful behaviour, meaning they repeat the actions that have reactions that
they desire. Another important milestone that the child is expected to reach is to begin language along with
basic symbolic representation.
The second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is known as the preoperational stage and it
takes place between the ages of 2-7 years of age. At this point the language of the child improves
significantly and they find it easier to express their thoughts whether its through scribbles or gestures.
Although the thinking of the child has improved, logic hasn’t fully settled, and they struggle to conserve
information effectively. During this period the child also views the world in a single dimension. They lack
the ability to see others’ perspectives and points of view.
In conclusion, those are the key aspects of the first 2 stages in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
These occur during a child’s early and middle childhood. This piece highlights features and factors of
growing up from being a new born to being a toddler. This is how children get used to the world around
them and learn how to adapt to their environments. (Leslie Swartz, 2016)
