We explain what cognitive development is and what Piaget's theory consists of. Also, the four stages of cognitive development.
What is cognitive development?
cognitive development is the process by which the human being acquires skills to think, reason and use mental tools such as language, memory and planning. It begins in early childhood and involves various stages linked to the innate ability that people have to understand and adapt to their environment.
Different authors have proposed theories about cognitive development, which seek to explain how intellectual abilities evolve. For example, the sociocultural theory of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), the social learning theory of Albert Bandura (1925-2021), and theories that focus on information processing. Jean Piaget's (1896-1980) theory of cognitive development is the one that made the most significant contributions in relation to how people think and learn.
Piaget's postulates are used as a basis for various educational approaches. In addition, they have contributed to the understanding of human intelligence, learning and various forms of thinking.
See also: Constructivism
Piaget's theory of cognitive development
In the middle of the 20th century, Piaget proposed that cognitive development is related to the innate ability to adapt to the environment. It describes it as an interactive and constructive process that is expressed in organizations and reorganizations of cognitive structures. It begins at birth and progressive stages are built: first the sensorimotor structures, then the preoperative ones and finally the operative ones.
Piaget proposes a psychogenesis, a theory about the origin of knowledge in which levels or stages are differentiated. It is not intended to be a chronological sequence, but rather an explanation of how cognitive structures evolve.
Cognitive development occurs through three processes:
- Organization. It is the tendency to generate increasingly complex categories or mental systems. People create structures or schemes that allow them to organize information.
- Adaptation. It is the process of adjusting mental schemas in response to new experiences. It occurs through two mechanisms: assimilation (new information is incorporated into previous structures) and accommodation (structures are modified to accept new information).
- Balance. It is what drives cognitive growth, because it seeks a balance between assimilation and accommodation. When an experience cannot be assimilated into the current schemes, a state of imbalance ensues. Once the structures manage to adapt to the novelty, a new balance is established, which is superior to the previous one.
Stages of cognitive development
Piaget argued that cognitive development occurs in four stages or stages that are universal. Each stage begins from an imbalance, in which the child's mind adapts and learns to think differently.
The four stages of cognitive development proposed by Piaget are:
Sensory-motor stage
The sensorimotor stage begins at birth and ends at approximately 2 years of age. Knowledge is produced through sensory and motor experiences. During this stage, children use action schemes: they act on what is present and learn through interaction with the environment and their own movements.
The most important achievements of this stage are object permanence (recognizing that an object exists even if it is not visible) and the coordination of intentional actions.
Preoperational stage
The preoperational stage takes place between 2 and 7 years of age. It is characterized by the development of symbolic representations which are manifested through language, imitation and imaginative play. It gives rise to playing fictional roles, acting and using objects to represent ideas or situations. For example, use a cardboard box as if it were a car.
At this stage, representation schemes are used that allow the development of imagination. However, thinking is still limited by egocentrism (poor ability to accept other points of view) and difficulty understanding abstract concepts.
Stage of concrete operations
The stage of concrete operations happens between 7 and 11 years old. The children can use the logical thinking to reach valid conclusions, focused on the present. Schemes are concrete operatives, that is, they operate on specific objects and specific situations.
The action becomes a reversible operation, which is essential for the development of more logical and flexible thinking. It involves understanding that an action can be combined with its inverse and return to its original state. For example, taking apart a block figure and putting it back together.
Formal operations stage
The formal operations stage is between 11 and 17 years old. Formal logical thinking appears and the individual can think abstractly: detaches from immediate data and begins to reason about possible or hypothetical situations.
At this stage, formal operational schemes are developed, which can operate on ideas and allow us to formulate hypotheses, solve complex problems, expand creativity and contemplate different variables.
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References
- Papalia, DE and Martorell, G. (2017). human development. McGraw-Hill.
- Piaget, J. (1972). Psychology of intelligence. Psyche.
- Sulle, A. and Zerba, D. (Comps.). (2019). The epistemic plot of psychology. FEDUN.
