Understanding Piaget's Theory
of Cognitive Development. AND Sensorimotor Stage and Object Permanence
Description
Psychology A2. (Cognitive Development.) Mind Map on Understanding Piaget's Theory
of Cognitive Development. AND Sensorimotor Stage and Object Permanence, created by Stephanie Price on 04/23/2014.
Understanding Piaget's Theory of
Cognitive Development. AND Sensorimotor
Stage and Object Permanence
Piaget's views are sometimes
referred to as Constructivist.
This is because according to
Piaget, a child's understanding of
the world is actively constructed
through experience and discovery.
Piaget believed that it is important for a
child to actively explore and experience
objects and situations in order to learn about
them; only through active discovery could a
child's understanding develop properly.
Piaget's notions of discovery learning
has had enormous influence in nursery
and primary education, leading to
methods that allow for self-discovery
through play rather than by instruction.
Due to his emphasis on discovery learning it is
sometimes suggested that Piaget neglected the role of
other people in cognitive development. In fact he
recognised that parents and teachers played an important
part through their provision of stimulating experiences
and materials to aid the development of cognition.
Piaget proposed that cognitive
or intellectual development
takes place in four stages.
He thought that the sequence of
stages was invariant, meaning
that each child passes through
these stages in the same order.
He also proposed that the stages
were universal, meaning that the
same sequence of development
applies to children from all cultures.
Although there are indicative ages
for each stage, progression through
the stages depends on the maturity
of the individual's nervous system;
as the biological structures involved
in thought become more complex
and sophisticated, so does the
capacity to think and understand.
At each stage the child's
understanding of the world is
qualitatively different; the child
thinks differently, making different
mistakes and using different
strategies to solve problems.
STAGE 1. The Sensorimotor Stage. 0-2 Years.
At the start of this stage, 'knowledge'
consists mainly of simple motor
reflexes such as grasping and sucking.
There is no intentional behaviour and
the child's cognition is limited to
sensations and motor movements.
The child simply responds to stimuli
and has no object concept or person
concept, meaning there is no
awareness of objects or people that are
outside the child's immediate presence.
A child in the early stages of the
sensorimotor stage does not
distinguish between self and
others, apparently not recognising
that objects and other people exist
independently of him or herself.
From around 8 months of age
the child begins to act
intentionally - for example,
banging a spoon on the table
to listen to their noise it makes.
Trial-and-error behaviour is
demonstrated - for example,
the child might bang different
objects on the table to see
whether they make a noise too.
Towards the end of the sensorimotor stage
the child has acquired general symbolic
function, which is the ability to understand
that one thing can stand for another; this is
linked to the development of language and
the capacity for pretend play.
The sensorimotor stage can be
sub-divided into six sub-stages.
1. Reflex Stage.
Behaviour is limited
to basic reflexes
e.g. sucking.
2. Habit Stage.
First habits develop
e.g. sucking thumb.
3. Single-action Goal Stage.
Goal-directed activity
in a single action e.g.
reaching objects.
4. Sequence-action Goal Stage.
Can co-ordinate
organised sequence
of actions to achieve
a goal e.g. reaching
object and moving it.
5. Tertiary Reaction Stage.
Activity is deliberately
varied in trial-and-error
testing e.g. banging
different spoons to see
noises each makes.
6. Symbolic Stage.
The ability to memorise
(represent) language is
starting to be acquired,
child understands pretend.
Object Permanence.
A key feature of the sensorimotor
stage occurs at around the age of 8
months, when the child acquires an
ability known as object permanence.
Object permanence is the
understanding that objects exist
independently and continue to
exist even if they cannot be seen.
In order to have object
permanence, a child needs the
ability to hold a simple mental
representation of the object.
Essentially this means
that the child needs to
be able to remember.
Piaget demonstrated
object permanence
in a simple study.
RESEARCH CARD:
Piaget (1963)
Evaluations.
Perhaps infants under the age of 8 months did not search
for the toy for other reasons: they lacked the necessary
motor skills; they were not interested; the deliberate
covering of the toy led them to infer that it was forbidden.
Piaget's tests are sometimes
described as lacking 'human sense'.
For these and other reasons, critics
have suggested that Piaget
underestimated the age at which
children develop object permanence.
Studies using alternative
methods have shown that
children as young as 3 months
may have object permanence.
Bower and Wishart (1972) made an object
disappear by turning out the lights and then
observed the child using an infrared
camera. They found that the infants
continued to reach for the object in the dark,
suggesting they had object permanence.