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Theory Of Cognitive Development By Jean Piaget

July 2022
Journal of Applied Linguistics 2(2):55-60

DOI:10.52622/joal.v2i2.79

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Although many core themes and concepts unite the field of cognitive development, it is a wide and varied field, particularly when it comes to cognitive development in early. Piaget proposed four cognitive developmental stages for children, including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and the formal operational stage. Although Piaget’s theories have had a great impact on developmental psychology, his notions have not been fully accepted without critique. Piaget’s theory has some shortcomings, including overestimating the ability of adolescence and underestimating infant’s capacity. Piaget also neglected cultural and social interaction factors in the development of children’s cognition and thinking ability. Cognitive development occurs at several stages during childhood. As a result, cognitive development studies the nature of child development in terms of how they gain conscious control over their intellect and behavior. Piaget contributions, particularly in regards to the process of education among children and transferring cognition into psychology, have had a significant effect on the science of child development. Keywords: Cognitive Development, Child Development

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JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Vol. 2 No. 2 , July 20xx

e- ISSN 2809 - 1922 , p-ISSN 2809 - 1914

Available online at:

https://journal.eltaorganization.org/index.php/joal/index

Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA)

DOI: 10.52622/joal.v2i2.79 55

Journal of Applied

Linguistics

JoAL

Theory Of Cognitive Development By Jean Piaget

Farida Hanum Pakpahan1), Marice Saragih2)

1Magister Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, University of HKBP Nommensen Medan, Indonesia

2Amik Widyaloka Medan, Indonesia

faridahanumpakpahan81@gmail.com1

maricesaragih79@gmail.com2

Abstract

Although many core themes and concepts unite the field of cognitive development, it is a wide and

varied field, particularly when it comes to cognitive development in early. Piaget proposed four

cognitive developmental stages for children, including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete

operational, and the formal operational stage. Although Piaget’s theories have had a great impact

on developmental psychology, his notions have not been fully accepted without critique. Piaget’s

theory has some shortcomings, including overestimating the ability of adolescence and

underestimating infant’s capacity. Piaget also neglected cultural and social interaction factors in the

development of children’s cognition and thinking ability. Cognitive development occurs at several

stages during childhood. As a result, cognitive development studies the nature of child

development in terms of how they gain conscious control over their intellect and behavior. Piaget

contributions, particularly in regards to the process of education among children and transferring

cognition into psychology, have had a significant effect on the science of child development.

Keywords: Cognitive Development, Child Development

INTRODUCTION

The area of human development is essentially important for any educator, parent,

minister or anyone in the field of leadership. Commonly speaking, the physical

components – including aging as another important matter – are usually the main aspects

while observing growth. Yet, they are not the only factors of development; consequently,

any leader should be capable to identify all areas of growth that eventually will affect the

subjects’ personality, behavior, actions and reactions. Almost all scientists agree that

someone’s behavior is either condition by his environment or by his intrinsic value. That

refers to the nature-nurture debate. Some believe in the combination of both. Some authors

label the nurture aspect as civilization or environment.

Civilization – as a factor of impact on one’s behavior – embraces history, family

background, social system and components, and space of evolution. Nature covers

biological components such as genetic composition or heredity, and all internal factors of

development. Considering either nurture (influences of environment) or nature

(individual characteristics), scientific studies have established some general outlines that

Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL), Vol. 2 No. 2, July 2022. e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914

Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA)

define individuals at a specific stage of life while providing some common characteristics

of their behavior.

Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist was particularly concerned with the way thinking

develops in children from birth till they become young adults. To understand the nature of

this development, Piaget carefully observed the behaviour of his own three kids. He used

to present problems to them, observe responses slightly after the situations and again

observe their responses. Piaget called this method of exploring development clinical

interview.

Piaget believed that humans also adapt to their physical and social environments in

which they live. The process of adaptation begins since birth. Piaget saw this adaptation in

terms of two basic processes: Assimilation and Accommodation. Assimilation refers to the

process by which new objects and events are grasped or incorporated within the scope of

existing schemes or structures. This means that when you are faced with new information,

you make sense of this information by referring to information you already have

(information processed and learned previously) and try to fit the new information into the

information you already have. For example, a 2-year-old child sees a man who is bald on

top of his head and has long frizzy hair on the sides. To his father’s horror, the toddler

shouts “Clown, clown”. Accommodation is the process through which the existing

schemes or structure is modified to meet the resistance to straightforward grasping or

assimilation of a new object or event. In order to make sense of some new information,

you actual adjust information you already have (schemas you already have, etc.) to make

room for this new information. For example, a child may have a schema for birds

(feathers, flying, etc.) and then they see a plane, which also flies, but would not fit into

their bird schema. In the “clown” incident, the boy’s father explained to his son that the

man was not a clown and that even though his hair was like a clown’s, he wasn’t wearing

a funny costume and wasn’t doing silly things to make people laugh. With this new

knowledge, the boy was able to change his schema of “clown” and make this idea fit better

to a standard concept of “clown”.

According to Piaget there are 4 basic elements in development:

1. Maturation.

2. Experience.

3. Social transmission (learning through language, schooling or teaching by parents)

4. Equilibrium.

The important concept of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is the fixed

progression from one stage to another. Piaget viewed cognitive growth as a progressive

change. Growth varies from person to person. Piaget assumed that it follows a fixed

sequence.

Stages of cognitive development.

Piaget has identified 4 sequential stages through which every individual progresses

in cognitive development. Each stage has an age span with distinctive learning

capabilities. This would be helpful in framing curriculum. And understanding of this

development sequence is indispensable for parents as well as for teachers because these

Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL), Vol. 2 No. 2, July 2022. e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914

Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA)

influences a great deal during infancy, childhood and adolescence. The 4 developmental

stages are discussed below:

1. Sensori-Motor Stage.

This stage begins at birth and lasts till the child is about 2 years old. It is called

Sensori-Motor Stage, because children’s thinking involves seeing, hearing, moving,

touching, testing and so on. This stage marks a transitional stage for a person from a

biological to a psychological being. In the first few weeks of life the baby’s behaviour

consists simply of reflex responses, such as sucking, stepping and grasping. Later the

reflex disappears and the baby chooses what and when to grasp. During this period the

infants attain the concept of object permenance. This refers to the understanding that

objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot directly be seen, heard or

touched. Till this kind of understanding is achieved, an object that is out of sight remains

out of mind and therefore, becomes non-existent. A second major accomplishment in the

Sensori-Motor period is learning to reverse actions. E.g., we give a toy to a child that has

ten detachable parts. We detach all parts. Through trial and error, the child gradually

learns to attach all the parts of the toy.

2. Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 Years).

This stage is called Pre-Operational because the children have not yet mastered the

ability to perform mental operations. Children’s thinking during this stage is governed by

what is seen rather than by logical principles. Following are the accomplishments of Pre-

Operational Stage:

a. Semantic function.

During this stage the child develops the ability to think using symbols and signs.

Symbols represent something or someone else; for example, a doll may symbolize a

baby, child or an adult.

b. Egocentrism.

This stage is characterized by egocentrism. Children believe that their way of thinking

is the only way to think.

c. Decentering.

A pre-operational child has difficulty in seeing more than one dimension or aspects of

situation. It is called decentering.

d. Animism.

Children tend to refer to inanimate objects as if they have life-like qualities and are

capable of actions.

e. Seriation.

They lack the ability of classification or grouping objects into categories.

f. Conservation.

It refers to the understanding that certain properties of an object remain the same

despite a change in their appearance.

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years).

At this stage a child is concerned with the integration of stability of his cognitive

systems. He learns to add, subtract, multiply and divide. He is in a position to classify

Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL), Vol. 2 No. 2, July 2022. e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914

Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA)

concrete objects. In short, children develop the abilities of rational thinking but their

thinking is tied to concrete objects.

4. Formal Operational Stage (11 & above).

This type is characterized by the emergence of logical thinking and reasoning.

Other important cognitive attainments during this period are: the ability to think about the

hypothetical possibilities and to solve problems through logical deductions and in a

systematic manner.

Educational Implications

Piaget (1952) did not explicitly relate his theory to education, although later

researchers have explained how features of Piaget's theory can be applied to teaching and

learning. Piaget has been extremely influential in developing educational policy and

teaching practice. For example, a review of primary education by the UK government in

1966 was based strongly on Piaget’s theory. Discovery learning – the idea that children

learn best through doing and actively exploring - was seen as central to the transformation

of the primary school curriculum.

The report's recurring themes are individual learning, flexibility in the curriculum,

the centrality of play in children's learning, the use of the environment, learning by

discovery and the importance of the evaluation of children's progress - teachers should

'not assume that only what is measurable is valuable. Because Piaget's theory is based

upon biological maturation and stages, the notion of 'readiness' is important. Readiness

concerns when certain information or concepts should be taught. According to Piaget's

theory children should not be taught certain concepts until they have reached the

appropriate stage of cognitive development.

According to Piaget (1958), assimilation and accommodation require an active

learner, not a passive one, because problem-solving skills cannot be taught, they must be

discovered. Within the classroom learning should be student-centered and accomplished

through active discovery learning. The role of the teacher is to facilitate learning, rather

than direct tuition. Therefore, teachers should encourage the following within the

classroom:

1. Focus on the process of learning, rather than the end product of it.

2. Using active methods that require rediscovering or reconstructing "truths."

3. Using collaborative, as well as individual activities (so children can learn from each

other).

4. Devising situations that present useful problems, and create disequilibrium in the child.

5. Evaluate the level of the child's development so suitable tasks can be set.

Conclusion

Piaget divided children’s cognitive development in four stages, each of the stages

represent a new way of thinking and understanding the world. He called them (1)

sensorimotor intelligence, (2) preoperational thinking, (3) concrete operational thinking,

Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL), Vol. 2 No. 2, July 2022. e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914

Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA)

and (4) formal operational thinking. Each stage is correlated with an age period of

childhood, but only approximately. According to Piaget, intellectual development takes

place through stages which occur in a fixed order and which are universal (all children

pass through these stages regardless of social or cultural background). Development can

only occur when the brain has matured to a point of “readiness”. Schemas are mental

structures which contains all of the information we have relating to one aspect of the

world around us. According to Piaget, we are born with a few primitive schemas such as

sucking which give us a mean to interact with the world. These are physical but as the

child develops they become mental schemas. These schemas become more complex with

experience.

Cross-cultural studies show that the stages of development (except the formal

operational stage) occur in the same order in all cultures suggesting that cognitive

development is a product of a biological process of maturation. However the age at which

the stages are reached varies between cultures and individuals which suggests that social

and cultural factors and individual differences influence cognitive development.

References

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Hughes , M. (1975). Egocentrism in preschool children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.

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Keating, D. (1979). Adolescent thinking. In J. Adelson (Ed.), Handbook of adolescent

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Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA)

Piaget, J., & Cook, M. T. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. New York, NY:

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Jean Piaget

The Moral Judgment Of The Child

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Jean Piaget

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M. Hughes

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Jerome S. Bruner

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Jean Piaget

Reviews the book, Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood by Jean Piaget (1951). The current work by Piaget is another stimulating and provocative contribution to the literature on the development of children's thinking. In this well-translated volume, Piaget has as his basic goal an explanation of the evolution of "representative activity," which is "characterized by the fact that it goes beyond the present, extending the field of adaptation both in space and in time." Such an activity is essential in reflective thought as well as in operational thought. Two theses are presented by Piaget in the book: (a) the transition from rudimentary, primitive, and situational assimilation of experience to the operational and reflective adaptation of experience can be studied by the analysis of imitative behavior and play activity of the child from very early months of the life; and (b) various forms of mental activity--imitation, symbolic activity, and cognitive representation--are interacting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

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Culture and cognitive development from a Piagetian perspective

Jan 1994
145-149

P Dasen

Dasen, P. (1994). Culture and cognitive development from a Piagetian perspective. In W.J. Lonner & R.S. Malpass (Eds.), Psychology and culture (pp. 145-149). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.