The Stages Of Child Cognitive Development According To Piaget
What are the stages of child cognitive development according to Piaget? Next, we will mention how each of the stages that comprise the learning of every being is developed.
The term cognitive refers to everything related to knowledge. In turn, knowledge refers to the amount of information available as a result of learning or acquired experience.
This term is related to psychology, and the techniques used to analyze the procedures of the mind that encompass knowledge are obtained. This set of techniques is known as cognitive psychology. What this discipline tries to do is to study the mechanisms that comprise the generation of knowledge.
Cognitive development theory according to Piaget
According to Piaget it is important to let the child explore for himself so that he can learn ; as this influences cognitive development. And in view of the importance of this development, several theories were formulated that focus on the study of thought processes.
Among the most important theories are those drawn from the work of Jean Piaget. This Swiss psychologist believed that children, at every age, are capable of solving different situations and problems. He came to this conclusion by evaluating the mistakes of the little ones, which revealed that children of the same age made the same mistakes.
Concept of child cognitive development stages according to Piaget
Given that children of a certain age make the same mistakes, Piaget came to the conclusion that there is an evolutionary sequence in the cognitive process. He called this evolutionary sequence the stages of child development. On the other hand, the steps can develop following a fixed order in all children in all countries. However, age can change slightly from one child to another.
What are the stages of child cognitive development according to Piaget? In total, there are 4 steps and they will be mentioned below:
Sensory-Motor Stage (first period)
This stage appears in children aged 0 to 2 years. During this stage the child begins to experience and know the objects that are around him through his senses and motor skills. In this way, he can learn what is known as object permanence.
The child may not fully understand the existence of objects that are not within his reach. In fact, when the object disappears from her view, she still doesn’t understand that it exists. That’s why it’s fun when adults play hide their faces behind an object and then show up.
Piaget’s conclusion on this step
Principle of learning about the world around them, which will serve as the basis for the second period.
Preoperative stage (second period)
This stage begins to appear in children whose age ranges from 2 years to 7 years. It is characterized by the fact that children often manifest self-centeredness, which makes them unable to successfully adopt other people’s perspectives.
On the other hand, children can manifest and use symbolic thinking, that is, they can talk. And even when they are 6 or 7 years old they can start to show empathy. During most of this phase, egocentric thinking predominates, that is, the child can continue to understand the world from his perspective.
Piaget’s conclusion on this step
The transition from the first period to the second takes place through imitation, which provokes a mental image in the child, in which language participates.
Concrete operations stage (third period)
This stage starts from age 7 and extends up to age 12. Here the child can begin to apply principles and logic. The foregoing suggests that the child stops knowing through intuition and begins to know through rationality. On the other hand, even though the child at this stage begins to make logical comparisons, he is not able to manage abstractions. In fact, your thinking is centered on the actions you take.
Piaget’s conclusion on this step
The decrease in self-centeredness at this stage is gradual. This is because the child begins to understand the concept of a group. However, abstract thinking has yet to develop.
Stage of formal operations (fourth period)
This stage begins to manifest itself from the age of 12 onwards. The foregoing implies that an adolescent is beginning to develop, which will then grow into an adult. Well then, at this age one is already able to manage abstract thinking. Thanks to this, the individual can start generating hypotheses.
The truth is that generating hypotheses implies that the person not only thinks about reality, but also thinks about how to do things. On the other hand, individuals who reach this age gain a greater understanding of their surroundings and the concept of cause and effect.
Piaget’s conclusion about this age
Upon reaching this stage, the individual’s ability to reason is mainly centered on going against the facts. In fact, it is during adolescence that he begins to develop his own theory about how he sees the world. Although most children reach this stage, unfortunately not all do, so it is common to associate this inability with lower intelligence.
These are the 4 stages of child cognitive development according to Piaget. And in short, for this famous psychologist, the entire process that encompasses the development of intelligence may be related to a stimulus process that encompasses 2 essential aspects: assimilation and accommodation.
Finally, it is essential that parents pay attention to the stages of child cognitive development according to Piaget, with the aim of ensuring that their children have a healthy development into adulthood ; which will facilitate the correct development of your daily activities.
