...Cognitive Theory: An Annotated Bibliography History of Education in America Pamela Allen November 12, 2007 INTRODUCTION The study of child development has inspired many theories. Psychologists have tried to understand why there is a difference between a child’s level of intelligence, motivation, social skills, and mannerisms. The cognitive theory helps explain each step of a child’s development with different aspects of each. The study of development of children is important to help parents, teachers and caregivers’ insight in the different ways children grow and learn. Cognitive theory helps explain how senses, environment, and an individual’s brain effect how and what kind of personality develops and possibly predicting a future. If parents believe that intelligence can be strongly influenced by experience, they make special efforts to help them learn, if believed inborn and unchangeable, they are less likely to make any effort. Children have their own internal drives and needs as well as heredity endowments that influence development. The cognitive theory is only a stepladder and there may be different equations added in either direction but we are given a building block foundation. Cognitive theories emphasize the mental aspect of development like logic and memory and focus on Jean Piaget’s theory children are born with an inborn ability to adapt to their environment. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE TO BE INVESTIGATED ...
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...Cognitive Theorist: Jean Piaget Tatiana Larson PSY/390 May 30, 2015 Richard Codd Cognitive Theorist: Jean Piaget Theorist Jean Piaget was the first psychologist to make a “systematic study” of cognitive development. The work of Piaget is often described as genetic epistemology simply put, “the origins of thinking” (McLeod, S. A. (2015). This theory is often recognized for its four stages, sensorimotor, preoperational thinking, concrete operations, and formal operations. Later in this article we will go over the details of each stage. The goal however of these studies was not to measure how well a child could function cognitively in order to grade their I.Q., but to identify the way the material concepts emerge in the mind. In this article we will be going over some key information regarding Jean Piaget and the theory he developed. Jean Piaget: Contributions After understanding what Jean Piaget set out to prove with this theory it is important to recognize the contributions that were made. It is because of this theory that “discovery learning” has been integrated with the primary school curriculum. The stages that were developed by Piaget help teachers, psychologists, etc. to identify the path that each child takes cognitively. Once we fully understood the true benefits of understanding the youth and were able recognize the importance of individuality we could then see an influence on the learning process. According to Piaget’s theory, classroom learning should...
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...Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Early childhood is not only a period of amazing physical growth, it is also a time of remarkable mental development. Cognitive abilities associated with memory, reasoning, problem-solving and thinking continue to emerge throughout childhood. When it comes to childhood cognitive development, it would be impossible to avoid mentioning the work of psychologist Jean Piaget. After receiving his doctoral degree at age 22, Jean Piaget began a career that would have a profound impact on both psychology and education. Through his work with Alfred Binet, Piaget developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. Based upon his observations, he concluded that children are not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently. Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery "so simple only a genius could have thought of it."Piaget created a theory of cognitive development that described the basic stages that children go through as they mentally mature. He believed that children are like "little scientists," actively trying to make sense of the world rather than simply soaking up information passively. Schemas One of the key concepts in Piaget's theory is the use of schemas. According to Piaget,schemas are cognitive frameworks or concepts that help people organize and interpret information. As experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to or completely change previously existing schemas. For example, a young...
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...Jean Piaget (year 1896 to 1980) was working at the “Binet Institute” (1920s), where his task was to expand French descriptions of questions on English aptitude papers. Piaget became stratagem with the explanations/ causes children gave for their incorrect solutions to the questions that needed logical thoughts/ opinion. He thought that these wrong answers exposed significant differences between the thoughts of children and adults. (YouTube, 2015) Piaget (1936) explained his task as “genetic epistemology” (that is, the origins of thoughts). Genetics is the systematic study of where stuff comes from (their beginning). “Epistemology” is alarmed with the fundamental categories of thoughts, which are to state, the structural or framework elements of intelligence. Piaget required to do was not to calculate how fine children could spell, count, or solve issues as a way of ranking their Intelligence Quotient. He was more engrossed in was the method in which basic concepts like the very thought of justice, causality, quantity, time, number and so on appeared. (YouTube, 2015) Piaget (1936) was the 1st psychologist to make a methodical study of “cognitive development”. His assistance involve a theory of child cognitive growth, comprehensive observational studies of cognition in kids, as well as a sequence of easy but inventive tests to disclose various cognitive capabilities. Previous to Piaget’s task, the ordinary supposition in psychology was that kids are just less knowledgeable thinkers...
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...Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget is a Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. Piaget believed that children play an active role in the growth of intelligence. He regarded children as philosophers who perceive the world as he or she experiences it (ICELS). Therefore in Piaget’s most prominent work, his theory on the four stages of cognitive development, much of his inspiration came from observations of children. The theory of cognitive development focuses on mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, believing, and reasoning. Through his work, Piaget showed that children think in considerably different ways than adults do and as such he saw cognitive development as a progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting from maturation and experience (1973). To explain this theory, Piaget used the concept of stages to describe his development as a sequence of the four following stages: sensory – motor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations. There are three elements however to understanding his theory of cognitive development. They are schema, the fours process that enable transition from on stage to another, and finally the four stages themselves. He began his studies by making naturalistic observations. Piaget made careful, detailed observations of children, typically his own children or their friends, from these he wrote diary descriptions charting their development...
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...and socially of two children, one male and one female, ages five and ten, respectively. This writer will identify the socio-economic status (SEC), age, gender, ethnic background, and family demographics of each of these children. The two children this writer has chosen come from similar living situations (i.e. they both live with single mothers), but have vast differences in their physical, cognitive, and social development. This paper will examine Erik Erikson's Eight Psychosocial Stages as explained by Dacey, Fiore, Travers (2009) in an effort to explain the noticeable differences in the two children that this writer has chosen to observe. These two children were chosen because they are both being raised in a single parent household, which is something that this writer can relate to, as this writer is a single mother. This writer will also explore the Cognitive Development Approach theories of Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Learning in an attempt to further explain the significant differences in these two children. Childhood Observation Theories on Human Development Many psychologists have different...
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...The sensorimotor stage is the first stage of Piaget’s cognitive development and occurs from birth to about age two. It focuses on infants with their use of their senses, hearing and seeing, including motor skills, such as sucking, hand-mouth coordination, and holding bottles to understand and learn their environment around them. Children in this stage will develop object permanence. Object permanence is the knowledge and Cognitive Development of Infancy and Childhood understanding that objects still exist even if the object cannot be seen, heard or touched. An adult may hide a stuff toy inside a basket from a 5-month–old baby. The baby will believe that the stuff toy no longer exists because it cannot be seen or touched by the baby due to the baby not having the knowledge of object permanence. The knowledge of object permanence will soon develop around the age of nine months. The baby will develop simple logical solutions and understand that the toy still exists inside the basket. Understanding of object permanence and gaining senses and motor skills indentifies progress to the next stage of preoperational. Preoperational The preoperational stage occurs from age two to seven years...
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... Abstract Children do not perceive death is the same way as adults (citation). This paper examines a child’s perception of death and the development changes that children experience when trying to understand death. Articles by psychologists Maria H. Nagy and Sylvia Anthony are compared and contrasted to other scholarly articles on death and bereavement therapy, in particular therapy for children. Researchers Nagy and Anthony’s proposed model of children’s concepts of death shows the developmental changes children experience when trying to understand death. Their research is validated by Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (citation). Piaget’s model is accepted by professional psychologists as a scholarly index of the cognitive development of children. Piaget’s theory supports articles by Nagy and Anthony (citation). Barbara Kane’s research supports Maria Nagy and Anthony’s developmental model, however Kane’s research disputes Nagy’s suggestion that children tend to personify death (citation). Finally, the research of Gerald P. Koocher is compared and contrasted to Nagy and Anthony’s article. Koocher’s research links Piaget’s developmental model to the development of the children's conceptualizations of death. Koocher’s article also suggests that culture is an important factor that influences the conceptualization of death (citation). My particular field of study is clinical health psychology with a specialty of working with terminally...
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...------------------------------------------------- Assignment: Compare and contrast the concept formation according to Piaget and Vygotsky. How applicable are their theories to the African context. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Due Date: 15 March 2012 Concept formation according to Muthivhi, (2009) refers to the development of ideas based on the common properties of objects, events or qualities using the process of abstraction. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) proposed the classical constructivist theories of concept formation or cognitive development. Their contributions to developmental psychology, albeit different, are similarly remarkable and unique. These two theories have some noted resemblances and differences. This essay will give an overview of these two theories, outlining their similarities and differences and their applicability to the African context with special reference to the Zimbabwean context. In Jean Piaget’s research, the main goal was to answer the question,...
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...“Child Development Theory”1 “Child Development Theory” Ney Brown PSY104: Child and Adolescent Development Instructor: Daniella Atwell August 20,2012 “Child Development Theory” 2 Child development occurs from birth and continues throughout adulthood, and during their life span they go through many different changes, including language, physical growth, and cognitive abilities. Interest in this field has been very important to researchers because they want to know what happens during child development as well as the influences on development. There are a few theorist who have their views on child development and they are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget. Understanding child development has become very important today as we all want to Know what a child actually goes through during their development, and later on in life because most of these things will affect them later on in life. Many people don’t realize the many different stages a child goes through from birth and into early adulthood. Some of the major ...
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...Russian revolution. After moving to Moscow in 1924, Vygotsky set out to create what he hoped would become a new way to understand and solve the social and educational problems of his time. At the core of Vygotsky's theory, called the Sociocultural Theory, is the idea that child development is the result of the interactions between children and their social environment. These interactions include those with parents and teachers, playmates and classmates, and brothers and sisters. They also involve relationships with significant objects, such as books or toys, and culturally specific practices that children engage in the classroom, at home, and on the playground. Children are active partners in these interactions, constructing knowledge, skills, and attitudes and not just mirroring the world around them. Vygotsky opposed the psychologists who believed that children's development occurs spontaneously and cannot be affected by education. He also differed with those who claimed that teaching had the power to alter development at any time regardless of the child's age or capacities. Instead, Vygotsky felt that learning could lead development if it occurs within the child's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD contains skills and concepts that are not yet fully developed but are "on the edge of emergence" emerging only if the child is given appropriate support. For the skills and concepts that lie outside a child's ZPD, even significant instructional efforts may fail to produce...
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...Several theories have been developed from the five major perspectives used to research child development. These perspectives include psychoanalytic, learning, cognitive, contextual, and evolutionary/sociobiological perspectives (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008). Researchers use theories to explain child development. The theories are important because they propose ideas or explanations to describe development and to predict kinds of behaviors. In this paper, I will discuss and describe three theories of development, their key concepts, their similarities, their differences, how the domains of development influence each other, and how understanding development helps those who work with developing children. Three Theories of Development: Some important theories of child development include Freud’s psychosexual theory, Erickson’s psychosocial theory, and Piaget’s cognitive-stage theory. “Sigmund Freud believed that people are born with biological drives that must be redirected to make it possible to live in society” (Papalia et. al, 2008). He proposed that development happens throughout five stages in a child’s life. The first stage is referred to as the oral stage. It occurs between birth and 18 months. During this stage, the baby’s chief source of pleasure involves mouth-oriented activities (Papalia et. al, 2008). The second stage is referred to as the anal stage. It occurs between one year and three years of age. During this stage, the child derives sensual gratification from...
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...A behaviorist theory, operant conditioning, and a cognitivist theory, Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development, have multiple similarities and differences. A behaviorist theory is based on the fundamental idea that behaviors that are reinforced will tend to continue, while behaviors that are punished will eventually end. Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development is a description of cognitive development as four distinct stages in children. These stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal. The term operant conditioning was coined by B. F. Skinner. His approach was to “focus on the external, visible causes of behavior, rather than try to unpack the internal thoughts and motivations” (Skinner, 1958, p. 48). Skinner understood that reinforcements come in two forms such as negative and positive forms. The negative reinforcements typically are characterized by the removal of an “undesired or unpleasant outcome after the desired conduct” (Alexander, 1996, p. 119). Skinner hypothesized that the response is strengthened as something considered negative is removed. On the other hand, the positive reinforcements are favorable outcomes or events that are given to the person after the desired behavior such as in the form of rewards or praises. Skinner suggested that, to reach these goals, the “reinforcement is for the person’s behavior to increase” (Casas, 2002, p. 133). On the other hand, there are positive and negative reinforcement. The two forms of punishment...
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...Theories of Development and Application General Psychology, PSY101 Theories of Development and Application Understanding the theories of development is key in psychology. Everyone proceeds through specific areas of change and growth in key areas as they go through life. Whatever path is taken during life, understanding theories of development will assist us in motivating and guiding others, as well as understanding ourselves. The following theories of development will be applied to this author’s personal life experience: Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development, Developmental Stage Theory of Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, and Developmental Milestone: Motor Development will all be briefly explained. This author will provide examples of ways thinking has shifted to indicate entering the Formal Operational Thought stage. One stage of Erik Erikson’s Developmental Stage Theory will be chosen and will be applied to this author’s personal life. One decision this author made that was based on Kohlberg’s three levels of moral development will be described. Finally, based on a child this author has known, the description of this child has progressed from rolling over, sitting, standing and walking. This is also known as the four developmental milestones. Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget is a psychologist who “identified stages of mental development, called Schema, and established the fields of...
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...Jean Piaget Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland on August 9th, 1896. He was the oldest of three children, and the only boy. His father was Arthur Piaget, a professor of medieval literature. His mother was Rebecca Jackson, and his godfather was the Swiss scholar Samuel Cornut. In 1923, he married Valentine Chatenay. The couple had three children, Jacqueline, Lucienne, and Laurent. Piaget died in Geneva on September 16, 1980, after a brilliant scientific career made of over sixty books and several hundred articles (Papert, 1999). Piaget’s greatest contribution was to found the field of cognitive development. He believed children are the biggest manufacturers of their own development, as man’s capacity for logical thought is not learned but embedded along with hair color and sex, in his genes. In other words, a child cannot be forced to develop understanding any faster than the rate at which his powers mature to their full potential, so there is a limit to what overeager parents and teachers can achieve. On the flip side, a child who does not get the chance to apply his developing abilities and test limitations may never reach his full intellectual capacity (Pramling, 2006). According to Jurczak (1997), Piaget believed in four stages of cognitive development: • Stage 1: Sensorimotor – Newborn to Age 2 The child’s primary concern is mastering his own innate physical reflexes and extending them into interesting or pleasurable actions. During this time, the child becomes...
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