• His Mission…

• Piaget wanted to find out how intelligence, or the ability to understand, developed during childhood.

• How did he do it?– Observing, questioning, and playing games

with babies and young children

• Our understanding of the world begins with mental representations.

• Assimilation– We try to fit new information or

experiences into preexisting schemas to help us understand.

• Accommodation– We have to change our schema to fit

the characteristics of the new information.

– When events do not fit into existing schemas, new ones must be created

• A young child’s world only consists of what he or she can see or touch

• If he or she cannot see or feel it, it does NOT exist

• Permanence– A child’s realization that an object

exists even when he or she cannot see or touch it.

• Objects and people are now independent of the child.

• Between the ages of 5 and 7, children generally make another step in understanding the world.

• Before this age, when the appearance of an object has changed, children believe the quantity of the object must have changed as well.

• When children understand the principle of CONSERVATION, they realize that the quantity doesn’t have to change just because the appearance has changed.

• Children have a tough time with this concept because they are EGOCENTRIC

– Seeing and thinking of the world from your own standpoint and having difficulty seeing other perspectives

• 4 stages of Cognitive Development– Sensorimotor (Birth-1½)

• Use schemas that primarily involve the body and sensations

– Preoperational (1½ -7 yrs.)• Child begins to use mental images

or symbols to understand things.

– Concrete Operations (7-11 yrs.)• Use logical schemas, but their

understanding is limited to concrete objects or problems.

– Formal Operations (11-Adulthood)• Being able to solve abstract

problems

• As we grow older, not only does our understanding of the world develop, but our emotional attachment to people develops as well.

• Imprinting– Inherited tendencies or responses

when new stimuli in the environment is encountered. (Goslings)

• Critical Period – A time in development when one

is best able to learn a skill or behavior. (13-16 hours for geese)

The Mother/Child Attachment• Infants begin to form their attachment with the mother around 6

months of age and develops through age 3.• Disrupting the attachment process can be very disturbing to children

• Separation Anxiety– A sudden separation from his/her mother results in anxious

feelings within the child

• Secure Attachment– Balance the need to explore and the need to be close. Ok with

mommy leaving, but will welcome her back with open arms.

• Avoidant Attachment– Upset that mommy left and will ignore her when she returns

• Resistant Attachment– Ok with mommy leaving, but reject her when she returns