Jean Piaget

Developmental Psychology

Central Assumptions:

Inborn strategies

◦ Born with strategies for interaction

Changes in strategies

◦ Interaction with environment leads

to changes

Voluntary exploration

◦ Beginning: reflexes

◦ Later: explore, examine, experiment

Sequences and Stages

◦ Development happens in specific

order

Piaget

Developmental Psychology – Key Terms Adaptation: basic process of all human activity

Schemas: mental representations of what we know and

expect about world

action, strategy, or skill

Assimilation: process of taking in new information about

objects (use existing schemas that fit those schemas)

We have adapted based on experience

Accommodation: process of modifying/adjusting

schemas (try familiar schemas on objects that do not fit)

Assimilation doesn’t work for this

Equilibration: balancing assimilation and accommodation

Change schemas so everything “fits”

Piaget’s Stages of Development

Four stages

◦Sensorimotor

◦Pre-operational

◦Concrete Operational

◦Formal Operational

Sensorimotor Stage

Ages birth to two

Most behaviors overt and visible

◦ Looking, touching, grasping, sucking

Primary circular reaction

◦ Don’t distinguish between self and other objects

◦ Getting thumb in mouth

Secondary circular reaction

◦ Can distinguish between body and outside objects

◦ Object Permanence

Coordination of secondary schemes

◦ Combining actions to get what we want

◦ Moving something to get a toy

Sensorimotor Stage

Ages birth to two

Tertiary second reactions

◦ Experimenting; new ways

to manipulate objects

Beginning of thought

◦ Internal representation

◦ Use images/words for

objects

Stage begins mostly with

assimilation then

accommodation

“DOGGY”

Pre-operational Stage

Ages two to six

Ego-centric

◦ Don’t yet understand other perspectives

◦ Focus: become de-centered

Three developments:

Conservation (1)

◦ As shape or size changes, amount does not

◦ Piaget's conservation experiments: Volume, Number,

Matter and Length

Pre-operational Stage

Ages two to six

Three developments:

Classification (2)

◦ Ability to classify objects based on certain properties

Pre-operational Stage – assimilation

“DOGGY”

“DOGGY”

“DOGGY”

“DOGGY”

“DOGGY”

Pre-operational Stage – accommodation

“HORSEY”

“KITTY”

“CAMEL”

“DOGGY”

“COW”

Pre-operational Stage

Ages two to six

Three developments:

Transductive Reasoning (3)

◦ One thing causes another (sometimes backward)

◦ Very rigid

Good or bad

Black or white

◦ Can’t examine thoughts, conclusions, or strategies

Example: snow = Christmas

Concrete Operational Stage Ages six to twelve

New set of skills (concrete operations)

◦ More abstract/general

◦ Understand “rules” – add, subtract, etc.

◦ Reversibility

Can return to original form

Example: clay ball; can shift “mental gears”

Develops over time

◦ Conservation of numbers = approx. age 5

◦ Conservation of weight = approx. age 8

◦ Conservation of volume = approx. age 11

Classification – class inclusion

◦ 20 questions

Operational Stage – class inclusion

“Labrador”

“Bulldog”

“Poodle”

“German

Shepherd”

“Chihuahua”

Concrete Operational Stage Ages six to twelve

Inductive logic

◦ Ability to go from own experience to general principle

◦ Example: adding makes more and subtracting makes less

◦ Reasoning

Formal Operational Stage

Ages twelve and up

Ability to classify and sort abstract ideas (not just

concrete)

Actual to Possible

◦ A situation not yet experienced

◦ Cannot see or manipulate directly

◦ What are the possibilities?

◦ Ability to understand logical relationships in head

◦ Formal Operational

Formal Operational Stage

Ages twelve and up

Systematic problem solving

◦ Ability to test possible solutions in head

◦ What would be some examples?

Logic – deductive reasoning

◦ Go from general principle to anticipated experience

◦ Does everyone reach this stage?

◦ NO!

◦ Why?

Formal Operational Stage

Ages twelve and up

Why doesn’t everyone achieve Formal Operations

◦ Measurement difficult (many variables)

◦ Might for familiar areas but not unfamiliar ones

◦ Everyday tasks don’t require it

◦ Other cognitive issues?

Criticisms of Piaget

Individual differences

Children develop at different rates. Are ages appropriate?

Lack of consistency:

◦ Horizontal consistency

Skills translate across tasks (not always)

Example: Writing a letter and writing at school

◦ Vertical consistency

Tasks build on one another

Understanding addition & understanding multiplication

Reflection

Looking at Piaget’s stages and the

criticisms of them, what do you

think about Piaget’s theories? Do

you agree or disagree with them?

Why?