Theory Of Cognitive Development By Piaget
The theory of cognitive development was proposed by Jean Piaget. It explains how children actively construct knowledge and how their thinking develops in stages as they grow.
Key Ideas of Piaget’s Theory -
- Children are active learners who explore and interact with their environment.
- Cognitive development occurs through stages in a fixed order.
- Development involves two key processes:
– Assimilation – fitting new information into existing knowledge
– Accommodation – changing existing knowledge to fit new information - Children aim for balance (equilibration) between understanding and experience.
Stages of Cognitive Development -
1. Sensorimotor Stage (0–2 years)
- Learning through senses and actions (touching, seeing, grasping)
- Development of object permanence (understanding that objects exist even when not seen)
2. Preoperational Stage (2–7 years)
- Development of language and imagination
- Thinking is egocentric (difficulty seeing others’ viewpoints)
- Lack of logical thinking (e.g., cannot understand conservation)
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7–11 years)
- Development of logical thinking about concrete objects
- Understands conservation, classification, and seriation
- Less egocentric, better reasoning
4. Formal Operational Stage (12 years and above)
- Ability to think abstractly and logically
- Develops problem-solving and hypothetical thinking
- Can plan and reason about future possibilities