cognition and development - piagets theory Flashcards
what did paiget believe resulted in cognitive development
Maturation – the effect of the biological processes of ageing. As children get older, certain mental processes become possible.
· Environment – through interactions with the environment, children’s understanding of the world becomes more complex
what did paiget believe about schemas
children are born with a small number of schemas – just enough to allow them to interact with other people.
infancy we are thought to construct new schema -> me schema
with time as a result of interaction with environment -> schema for other people, ideas, objects etc
how does schema become more complex according to paiget
assimilation and accommodation.
what is assimilation
A form of learning that takes place when we acquire new information or a more advanced understanding of an object, person or idea that fits into existing schemas without making any change.
eg understanding different dog breeds by assimilating them into their dog schema
what is accommodation ?
A form of learning that takes place when we acquire new information that changes our understanding of a topic to the extent that we need to form one or more new schemas and/or radically change existing schemas to deal with the new understanding.
what is equilibration ?
Experiencing a balance between existing schemas and new experiences by accommodation or assimilation
what is disequilibrium
if assimilation or accommodation cannot be carried out - > disequilibrium (unpleasant state of imbalance) - we seek to avoid this and this is the driving force behind reaching equilibration
what is a strength of piaget theory (real world application)
Piaget’s theory has been successfully applied to education.
before -> classrooms had children sat silently in rows, copying from the board.
now -> activity-orientated classrooms in which children actively engage in tasks that allow them to construct their own understandings.
this change -> supports the theory that children learn by actively exploring their environment and forming their own mental representations of the world.
what is a limitation of piagets theory (other people in learning)
Piaget may have underplayed the role of other people in learning.
eg other people are not the main focus of his theory as he saw learning in terms of what happens in the mind of the individual.
other theories backed up research suggest that other people are crucial to the process of learning.
reduces the validity of Piaget’s work.
what is another strength of piagets theory - backed up research
piaget theory suggests children with similar leaning experiences still form individual mental representations
Howe et al (1992) put children between aged 9 and 12 in groups of 4 to study and discuss movement of objects down a slope.
after discussion - children found to have increased level of knowledge
but - children had not come to same conclusions
supporting piaget idea -> children form own mental representation
