Cognitive Theory - Piaget Flashcards
Sensorimotor
(0-2) where children learn to classify their experiences through physical/sensory activity. Tend to be just concrete lexical terms up to about 18 months when they gain object permanence. Rapid increase of language follows.
Pre-operational
(2-7) language and motor skills develop but language is mainly egocentric – this means the language children use are only about the child or the child talking to them self to help make sense of the world.
Concrete Operational
(7-11) where we begin to think logically and about others. Expression of thought and rational thinking through language is developed.
Formal Operational
(11+) where we form abstract reasoning, engage in debate and moral and ethical thought.
Object Permanence
an understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen or touched.
Piaget theorised that a child can only learn the names of objects once they realise they permanently exist as it requires the capacity to form a mental representation of the object.
Centration
the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation at one time. When a child can focus on more than one aspect of a situation at the same time they have the ability to decenter.
Egocentrism
children’s thoughts and communications are typically egocentric (i.e. about themselves). Egocentrism refers to the child’s inability to see a situation from another person’s point of view. Often we see children play next to others, but be focused on their own world and thoughts.
Applications
- When 7 year olds were taught the phrase ‘more than’ they didn’t understand the concept so shouldn’t use it (as according to Piaget the word can only be gained after the concept)
- General increase in vocabulary around 18 months
- Children cannot grasp something until ready
- Utterances gradually increase in complexity
Limitations
- Children with cognitive difficulties can still use language beyond their understanding fluently, therefore this suggests cognition and language acquisition aren’t closely linked
- Can still acquire language without full understanding in early stages
- ‘Fis’ phenomenon disproves – it suggests that children’s cognitive understanding is there but they just can’t physically pronounce it
What to look for in the data
- A child’s inability to apply a lexical term to more than one object (remember the banana)
- Children talking to themselves while doing something to try help themselves make sense of something (egocentric speech)
- Children failing to use more complex language because they don’t understand the concept
- Caregivers explaining larger concepts
The seven Piagetian tasks
Number Length Liquid Mass Area Weight Volume
The Mountain Test
The child sits at a table, presented in front are three mountains. The mountains were different. The child was asked to consider someone else’s view.
Four year-olds almost always chose a picture that represented what they could see and showed no awareness that the doll’s view would be different from this.
Six year-olds frequently chose a picture different from their own view but rarely chose the correct picture for the doll’s point of view.
Only seven- and eight-year-olds consistently chose the correct picture.
The Mountain Test
The child sits at a table, presented in front are three mountains. The mountains were different. The child was asked to consider someone else’s view.
Four year-olds almost always chose a picture that represented what they could see and showed no awareness that the doll’s view would be different from this.
Six year-olds frequently chose a picture different from their own view but rarely chose the correct picture for the doll’s point of view.
Only seven- and eight-year-olds consistently chose the correct picture.
Repacholi and Gopnik (1997)
contradicted the idea of egocentrism lasting until the age of seven. The children of 14 and 18 months were offered vegetables or crackers, both preferring crackers. When the researcher was introduced, the 14 month old offered the cracker, regardless of researcher preference. By contrast, the 18 month old offered what the researcher preferred.
Bower and Wishart (1972)
lab experiment to study infants aged between 1 – 4 months old. Instead of using a Piaget’s blanket technique they waited for the infant to reach for an object, and then turned out the lights so that the object was no longer visible. They then filmed the infant using an infrared camera. They found that the infant continued to reach for the object for up to 90 seconds after it became invisible.
