What is Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development?

The Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, the Swiss

psychologist, suggests that children's intelligence undergoes changes
as they grow. Cognitive development in children is not only related to
acquiring knowledge, children need to build or develop a mental
model of their surrounding world (Miller, 2011). His work is regarded
as the cornerstone in the field of developmental psychology. In this
article, we examine the implications his work has for the intellectual
development of children in classrooms.
In the 1920s, Piaget was working at the Binet Institute and his main
responsibility was to translate questions written in English intelligence
tests into French. He became interested to find out why children gave
incorrect answers to the questions needing logical
thinking (Meadows, 2019
iaget believed that these wrong answers revealed significant
differences between the thinking of children and adults. Piaget
proposed a new set of assumptions about the intelligence of children:

• Children think differently and see the world differently from

adults.
• Children are not passive learners, they actively build up their
knowledge about the surrounding.
• The most effective way to understand children’s reasoning is
to think from children's point of view.
Piaget did not want to measure how well children can spell, count or
solve problems to check their I.Q. He was more intrigued to find out
how the fundamental concepts such as the very idea of time, number,
justice, quantity and so on emerged (Greenfield, 2019).
Piaget used observations and clinical interviews of older children
who were able to hold conversations and understand questions. He
also made controlled observation, and used naturalistic
observation of his own three children and developed diary description
with charts of children's development.
Piaget's theory of cognitive development is based on the idea that
children go through four stages of development, each with their own
unique characteristics and abilities. The first stage, the sensorimotor
stage, occurs from birth to around two years old and is characterized
by the child's understanding of the world through sensory
experiences and motor actions.
The second stage, the preoperational stage, occurs from around two
to seven years old and is characterized by the child's ability to use
symbols to represent objects and events. The third stage, the
concrete operational stage, occurs from around seven to twelve years
old and is characterized by the child's ability to think logically
about concrete objects and events. Finally, the fourth stage, the
formal operational stage, occurs from around twelve years old and is
characterized by the child's ability to think abstractly and reason
hypothetically.

Who exactly was Jean Piaget?

He was born in 1896 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. After finishing high
school he went to study medicine but soon changed course to
philosophy and sociology. During World War 1, he worked as an army
doctor. When war ended, he started studying law and then switched
again to philosophy and sociology. At the age of 30, he published his
first book “Genetic Epistemology” which received critical acclaim.
This led him to become one of the leading psychologists of his
generation. The Jean Piaget Society is named after him.

His research interests included child development, logic,

mathematics, linguistics, social sciences and education.
His major works include "Logic", "Reasoning and Judgment" and
"Constructionism". Jean Piaget's work is important because it
provides us with insights into cognitive processes during childhood. It
helps teachers identify what needs to be taught and when. The
following sections will explore some of the key ideas behind Piagetian
theories.
Piaget influenced the field of developmental psychology because he
showed that learning takes place through stages rather than just
being acquired all at once. Anyone exploring a career in child
psychology will no doubt come across his influential work. In recent
years, it has come into some criticism but the importance of his
contribution to developmental psychology cannot be denied.

- He was one of the first people to study children's development and

he developed the theory that children develop through stages.
- He also studied how children learn and he found out that they learn
by doing things and not just listening or reading about them.
- He also discovered that children have their own ways of learning and
that they don't always follow the same rules as adults do.
- He also found out that children are very creative and imaginative and
that they like to play and explore.
- He also believed that children should be allowed to make mistakes
and that they shouldn't be punished for making them
Stages of Cognitive Development
According to Jean Piaget, stages of development takes place via the
interaction between natural capacities and environmental happenings,
and children experience a series of stages (Wellman, 2011). The
sequence of these stages remains same across cultures. Each child
goes through the same stages of cognitive development in life but
with a different rate. The following are Piaget's stages of intellectual
development:

Sensorimotor stage (Object permanence)

From birth to 18-24 months
The infants use their actions and senses to explore and learn about
their surrounding environment.
During this stage, children develop object permanence, which means
they understand that objects continue to exist even when they can't
see them. This is a crucial milestone in cognitive development as it
allows children to start forming mental representations of the world
around them. As they progress through the following stages, they will
continue to build on this foundation of knowledge, ultimately
developing more complex cognitive abilities.
A variety of cognitive abilities develop at this stage; which mainly
include representational play, object permanence, deferred imitation
and self-recognition.
At this stage, infants live only in present. They do not have anything
related to this world stored in their memory. At age of 8 months, the
infant will understand different objects' permanence and they will
search for them when they are not present.
Towards the endpoint of this stage, infants' general symbolic
function starts to appear and they can use two objects to stand for
each other. Language begins to appear when they realise that they
can use words to represent feelings and objects. The child starts to
store information he knows about the world, label it and recall it.

Pre-operational stage (Symbolic thought)

From 2 to 7 years
The pre-operational stage is a crucial period in children's cognitive
development. During this stage, children's thinking is not yet logical or
concrete, and they struggle with concepts like cause and effect. They
also have difficulty understanding other people's perspectives, which
is why their thinking is egocentric. Additionally, their reasoning is
based on intuition rather than logic, which can lead to errors in
judgement. Despite these limitations, children in the pre-operational
stage are still capable of incredible growth and learning, and it's
important for parents and educators to provide them with the support
and guidance they need to thrive.
Young children and Toddlers gain the ability to represent the world
internally through mental imagery and language. At this stage,
children symbolically think about things. They are able to make one
thing, for example, an object or a word, stand for another thing
different from itself.
A child mostly thinks about how the world appears, not how it is. At
the preoperational stage, children do not show problem-solving or
logical thinking. Infants in this age also show animism, which means
that they think that toys and other non-living objects have feelings and
live like a person.
By an age of 2 years, toddlers can detach their thought process from
the physical world. But, they are still not yet able to develop
operational or logical thinking skills of later stages.
Their thinking is still egocentric (centred on their own world view) and
intuitive (based on children's subjective judgements about events).
Concrete operational stage (Logical thought)
7 to 11 years
At this stage, children start to show logical thinking about concrete
events. They start to grasp the concept of conservation. They
understand that, even if things change in appearance but some
properties still remain the same. Children at this stage can reverse
things mentally. They start to think about other people's feelings and
thinking and they also become less egocentric.
This stage is also known as concrete as children begin to
think logically. According to Piaget, this stage is a significant turning
point of a child's cognitive development because it marks the starting
point of operational or logical thinking. At this stage, a child is capable
of internally working things out in their head (rather than trying things
out in reality).
Another key characteristic of the Concrete Operational Stage is the
development of deductive reasoning. Children at this stage can use
logic to draw conclusions and solve problems. They are able to
understand that if A equals B and B equals C, then A must equal C.
This type of reasoning allows them to understand more complex
concepts and ideas, setting them up for success in their academic
and personal lives.
Children at this stage may become overwhelmed or they may make
mistakes when they are asked to reason about hypothetical
or abstract problems. Conservation means that the child understands
that even if some things change in appearance but their properties
may remain the same. At age 6 children are able to conserve number,
at age 7 they can conserve mass and at age 9 they can conserve
weight. But logical thinking is only used if children ask to reason
about physically present materials.
Formal operational stage (Symbolic reasoning)
Age 12 and above
At this stage, individuals perform concrete operations on things and
they perform formal operations on ideas. Formal logical thinking is
totally free from perceptual and physical barriers. During this stage,
adolescents can understand abstract concepts. They are able to
follow any specific kind of argument without thinking about
any particular examples.
During the Formal Operational Stage, children begin to develop the
ability to think abstractly and use symbolic reasoning. This means
they can think beyond concrete, physical objects and concepts and
start to understand more complex and abstract ideas. They can solve
hypothetical problems and understand metaphors, analogies, and
other abstract concepts. This stage typically occurs between the ages
of 11 and 16, but can vary depending on the individual child's
development.
Adolescents are capable of dealing with hypothetical problems with
several possible outcomes.This stage allows the emergence
of scientific reasoning, formulating hypotheses and abstract
theories as and whenever needed.
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development made no claims about any
specific age-associated with any of the particular stage but his
description provides an indication of the age at which an average
child would reach a certain stage.
How is Piaget's Theory Different from others?
In the realm of child development and cognition, theories often
intersect, each providing a unique lens to understand the intricate
processes that govern a child's growth. Renowned psychologists like
Jean Piaget have made significant contributions, laying the
foundation for further exploration. The following table outlines several
prominent psychologists and their theories, highlighting the synergies
with Piaget's ideas. The intertwined nature of these theories
underscores the multifaceted nature of cognitive development,
painting a comprehensive picture of how children learn, adapt, and
evolve.
1. Lev Vygotsky: A Russian psychologist, Vygotsky proposed the
Sociocultural Theory, emphasizing the significant influence of social
interaction on cognitive development. His ideas resonate with Piaget's
in the sense that both underscore the importance of active
engagement in learning.
However, Vygotsky places a stronger emphasis on social factors in
shaping cognitive schemas.
Educational Implications of Piaget's Cognitive
Development Theory
Although, later researchers have demonstrated how Piaget's theory is
applicable for learning and teaching but Piaget (1952) does not clearly
relate his theory to learning.
Piaget was very influential in creating teaching practices
and educational policy. For instance, in 1966 a primary education
review by the UK government was based upon Piaget’s theory. Also,
the outcome of this review provided the foundation for publishing
Plowden report (1967).
Discovery learning – the concept that children learn best through
actively exploring and doing - was viewed as central to the primary
school curriculum transformation.
Piaget believes that children must not be taught certain concepts until
reaching the appropriate cognitive development stage. Also,
accommodation and assimilation are requirements of an active
learner only, because problem-solving skills must only be discovered
they cannot be taught. The learning inside the classrooms must be
student-centred and performed via active discovery learning. The
primary role of an instructor is to facilitate learning, rather than direct
teaching. Hence, teachers need to ensure the following practices
within the classroom:

1. Pay more attention to the learning process, rather than

focusing on the end product of it.
2. Use active teaching involving reconstructing or
rediscovering "truths." (See Universal Thinking Framework).
3. Use individual and collaborative activities (to allow children
to learn from one another, see our blog post on dialogic
pedagogy).
4. Devise situations that offer useful problems, and
develop disequilibrium in children (see this post on critical
thinking).
5. Assess a child's development level so appropriate tasks can
be created.
Here are a list of potential activities thatare designed to align with the
cognitive abilities typical of each developmental stage according to
Piaget's theory
Stage of Development Activity

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to Playing peekaboo games to help the child understand object
~2 years) permanence.

Exploring different textures (soft, hard, rough, smooth) to

stimulate sensory experiences.

Preoperational Stage (~2 to 7 Engaging in pretend play to foster imagination and symbolic
years) thinking.

Drawing or painting to encourage representation of objects and

people.

Concrete Operational Stage Solving real-world problems using objects to facilitate

(~7 to 11 years) understanding of conservation and reversibility.

Classifying objects by characteristics (color, size, shape) to

build logic and reasoning skills.

Formal Operational Stage (11 Discussing hypothetical scenarios to promote abstract thinking.
years and up)

Encouraging debates or persuasive essays to develop skills in

systematic planning and deductive reasoning.

References
• Bruner (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge.:
Belkapp Press.
• (1994). Culture and cognitive development from a Piagetian
perspective. Psychology and culture (pp. 145–149). Boston,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
• Greenfield, P. M., & Cole, M. (2019). C. Cross-cultural research
and Piagetian theory: Paradox and progress. In The
developing individual in a changing world, Teil 1: Historical
and cultural issues (pp. 322-333).
• Hughes , M. (1975). Egocentrism in preschool children.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Edinburgh University.
• Meadows, S. (2019). Cognitive development. In Companion
encyclopedia of psychology (pp. 699-715). Routledge.
• Miller, P. H. (2011). Piaget's theory: Past, present, and future.
• Piaget, J. (1936). Origins of intelligence in the child. London:
Routledge & Kegan Paul.
• Piaget, J., & Cook, M. T. (1952). The origins of intelligence in
children. New York, NY: International University Press.
• Plowden (1967). Children and their primary schools: A report
(Research and Surveys). London, England: HM Stationery
Office.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of
higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
• Wellman, H. M. (2011). Reinvigorating explanations for the
study of early cognitive development. Child
Development Perspectives, 5(1), 33-38.