Cognitive Development May Progress Gradually or Through a Series of Stages.
Cognitive development can be defined as the growth of our knowledge in understanding the world around us. This growth can be developed gradually, in other words, it is seen as a continuous process by collecting more information. Another way of developing cognitively is through a series of stages which involves some sort of revolution from one period to another in one’s lifetime. Jean Piaget, a cognitive developmentalist believed that humans go through a series of stages in life in order to reach their full cognitive ability. In this essay, we would briefly talk about Piaget’s Stage Theory and its criticisms.
Piaget divided his theory into four different stages of development. The first one is known as the sensorimotor stage which is applied to infants for approximately the first two years of their lives. At this stage, infants discover the world mainly by their senses and actions. One of the main concepts Piaget penned is object permanence. This is the knowledge of the existence of objects even when we cannot directly sense it. Piaget suggested that babies lack this concept through his study; A not B task. In this study, the experimenter hides a toy under Box A then the baby would search for it under Box A. This procedure was repeated and eventually in front of the baby, the experimenter hid the toy under Box B. The baby searched for it under Box A instead of B even though they saw the experimenter hid it under Box B. Therefore, this study shows that the baby lacked the concept of object permanence. They are known to be in a state of solipsism, also known as the failure to differentiate between themselves and the surroundings. Based on observation conducted on his own children (1952), Piaget divided this stage into six different sub stages.
However, Piaget’s claims on object permanence have been criticized. Baillargeon et al. (1985) found in their research that infants as young as three-and-a-half months have developed the ability of object permanence.
Piaget divided his theory into four different stages of development. The first one is known as the sensorimotor stage which is applied to infants for approximately the first two years of their lives. At this stage, infants discover the world mainly by their senses and actions. One of the main concepts Piaget penned is object permanence. This is the knowledge of the existence of objects even when we cannot directly sense it. Piaget suggested that babies lack this concept through his study; A not B task. In this study, the experimenter hides a toy under Box A then the baby would search for it under Box A. This procedure was repeated and eventually in front of the baby, the experimenter hid the toy under Box B. The baby searched for it under Box A instead of B even though they saw the experimenter hid it under Box B. Therefore, this study shows that the baby lacked the concept of object permanence. They are known to be in a state of solipsism, also known as the failure to differentiate between themselves and the surroundings. Based on observation conducted on his own children (1952), Piaget divided this stage into six different sub stages.
However, Piaget’s claims on object permanence have been criticized. Baillargeon et al. (1985) found in their research that infants as young as three-and-a-half months have developed the ability of object permanence.
References: 1. Gross, R. (2005). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour Hodder Education. 2. Ziegler, P. M. F. (2007). Fundamentals of Development: The Psychology of Childhood, Psychology Press.