Thoeries
Theories of Cognitive Development
John Opfer
Basic Questions
1) What is innate? 2) Does children’s thinking progress through qualitatively different stages? 3) How do changes in children’s thinking occur? 4) Why do individual children differ so much from each other in their thinking? 5) How does brain development contribute to cognitive development? 6) How does the social world contribute to cognitive development?
Influential Theories of Cognitive Development
• • • •
Piaget’s theory Sociocultural theories Core-knowledge theories Information-processing theories
Jean Piaget
Beginning about 1920, Piaget developed the first ‘cognitive’ theory • infant cognition • language development • conceptual development • mathematical and scientific reasoning • moral development
Piaget’s Most Revolutionary Idea
Child as scientist 1. construct their own knowledge from experimenting on the world. 2. learn many things on their own without the intervention of older children or adults. 3. are intrinsically motivated to learn and do not need rewards from adults to motivate learning
Piaget’s Principles: What changes?
• • • • •
There are distinct stages of cognitive development, with the following properties. Qualitative change: Children of different ages (and at different stages) think in different ways. Broad applicability: The type of thinking at each stage pervades topic and content areas. Brief transitions: Transitions to higher stages of thinking are not necessarily continuous. Invariant sequence: The sequences of stages are stable for all people through all time. Stages are not skipped.
Piaget’s Principles: What does not change?
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Three processes work together from birth to account for continuities: Assimilation: People translate incoming information into a form they can understand. Accommodation: People adapt current knowledge structures in response to new experience. Equilibration: People balance assimilation and accommodation to create
John Opfer
Basic Questions
1) What is innate? 2) Does children’s thinking progress through qualitatively different stages? 3) How do changes in children’s thinking occur? 4) Why do individual children differ so much from each other in their thinking? 5) How does brain development contribute to cognitive development? 6) How does the social world contribute to cognitive development?
Influential Theories of Cognitive Development
• • • •
Piaget’s theory Sociocultural theories Core-knowledge theories Information-processing theories
Jean Piaget
Beginning about 1920, Piaget developed the first ‘cognitive’ theory • infant cognition • language development • conceptual development • mathematical and scientific reasoning • moral development
Piaget’s Most Revolutionary Idea
Child as scientist 1. construct their own knowledge from experimenting on the world. 2. learn many things on their own without the intervention of older children or adults. 3. are intrinsically motivated to learn and do not need rewards from adults to motivate learning
Piaget’s Principles: What changes?
• • • • •
There are distinct stages of cognitive development, with the following properties. Qualitative change: Children of different ages (and at different stages) think in different ways. Broad applicability: The type of thinking at each stage pervades topic and content areas. Brief transitions: Transitions to higher stages of thinking are not necessarily continuous. Invariant sequence: The sequences of stages are stable for all people through all time. Stages are not skipped.
Piaget’s Principles: What does not change?
•
Three processes work together from birth to account for continuities: Assimilation: People translate incoming information into a form they can understand. Accommodation: People adapt current knowledge structures in response to new experience. Equilibration: People balance assimilation and accommodation to create