Piaget’s Theory: Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget was devoted to studying the genesis of knowledge, constructing it from a biologist’s perspective. Born in Switzerland, he studied psychology, epistemology, and philosophy. Genesis is the passage from a less complex state to a more balanced and complex one. Emotional and cognitive life are two key aspects of behavior:
- Affective: Referring to emotions, also called energy (the energy needed to function).
- Cognitive: Refers to knowledge, also known as structural (connection between the internal and external world). Although different, they are essential to one another.
Multiple Intelligences
Intelligence is something that gradually builds through new situations, where humans learn to adapt and restore equilibrium. Piaget concluded that there were two types of intelligence: mathematical and linguistic. All other capabilities a person might have were considered abilities. Gardner identified seven types of intelligence, which develop unevenly in each human being. Some individuals show broad development in one type of intelligence and a total lack in others. Family, social, and historical factors influence the development of multiple intelligences. However, there are also experiences that stun (blocking of intelligence) and crystallize (encouraging intelligence).
Adaptation as Intelligence
Intelligence: The ability to adapt to new situations.
- Assimilation: The transformation of the external to fit the structure of each person.
- Accommodation: The transformation of the body to accommodate the new situation.
- Adaptation: The balance between internal and external factors, or between assimilation and accommodation.
Stages of Intelligence
Stages: Types of behavior that arise continuously, one after another, and are distinguished by their characteristic structure. They are characterized by:
- Successive constructions that follow a fixed order of appearance.
- Each stage is necessary for the emergence of the next.
- The essence of a stage remains the basis on which to settle new achievements.
Sensory-Motor Period
The child knows the world through the senses and their actions. This is the intelligence of the first two years of life, developing without language. It occurs during six different stages that mark important progress.
Period of Concrete Operations
Up to this point, people only understood things as they saw, heard, or sensed them. Now, the possibility of symbolic representation emerges. This period is divided into two stages:
- Conceptual Stage: A child does not yet develop concepts.
- Intuitive Stage: The child begins to develop concepts and can make some practical comparisons.
Operative Subperiod
Thought obeys certain logical laws. This constitutes the last stage before reaching forms of abstract thinking.
Period of Formal or Abstract Operations
From this moment on, one begins to reason independently of the data offered by immediate reality and to build hypotheses, i.e., reasoning about abstract ideas and assumptions.