Piaget's cognitive theory of development

Piaget's cognitive theory of development encompasses four main stages: the sensorimotor from 0-2 years, the preoperational from 2-7 years, the concrete operational from 7-11 years, and the formal operational from 11 on. Piaget believed that older children not only know quantitatively more than younger ones, but actually think in qualitatively different ways. His theory focusses on how children think and represent the world, and how these capabilities change as the child matures (Jackson, Robinson & Dale, 1977). In this paper I will examine in detail the preoperational stage of development, including its characteristic abilities (such as language and socialization of behavior) and its limitations (such as egocentrism and failure to conserve, among other things).

In the preoperational period, sensorimotor functioning decreases and the use of conceptual representation increases. "The child becomes increasingly able to internally represent events (think) and becomes less dependent on current sensorimotor actions for direction of behavior." (Wadsworth, 1979, p.69). The acquisition of language is, therefore, one of the most dramatic and far-reaching developments of this stage. Children typically begin using spoken words as symbols in one-word sentences around age 2; by age four they can speak and comprehend language remarkably well (Santrock, 1983).

This new capability is instrumental in facilitating other intellectual development as well. The use of language has three imp

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child to question his thoughts for the first time in his life and to seek external verification of their truth. Thus, it is peer group interaction, more than any other factor, which dissolves egocentricity. Similarly, there is some evidence that children communicate less egocentrically and more clearly with peers than with adults; this also suggests that peer interaction is a primary socializing force (Jackson, Robinson & Dale, 1977). Another characteristic of preoperational thought is animism, or the belief that inanimate objects have human qualities and abilities. This can be considered a form of egocentricity insofar as it reflects a failure to understand when to take the human versus nonhuman perspective (Santrock, 1983). A third preoperational limitation is irreversibility of thought. This is basically the inability to follow a line of reasoning back to its beginning. Some theorists see this as a leftover rigidity from the sensorimotor period, in which all actions and perceptions were purely physical and could not be reversed or undone in the same way as an internal operation. Therefore, the concept of reversibility of operations cannot be discovered from the environment like ideas of space and causality can: rather,

Category: Psychology - P