1. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget argues that thinking involves three basic tendencies, each of which is a different way of attempting to make sense of the world. Organization, adaptation, and equilibriation are each techniques that individuals use with varying degrees of facility to process knowledge. Piaget also argues that "certain ways of thinking that are quite simple for an adult are not so simple for a child." Piaget's three types of thinking are sophisticated processes that human beings learn to master as they grow and mature.
Organization describes the structures (Piaget's term is schemes) which human beings create to allow them to place new objects or experiences into an existing context. Schemes range from very simple ways of organizing knowledge to complex, integrated systems of thinking.
Adaptation describes the ongoing process by which individuals seek to adjust to their environment. Adaptation can take the form of either assimilation or accommodation, adjusting the world to suit the individual's existing schemes of thinking or changing those schemes to fit new situations. Anita E. Woolfolk notes, "Both processes are required most of the time" and are usually interrelated.
Equilibration describes the constant balancing process required in gathering knowledge, thinking, and dealing with the world. According to Piaget, this is the stage at which "actual changes in thinking take place." Attempting to keep the world in balance results either in success or in disequilibration, an uncomfortable state which drives people to seek balance again.
2. Piaget separates the development of cognitive skills into four successive stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. He argues that "all people pass through the same four stages in exactly the same order."
The sensorimotor stage, covering approximately the first two years of life, involves the development of under...