piagets theory of cog development

• What is the main idea of Piaget's theory of cognitive development?

  Children think in different ways from adults.
• What did Piaget see children as?

  Little scientists.
• What did Piaget look at in children's learning?

  The role of motivation and how knowledge develops.
• What is a schema?


  A mental structure containing information about the world.
• What are some examples of schemas?

  Schemas for people, objects, physical actions, and abstract ideas.
• How do children develop schemas?

  By actively exploring and trial and error.
• What is the role of appropriate materials in schema development?

  They encourage active exploration.
• What is equilibration?


  The process of restoring cognitive balance.
• What is the preferred mental state according to equilibration?

  Cognitive equilibrium.
• What is disequilibrium?


  Cognitive imbalance.
• What happens during equilibration?

  Striking a balance between existing schema and new information.
• What are the two processes involved in equilibration?

  Accommodation and assimilation.
• What is assimilation?

  Incorporating new information into an existing schema.
• What is accommodation?


  Changing existing schema to account for new information.
• When does assimilation occur?

  When new information is incorporated into an existing schema.
• When does accommodation occur?

  In response to dramatically new experiences.
• What is the sensorimotor stage?


  Stage focusing on physical sensations and body coordination.
• What age is the sensorimotor stage?

  0-2 years
• How do children learn in the sensorimotor stage?

  By trial and error and deliberate body movements.
• What can infants learn in the sensorimotor stage?


  They can learn to move their bodies and objects.
• What is object permanence?

  Understanding that objects still exist when out of sight.
• What did Piaget's study on object permanence involve?


  Child playing with a toy covered in a cloth.
• At what age do children develop object permanence?

  Around 8 months.
• What is the pre-operational stage?

  Stage from 2-7 years with limited reasoning ability.
• What age is the pre-operational stage?

  2-7 years
• What is conservation?


  Understanding that things remain the same despite appearance.
• What is the conservation task with counters?

  Piaget's task where children determine if two rows of counters have the same amount.
• At what age do children start to conserve?

  Around the age of seven.
• What is egocentrism?


  Inability to understand different perspectives.
• What is the three mountains task?

  Piaget's task where children choose a photo representing a doll's viewpoint.
• What is class inclusion?

  Understanding the difference between sub-categories and broader categories.
• What is the class inclusion task with dogs and animals?

  Piaget's task where children determine if there are more dogs or animals.
• What is the concrete operational stage?

  Improved reasoning abilities.
• What age is the concrete operational stage?

  7-11 years
• What are the reasoning abilities in the concrete operational stage called?

  Concrete operations.
• What are concrete operations?

  Reasoning abilities that can be applied to physical objects.
• What is formal operational stage?


  Stage where children develop formal reasoning and solve abstract problems.
• What age is the formal operational stage?

  11+ years
• What is hypothetico-deductive thinking?

  Thinking like a scientist by developing hypotheses.
• What methodological issues did Piaget's counters task have?


  Asking the same question twice might suggest to the children that a different answer is required. Children also saw them make a deliberate change with the counters which may have made them think something had to have changed.