Considering the relationship between facts and coming to conclusions that make sense
Abstract concepts
Ideas that don't have any physical form, e.g. morals, mathematics, beauty
Concrete concepts
Things you can physically point to, e.g. apples
Schema
Packages or structures of information about things in the world, developed through experience
Assimilation
A small change when we add new information to an existing schema
Accommodation
The changing of the schema itself to match new information
Stages of cognitive development (Piaget)
Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
Preoperational (2-7 years)
Concrete operational (7-11 years)
Formal operational (11+ years)
Piaget's work has been influential and applied to early education, with a focus on child-centred teaching and allowing children to develop their own schema
Criticisms of Piaget
Stages don't match development of all children
Underestimated children's abilities
Original methods were confusing
Sample was limited to middle-class Swiss children
The naughty teddy study by McGarrigle and Donaldson found that Piaget's methods influenced children's behaviour and underestimated their ability to conserve
Hughes' policeman doll study found that Piaget's free mountain task was confusing and young children are less egocentric than previously thought
Potential issues with Hughes' study include investigator effects and the multi-stage design
