- Sensorimotor (0-2yrs)
- Preoperational (2-7yrs)
- Concrete operational (7-11yrs) - “true logical thought”
- Formal operational (11+yrs)
Piaget claimed that children think in qualitatively different ways at each stage
Sensorimotor
0-2 yrs
Children experience the world through senses and actions
Limited to the ‘here and now’, memory is very limited and focus on direct environment
Preoperational Stage
2-6/7 yrs
Child learns to use language and represent things with words and images, but unable to reason logically
‘Symbolic representations’, pretending a block of wood is a card. ‘Make believe’
Cognitive achievements: symbolic thinking, language, improved memory
Cognitive limitations: lack of mental operations
Ego centrism, mistaken idea that other’s peoples view of the world is the same as their own
- Three Mountains task
Centration, focusing on one aspect of a situation and ignoring other relevant aspets
Concrete Operational Stage
6/7-11/12 yrs
Children can think logically about concrete objects and events, and can perform arithmetic operations
Formal Operational
11/12+ yrs
Teens gain the ability to think logically about abstract concepts
Criticism of Piaget’s
Critized for emphasizing limitations of the preoperational stage, rather than celebrating enormous cognitive advancements (language and memory)
ALso critized for placing too much emphasis on young child as a solitary learner, overlooking role of older teachers