PIAGET THEORY OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT new experience into existing or
 is a comprehensive theory about the
nature and development of human
intelligence, first developed by Jean
Piaget. It is primarily known as a
developmental stage theory. It deals
with the nature of knowledge itself
and how humans come gradually to
acquire, construct, and use it.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
 One of the most influential
researchers in the area of
developmental psychology during
the 20th century.
 Trained in the areas of biology and
philosophy and considered himself a
"genetic epistemologist".
 Become interested in how children
think cognitive development was a
progressive reorganization of mental
processes as a result of biological
maturation and environmental
experience. Children construct an
understanding of the world around
them, then experience discrepancies
between what they already know
and what they discover in their
environment.
Basic Cognitive Concepts
 Schema - refer to the cognitive
structures by which individuals
intellectually adapt to and organize
their environment.
 Assimilation - the process of fitting a
as finding hidden toys.
previously created cognitive
structure or schema.
 Accommodation - the child
accommodate experiences.
 Equilibrium - Piaget believed that
people have natural need to
understand how the world works and
to find order' structure and
predictability in real life. Achieving
proper balance between assimilation
and accommodation.
 Cognitive Disequilibrium - do not
match the schemata or cognitive
structures. A discrepancy between
what is perceived and what is
understood. It involves a continuous
effort to adapt environment in terms
of assimilation and accommodation.
PIAGET'S STAGES OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
Stage 1 Sensori-motor stage
 corresponds from birth to infancy.
 a child is initially reflexive in
grasping, sucking and reaching
becomes organized in his movement
and activity.
 focuses on the prominence of the
senses and muscle movement of an
infant.
 birth 2 yrs. Infants think by acting on
the world with their eyes, ears, and
hands. As a result the invent ways of
solving sensorimotor problems such
 Object permanence -The ability of
the child to know that an object still
exists even without of sight.
Stage 2 Pre-Operational Stage
 covers from 2-7 years old roughly
corresponding to pre-school years.
 Symbolic function - At about 2-4
years of age, children cannot yet
manipulate and transform
information in a logical way, however
they now can think in images and
symbols.
 2-7 yrs. Preschool children use
symbols to represent their earlier
sensorimotor discoveries.
Development of language and make-
believe play takes place.
 Egocentrism - The tendency of a
child to only see his point of view
and to assume that everyone also
has his same point of view.
 Centrism - tendency of a child to
focus in his own aspect of a thing or
event and exclude other aspect.
 Irreversibility - Pre operational
children have the inability to reverse
their thinking.
 Animism - tendency of a children to
attribute human like traits or
characteristic to inanimate objects.
 Transductive Reasoning - refers to
the pre operational child's type of
reasoning that is neither inductive
nor deductive.

Stage 3 Concrete-Operational Stage
 child think logically but only in terms
of concrete objects.
 7-11 yrs. Children's reasoning
becomes logical. School-age
children understand that a certain
amount of a substance remains the
same even after it's appearance
changes (ex. Liquid in two different
sized containers). Thinking is not yet
abstract in this stage.
 Decentering - The ability of the child
to perceive the different features of
objects and situations.
 Reversibility - child can now follow
certain operations can be done in
reverse.
 Conservation - ability to know that
certain properties of object like
numbers, mass, volume, or area do
not change even if there is a change
in appearance.
 Seriation - ability to order or arrange
things in a series based on one
dimension such as weight, volume or
size.
Stage 4 Formal operational Stage(12-
15yrs old)
 thinking become logical. They can
solve abstract problems and can
hypothesize.
 11 years on. The capacity for
abstraction permits adolescents to
reason with symbols that do not refer
to objects in the real world, as in
advanced mathematics.
 Hypothetical Reasoning - The ability
to come up w/ different hypothesis
about problems and to gather and
weight data in order to make a final
decision or judgment.
 Analogical Reasoning - Ability to
perceive the relations in one
instance and then use that
relationship to narrow down possible
answers in another similar situations.
 Deductive Reasoning - ability to
think logically by applying a general
rule to a particular instance or
situation.
SIGMUND FREUD'S THEORY OF
PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
Introduction on Sigmund Freud's
 Sigmund Freud, Austrian Originator
of Psycho- Analysis,1856-1939
 He was born at Freiberg, Moravia
 He developed the techniques of
"Psycho- analysis" for the treatment
of psychological and emotional
disorders
 He is the first person to provide a
formal, structured theory of
personality development
Sigmund Freud's Psychosexual
Development
 In the early 1900s, Sigmund Freud
developed the psychodynamic view
of human behavior.
 This model relies on the premise that
human behavior is brought about by
inner forces over which the individual
has little control.
 Dreams and slips of the tongue are
clues to what the individual is really
thinking.
Psychoanalytic Approach
 Conscious - all things we are aware
of at any given moment
 Unconscious - inaccessible
warehouse of anxiety- producing
thoughts and drives
  Preconscious - everything that can,
with a little effort, be brought into
consciousness
Psychoanalytic Divisions of the Mind
 Id-instinctual drives present at birth
 does not distinguish between reality
and fantasy. It operates according to
the pleasure principle
 Ego - develops out of the id in
infancy
 understands reality and logic. It is a
mediator between id and superego
 Superego - internalization of
society's moral standards
responsible for guilt
The Conscience And The Ego-Ideal
 The conscience prevents us from
doing morally bad things.
 The ego-ideal motivates us to do
what is morally proper.
Relationships Among The Id, Ego &
Superego
 Superego is similar to the id in that it
is somewhat unrealistic.
 The lack of reality within the
superego, if left unchecked, would
create perfectionists who would be
unable to make compromises that
life requires.
 An unrestrained id would create a
pleasure-seeking thoughtless
individual, seeking to fulfill every
desire without delay.
 It is the ego that compromises
between the demands of the id and
superego, permitting a person to
obtain some of the gratification of the
id while maintaining the superego,
which would prevent such
gratification.
Significant of personality model
 The idea of the unconscious and the
elements of personality have often
lead us to wonder about our own
motivations for our behavior.
 The most important contribution of
Freud's psychoanalytic theories is
perhaps the fact that it ignited more
study of the human mind, and the
motivation behind an individual's
behavior, thus leading to more study
and discovery of new ideas and
theories.
I. Oral Stage
 It occurs during the first 18 months
of life when the infant's pleasure
centers on the mouth.
 Chewing, sucking and biting are
chief sources of pleasure and these
actions reduces tension in the infant.
 Fixation
• Oral receptive - have stronger
tendency to smoke, drink or over-
eating
• Oral aggressive - a tendency to bite
her/his nails, use curse words and
even gossip
II. Anal Stage
 It is the second stage of oral
development that occurs between 1
1/2 until 3 years of age, in which the
child's greatest pleasure involves the
anus or the eliminative functions
associated with it.
 Through toilet training, the child
comes in contact with the rules of
society.
 Fixation
• Anal retentive - an obsession to
cleanliness, perfection and control
• Anal expulsive - Characterize by
being messy and disorganized.
III. Phallic Stage
 It occurs between the ages of 3-6.
 The word "phallic" comes the Latin
word "phallus," which means "penis."
 During this stage, pleasure focuses
on the genitals as the child discovers
that self- stimulation is enjoyable.
 Importance of Phallic Stage - In
Freud's view, the phallic stage has a
special importance in personality
development because this period
triggers the Oedipus Complex.
 What is the Oedipus Complex? - The
Oedipus Complex is the young
child's development of an intense
desire to replace the parent of the
same sex and enjoy the affection of
the opposite-sex parent.
 Resolving the Oedipus Complex - At
about 5-6 years of age, children
recognize that their same-sex parent
might punish them for their
incestuous wishes. To reduce the
conflict, the child identifies with the
 same- sex parent, striving to be like
him/her. If the conflict is not
resolved, the individual may become
fixated at the phallic stage. VYGOTSKY’S SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
 Electra Complex - In which a girl THEORY
may devel op unconscious sexual
attraction towards her father. Lev Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism -
It emphasizes how meaning and
IV. Latency Stage understanding grow out of social
 It occurs at approximately between 6 encounters.
years of age until puberty.
 At this stage, the child represses all • Cognitive development is limited up
interest in sexuality and develops to a certain extent or within a certain
social and intellectual skills. range, at any given age of the
 The pursuit of social and academic individual; and
activities channels much of the • An individual’s full cognitive
child's energy into emotionally safe development requires social
areas and aids the child in forgetting interaction.
the highly stressful conflicts of the • These principles are encapsulated in
phallic stage three theories or themes: Social
V. Genital Stage Interaction,
 The final stage of psychosexual
development occurs from puberty KEY CONCEPT no. 1
onwards. • Social interaction plays a central
 It is the time of sexual reawakening, role in cognitive development.
but the source of sexual pleasure - It is ingrained in every individual,
now becomes someone outside the even as a child, to seek meaning in
family. everything. Curiosity sets in early on
 Freud believed that unresolved during childhood, and you probably
conflicts with parents re-emerged noticed how, even from a very young
during adolescence. age, a person starts asking
 Once resolved, Freud believed that questions.
the individual capable of developing
a mature love relationship and KEY CONCEPT no. 2
functioning independently as an • Social learning precedes
adult. development.
- Vygotsky claims that a child will not
be able to develop unless he
undergoes or experiences social
learning first. He identified two
areas, or levels, where the functions
in a child’s cultural development,
appear in:
• Social level, or
interpsychological. The functions first
appear between individuals first.
This is where the person will have to
interact, connect and reach out to
other people. This is the level where
social learning takes place.
• Individual level, or
intrapsychological. This is the area
within the child or the individual.
Once he has passed the social level,
where he acquired social learnings,
the functions will appear a second
time and, this time, more developed
and thus, leading to cognitive
development.
Examples of elementary or lower mental
functions (LMFs) are:
• Sensation. A child does not need
to be taught that something is
hot, cold, sweet, or bitter. His
senses are will automatically
deliver those messages to his
brain, so he can react
accordingly.
• Hunger. There are bodily
processes that are beyond a
person’s control, and one of them
is hunger. When an infant is
 hungry, he is hungry, and so he
will show it by crying or acting
restless. He does not need to be
told that he is hungry since his
πbody will manifest the fact.
• Memory. To be more specific,
natural or unmediated memory.
Young children are able to
immediately commit things to
memory in a natural manner.
• Language. As a child develops,
so does his capacity for
languages. The need to
communicate to people around
him – whether to express his
discontent about something or to
inform his parents that he is
hungry or he has to go potty –
will spur the need to learn
languages.
• Voluntary attention. You may
have heard toddlers and small
children being described as
having short attention span.
• Perception. Through sensing, a
child is able to recognize a
sensory stimuli… but it ends
there. His lack of perception skills
will render him unable to interpret
the meaning or significance
behind it.
KEY CONCEPT no. 3
• Language accelerates cognitive
development.
-It is a given that language is very
important in any social interaction,
since it is the primary medium of
communication in any social setting.
But that is not the only reason why
language plays a very important role
in an individual’s cognitive
development.
THREE STAGES OF SPEECH
DEVELOPMENT
• Stage 1 – Social or External
Speech
This covers the preverbal
stage, usually under the age of
three, when the child is still unable to
transcribe his thoughts in complete
thought messages. His thoughts are
pretty simple, and his emotions
basic, and there is no intellectual or
thinking exercise involved.
• Stage 2 – Egocentric Speech
If, in the first stage, the
purpose of the child’s speech is to
control the behavior of other people,
the egocentric speech in the second
stage is spoken as a way for the
child to direct his own behavior.
• Stage 3 – Inner Speech
The final speech development
stage takes place once the child
become older and starts growing
toward adulthood, and he is able to
use it to direct both his thinking and
the resulting behavior or action.
This does not require his
thoughts to be voiced out loud, with
all thinking processes done in his
head. He can do mental calculations
in his head, analyze a situation from
all angles without saying a single
word, and form an opinion without
verbalizing his arguments.
KEY CONCEPT no. 4
• Self-initiated discovery and
collaborative dialogue aid in a
child’s cognitive development.
- The More Knowledgeable
Other (MKO)
The MKO is any person who has
a higher level of ability or
understanding than the learner in
terms of the task, process or
concept at hand. Normally, when
we think of an MKO we refer to
an older adult, a teacher or an
expert.
- The Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD)
The ZPD is the distance between
what is known and what is
unknown by the learner. It is the
difference between the ability of
learner to performer a specific
task under the guidance of his
MKO and the learner`s ability to
do that task independently.
SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY
• Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
mainly dealt with the concept that
the cognitive development of a child
depends upon his response to the
 influences of the culture and society
he is born in.
• In Vygotsky’s theory, mental
development such as thought,
language, and reasoning process
are developed through social
relationships and interactions. Thus,
individual’s development is
influenced by culture and
environment.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
• Thus ZPD can be defined as the
difference between what a child can
achieve with his own potential alone
without any guidance and what he
can achieve by assistance or
guidance from another individual
who is more skilled at the task..
• This "zone" is the area of exploration
for which the student is cognitively
prepared, but requires help and
social interaction to fully develop.
TWO CENTRAL FACTORS IN
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Social Interaction – greatly
contribute to cognitive
development of a child.
• Language – It opens the door for
learners to acquire knowledge
that others already have.
Vygotsky also emphasized:
• Zone of Actual Development –
This refers to child’s attempt to
perform a skill alone and may not
be immediately proficient of doing
the task.
• Zone of Proximal Development –
This refers to the ability of the
child to perform the task with the
assistance or guidance of a More
Knowledgeable Other (MKO).
• Scaffolding – Refers to the
support or assistance given to
the child to accomplish the task
that he/she cannot accomplish
independently.
• Scaffold and fade-away
Technique – giving assistance or
support to the child but if
proficient and able enough to
accomplish the task, the
guidance be withdrawn.
ERIK ERICKSON PSYCHOSOCIAL
THEORY
Terms to remember
 Malignancy- It involves too little of
the positive and too much of the
negative aspect of that task.
 Maladaptation - It involves too
much of the positive and too little of
the negative.
Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust
Malignancy:
 Withdrawal – characterized
by depression, paranoia, and
possibly psychosis.
Maladaptation
 Sensory Maladjustment -
overly trusting, even gullible,
this person cannot believe
anyone would mean them
harm and will use all the
defenses at their command to
find an explanation or excuse
for the person who did him
wrong.
Virtue
  Hope - the strong belief that Maladaptation adults and even more, reject
even things are not going  Ruthlessness- to be their need for an identity.
well, they will work out well in heartless or unfeeling or
Maladaptation
the end. without mercy
 Fanaticism – A fanatic
Virtue believes that his way is the
 Courage- the capacity for only way.
action despite a clear
Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Virtue
understanding of your
Doubt limitations and past failings  Fidelity- means loyalty, the
ability to live by societies
Malignancy: standards despite their
Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority imperfections and
 Compulsiveness - The
feeling that their entire being Malignancy incompleteness and
rides on everything they do  Inertia- this includes those inconsistencies.
and so everything must be who suffer inferiority complex
done perfectly Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation
Maladaptation
Maladaptation  Narrow virtuosity- children Malignancy
 Impulsiveness - a sort of who are not allowed to be  Exclusion- tendency to isolate
shameless willfulness that children by their parents and oneself from love, friendship,
leads one to jump into things being pushed into one area of community and to develop a
without proper consideration competence without allowing certain hatefulness in
of one’s abilities. a broader area of interests. compensation for one’s
loneliness.
Virtue Virtue
 Willpower and  Competency- the right Maladaptation
determination - “Can do” balance of inferiority and  Promiscuity- referring
attitude of an individual industry- that is, mostly particularly to the tendency to
industry with just a touch of become to intimate too freely,
Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt inferiority to keep us sensibly too easily and without any
humble depth to your intimacy.
Malignancy
Virtue
 Inhibition- The inhibited Stage 5 - Identity vs. Role Confusion
person will not try things  Love- being able to put aside
because “nothing ventured, Malignancy differences and antagonisms
nothing lost” and nothing to  Repudiation-To repudiate is through mutuality of devotion.
feel guilty about. to reject. They reject their It includes not only in the love
membership in the world of we find in good marriage, but
 the love between friends and
the love of one’s neighbor, co-
worker and compatriot.
Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation
Malignancy
 Rejectivity- too little
generativity and too much
stagnation and you are not
participating in or contributing
to society.
Maladaptation
 Overextension- people no
longer allow time for
themselves, for rest and
relaxation
Virtue
 Care
Stage 8 - Ego Integrity vs. Despair
Malignancy
 Disdain- a contempt of life.
This person becomes very
negative and appears to hate
life.
Maladaptation
 Presumption- this happens
when a person presumes ego
integrity without actually
facing the difficulties of old
age. The person in old age
believes that he alone is right.
Virtue
 Wisdom
BRONFENBRENNER’S ECOLOGICAL
THEORY
BIOECOLOGICAL SYSTEM THEORY-
presents child development within the
context of relationships system that
comprise the child’s environment.
 MICROSYSTEM - Is the layer
nearest the child. It comprises which
the child directly interacts with. It
includes structures such as one’s
family, school and neighborhood. As
such, the Microsystems covers the
most basic relationship and
interactions that a child has in
his/her immediate environment.
Example: A mother’s deep affection for her
child moves her to answer to the baby’s
needs and keep the baby safe. In turn the
baby’s smiles and coos bring the mother
feelings of warmth and an affirmation that
indeed she is a good mother.
BIO-DIRECTIONAL INFLUENCES
The child also affects the behavior and
beliefs of the parents.
 MESOSYSTEM - This layer serves
as the connection between the
structures of the child's
Microsystems.
Example: The MESOSYSTEM will include
the link or interaction between the parents
and teachers or the parents and health
services or the community and the church
 EXOSYSTEM - This layer refers to
the bigger social system in which the
child does not function directly. This
includes the city government, the
workplace, and the mass media. The
structures in this child layer may
influence the child’s development by
somehow affecting some structure in
the child’s Microsystems.
Example: We see a change in the children’s
routine when the mother works in a call
center. That was we seen in that burger
chain commercial where the mom and the
children meet up at the fast food for
breakfast just before the children go to
school and the mom going home from work
in a call center.
 MACROSYSTEM - This layer is
found in the outermost part in the
child’s environment. The
macrosystem includes the cultural
values, custom in ones,
macrosystem permeates all the
interaction in other layer’s and
reaches the individual.

Example: In western countries like the U.S,
most of the young people are expected to
be more independent by the time they end
their teen-age years. While in Asian
countries like ours, parent is expected to
support or at least want to support their
children for a longer period of time.
 CHRONOSYSTEM - Covers the
elements of time as it relates to a
child’s environment. This involves
“patterns of stability and change” in
the child life.
ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM THEORY -
focuses on the quality and context of the
child’s environment.
BIOECOLOGICAL THEORY - helps us
determine how the different circumstances,
conditions and relationships in the world
affect the child as he or she goes through
the more or else predictable sequence of
natural growth and development.
THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS AND
TEACHERS:
 He concludes that “the instability and
unpredictability of family life is the
most destructive force to a child’s
development.
 If the relationships in the immediate
Microsystems break down, the child
will not have the tools to explore
other parts of his environment.
 Bronfenbrenner believes that “the
primary relationship needs to be with
someone who can provide a sense
of caring that is meant to last a
lifetime.
 Bronfenbrenner also stressed that
society should value work done on
behalf of children at all levels, and
consequently value parent’s
teacher's extended family, mentors,
work supervisors, legislators.
KOHLBERG'S STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
A Psychological Look at The Importance of
Morality
“Right action tends to be defined in terms
of general individual rights and standards
that have been critically examined and
agreed upon by the whole society.”
– Lawrence Kohlberg
• Kohlberg based his theory on the
findings of Piaget – cognitive
development.
• Our ability to choose right from
wrong is tied with our ability to
understand and reason logically.
THE STAGES
• In a 1958 dissertation, Kohlberg
wrote what are now known as
Kohlberg's stages of moral
development.
• These stages explain the
development of moral reasoning.
• Created while studying psychology
at the University of Chicago, the
theory was inspired by the work of
Jean Piaget and a fascination with
children's reactions to moral
dilemmas.
• Kohlberg’s theory holds that moral
reasoning, which is the basis for
ethical behavior, has six identifiable
developmental constructive stages -
each more adequate at responding
to moral dilemmas than the last
• He determined that the process of
moral development was principally
concerned with justice and that its
development continued throughout
the life span.
• Kohlberg studied moral reasoning by
presenting subjects with moral
dilemmas.
• He would then categorize and
classify the reasoning used in the
responses, into one of six distinct
stages, grouped into three levels:
pre-conventional, conventional
and post-conventional. Each level
contains two stages.
LEVEL 1 – PRE-CONVENTIONAL
– Child’s level (0-9 years old).
(However, some adults act
out of this level.)
– People at this level judge the
morality of an action by its
direct consequences.
– solely concerned with the self
in an egocentric manner.
 – Person has not yet adopted or for obedience or about right and wrong -
internalized society's disobedience. principles that typically
conventions regarding what is – Adherence to rules and include such basic human
right or wrong, but instead conventions is somewhat rights as life, liberty, and
focuses largely on external rigid, however. justice. Because of this level’s
consequences that certain – Approval of others, law and “nature of self before others”,
actions may bring. order the behavior of post-
conventional individuals,
Stage 1. Punishment avoidance and especially those at stage six,
Obedience orientation Stage 3. Good Boy/Good girl: can be confused with that of
One is motivated by fear of Interpersonal accord and conformity / those at the pre-conventional
punishment. Social Approval level.
How can I avoid punishment? Social norms – Recognizing the principles
The good boy/good girl attitude behind the law
Stage 2. Exchange of Favors: Self- Motivated by what others expect in
interest orientation/Mutual Benefit behavior, how he/she appears to Stage 5. Social contract orientation
What's in it for me? Paying for a others, what people will think or say. Laws that are wrong can be
benefit changed.
“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch Stage 4. Law & Order: Authority and One will act based on social justice
yours.” social order maintaining orientation. & the common good.
Law and order morality, Uphold law
and order. Stage 6. Universal ethical principles
LEVEL 2 – CONVENTIONAL Follow the law because it is the law. Principled conscience, moral
responsibility to make societal
– typical of adolescents and LEVEL 3 – POST-CONVENTIONAL changes regardless of
adults (9-20 years old). consequences to oneself (ex.
– Those who reason in a – There is a growing realization Mother Teresa)
conventional way judge the that individuals are separate
morality of actions by entities from society, and that
comparing them to the individual’s own
society's views and perspective may take
expectations. precedence over society’s
– At this level an individual view; they may disobey
obeys rules and follows rules inconsistent with their
society's norms even when own principles.
there are no consequences – These people live by their
own abstract principles