1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 1

UNIT- 13
PERSONALITY

Prepared by
Poonam Rana
Department of Psychiatric Nursing
MN,10Th Batch
Piaget theory of cognitive development

1/5/2023
NMC, NC 2
General Objective:

• At the end of the class, B.Sc Nursing and BNS 2 nd year students will
be able to explain about Cognitive development Theory of Jean Piaget.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 3

Specific Objectives:

At the end of the class, B.Sc Nursing and BNS 2 nd year students will be
able to:
• define the terms
• describe about the Component of Jean Piaget’s
• explain about the Stages of Cognitive Development theory of Jean
Piaget’s
• explain the application of theory

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 4

 Introduction (1/2)
• Jean Piaget ( August 9, 1896- September 16, 1980) was
Swiss psychologist who developed Cognitive
Development theory suggests that children's
intelligence undergoes changes as they grow.

• He is a natural scientist and developmental

psychologist well known for his work studying children
and his theory of cognitive development.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 5

 Introduction (2/2)

• Piaget studied children from infancy to adolescence, and carried out

many of his own investigations using his three children .

• Cognitive Development is the combined result between the maturity of

the brain and nervous system with the environment adjustments.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 6

There are three basic components of cognitive development:

1. Schemas
2. Adaptations
i. Assimilation
ii. Accommodation
iii. Equilibrium
3. Stages of Development

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 7

Key concepts
1.Schema : (categories of knowledge ):

• Knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the world.

2. Adaptation : Intellectual growth as a process of adaptation which result

from 3 processes:

i. Assimilation (adding to an existing schema)

Using an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 8

ii. Accommodation (Changing on existing schema):

Another part of adaptation involves changing or altering and existing

schemas in light of new information, a process known as accommodation.

iii. Equilibration:

A balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and

changing behavior to account for new knowledge (accommodation).

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 9

Stages of Cognitive Development:

• Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development state that children move

through four different stages of intellectual development which reflect the
increasing difficulty of children’s thought.

• His theory focuses on understanding how children acquire knowledge

regarding fundamental concepts such as object permanence, number,
categorization, quantity, causality and justice.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 10

Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development include:

1. Sensorimotor: Birth to ages 18-24 months

2. Preoperational: Toddlerhood (18-24 months) through early childhood
(age 7)
3. Concrete Operational: Age 7 to 11 years
4. Formal operational: Adolescence to Adulthood

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 11

1. Sensory Motor Stage (0-2 years)

• During this stage child received the information through all the senses
and motor actions.

• The child tries to make sense of the world during this stage by
coordinating sensory experiences (seeing, hearing) with motor actions
(reaching, touching).

• Object permanence or object constancy develop when they grow older.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 12

Six sub-stages of first stage given by Piaget:

1. Stages of Reflex activities: (birth to 1 month)

2. Primary circular reactions: (1-4 months)

3. Secondary circular reactions : (4-8 months)

4. Coordination of secondary reactions: (8-12 months):

5. Tertiary circular reactions: (12-18 months)

6. Early representation thought: (18- 24 months):

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 13
1. Stage of reflex activities: (birth to 1 month)

The child understands the environment purely through

inborn reflexes or Building knowledge through reflexes
(Grasping, Sucking)

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 14

2.Primary circular reactions :(1-4 months)

• Sensation and schema get coordinated.

• Primary - Infants focus on their own bodies

• Circular – Repetition

• Actions are repeated because the infant finds them pleasurable.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 15

3. Secondary Circular Reaction (4-8 Months)

• The child becomes more focused on the world and begins to intentionally
repeat their action to get a response form the environment.

"Out of sight, out of mind".

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 16

4. Coordination of secondary Reaction (8-12 Months)

• After repeatedly observing that certain actions lead to

certain consequences, infants gradually acquire
knowledge of cause-effect relationships.

• Example a child might realize that a rattle will make a

sound when shaken.

• During this substage, the child starts to show clearly

intentional actions.

• At this stage, Object permanence is acquired.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 17
5. Tertiary Circular Reaction (12-18
Months)

• This is a stage of Trial and Error.

• Explore their surroundings, make

mistakes and repeat their mistake to seek
attention form their caregivers.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 18

6. Early Representational Thought(18-24 Months)

• Children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in

the world in the final sensorimotor substage.

• During this time, children begin to move towards understanding

the world through mental operations rather than purely through
actions.

• Repetitions of others behavior after it has occurred. (imitation)

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 19

 2. Pre Operational Stage (2-7 years)
• During this stage, young children can think
about things symbolically.
• They begin to use language, memory and
imagination.
• there are two sub-stages of this stage

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 20

1. Pre-conceptual stage (2-4 years)

i. Egocentrism: Children believe that their way of thinking is the only

way to think.

ii. Animism: Children tend to refer to inanimate objects as if they have

life-like qualities and are capable of actions.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 21

2. Intuitive stage (4-7 years)
• Difficulty in conservation .
• Cannot do reversible thinking.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 22

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)

• Can do operation on concrete objects but find it hard to solve abstract

problems.
• During this stage children begin to thinking logically about concrete
event.
• Begin to understand the concept of conservation.
• Understanding of reversibility

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 23

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)

• Elimination of ego-centrism and begin to think about how other

people might think and feel.

• During this stage, the child begin to develop transitivity, seriation

classification and decentric.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 24

 Seriation
Transitivity

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 25

4. Formal Operational Stage (12 years-Adulthood)

• The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, during this
time, thinking moves from concrete to abstract.

• The ability to think about the hypothetical possibilities and to solve

problems through logical deductions and in a systematic manner.

• Begins to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to

specific information as well as inductive logic.
1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 26
Applications of Piaget's theory (1/3)

• Teach parent about process of child's cognitive development and the

implications for education purchasing of toys and interactions.

• Assess cognitive development to determine language and abstraction

level to use in therapy.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 27

Applications of Piaget's theory (2/3)

• This theory provides broad development perspective to the

teachers and curriculum designer to make a better curriculum
for the children.

• Emphasis on discovery approach in learning because child

learn faster by doing things, rather than hearing about them.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 28

Applications of Piaget's theory (3/3)

• Use collaborative, as well as individual activities because Kids learn

as much from each other as from parents or teachers.

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 29

• Summarization

1/5/2023 Piaget theory of cognitive development 30

12/25/2022 Emotion 31