JEAN PIAGET

Piaget is a Swiss psychologist famous for his work on Child

Development and his Theory on Cognitive Development.
Basic Cognitive Concepts
Basic Cognitive Concepts

● Schema
Piaget used the term
“schema” to refer to the cognitive
structures by which individuals
intellectually adapt to and organize
their environment.
Basic Cognitive Concepts

● Assimilation
This is the process of
fitting a new experience into an
existing or previously created
cognitive structure or schema.
Basic Cognitive Concepts

● Accommodation
This is the
process of creating a
new schema.
Basic Cognitive Concepts
● Equilibration
Achieving a proper balance
between assimilation and
accommodation.
● Cognitive Disequilibrium
A discrepancy
between what is perceived and what is
understood.
 Overview
Theory describes the cognitive development in children
 Sensorimotor
From Birth to Infancy

Children experience the world through senses and movement

Stage 1:Sensori-motor Stage

Object Permanence
The ability of the child to
know that an object still exist
even when out of sight.
 Preoperational
From age Two up until age Seven

Children can think things symbolically

 Stage 2: Pre-operational Stage
● Symbolic Function
This is the ability to represents objects and events.
● Egocentrism
This is a tendency of the child to only see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has his same point of view .
● Centration
This refer to the tendency of the child to only focus on one aspect of
a thing or event and exclude other aspects.
● Irreversibility
Pre- operational children still have the inability to reverse their
thinking.
● Animism
This is the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or
characteristics to inanimate objects.
● Transductive reasoning
This refers to the pre-operational child’s type of reasoning that is
 Concrete Operation
From age Eight to Eleven Years

Children begin to think logically about Concrete events

Stage 3: Concrete-Operational Stage
● Decentering
This refers to the ability of the child to perceived the different
features of objects and situations.
● Reversibility
During the stage of concrete operations, the child can now follow
that certain operations can be done in reverse.
● Conservation
This is the ability to know that certain properties of objects like
number, mass,volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in
appearance.
The children progress to attain conservation abilities gradually
being a preconserver, a transitional thinker and then a conserver.
● Seriation
This refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a series
based on one dimension such as weight, volume or size.
 Formal Operations
From age Twelve and fifteen years

Children understand the abstract and deductive

Stage 4: Formal Operational Stage
● Hypothetical Reasoning
This is the ability to come up with different hypothesis
about a problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a
final decision or judgement.
● Analogical Reasoning
This is the ability to perceive the relationship in one
instance and then use that relationship to narrow down possible
answers in another similar situation or problem.
● Deductive Reasoning
This is the ability to think logically by applying a
general rule to a particular instance or situation.
Criticism
THANK
YOU!!!
 KOHLBERG’S
THEORY OF
MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
Kohlberg’s Theory
Cognitive in nature, Kohlberg’s theory focuses on the
thinking process that occurs when one decides whether a
behavior is right or wrong.

Thereotical emphasis: how one decides to respond to a

moral dilemma, not one decides or what one actually
does.

Framework : Six Stages arranged sequentially in

successive tiers of complexity organized into three
general levels of moral development.
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

An American psychologist who extended

upon the foundation that Piaget built
regarding cognitive development

Moral development also proceeds in

stages

He developed his theory by posing moral

dilemmas to people of all ages, then
analyzed their answers to find evidence
of their stage in the moral development
Heinz Dilemma
There was one drug that the
Heinz’ wife was
doctors thought might save her.
near death from
It was a form of radium that the
a special kind
druggist in the same town had
of cancer.
recently discovered.
Heinz Dilemma
The drug was He paid $200 for the
expensive, but the radium and charge $2,000
druggist was charging l0 for a small dose of the
times what it cost him to drug.
produce.
Heinz Dilemma
The sick woman’s He told the druggist The druggist said,
husband, Heinz, that his wife was “No,I discovered
went to everyone he dying and asked if he the drug and I
knew to borrow would sell it to him at expect to make
money, but he could a cheaper price. He money from it.”
only get together also agreed to pay
$l,000 which was half the full amount when
the cost. he was able.
Heinz Dilemma

Heinz become
desperate and broke
into the man’s store
and stole the drug for
his wife.
QUESTIONS

Yes or No?
Should Heinz have stolen the drug for his wife?

Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his

wife?
What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make
any difference?
Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the
woman died?
Lawrence Kohlberg - Moral Development
Level l: Pre -
conventional Stage l Stage 2
morality

Level 2:
Conventional Stage 3 Stage 4
morality

Level 3: Post -
conventional Stage 5 Stage 6
morality
 A B C
Heinz should Heinz should not Heinz should
steal the drugs, steal the drugs, steal the drug,
and not go to since he would and accept
prison as this is be breaking the any prison
unfair. law. sentence.
 State of mind
mostly up to 7th You are probably in the
year of our life Level 1: Pre-conventional morality

B Right and wrong determined

by rewards / punishment

Heinz should
not steal the Stage 1: Obedience and Stage 2: Mutual Benefit
drugs, since he Punishmenmt Behavior is determined
would be Behavior is determined by again by consequencies.
breaking the consequencies. The The individual focuses on
law. individual will obey in receiving rewards
order to avoid satisfying personal needs.
punishment.
8- 13 years old You are probably in the
Level 2: Conventional morality

Views of other matters.

C Avoidance of blame and
seeking approval.

Heinz should Stage 3: Social Approval Stage 4: Law and Order

steal the drug, Behavior is determined by
and accept social approval. The
any prison individual wants to maintain
or win the affection and
sentence. approval of others by being a
“good person”.
Social rules and laws determined
behavior. The individual now takes into
consideration a larger perspective, that
of societal laws. Moral decision making
becomes more than consideration of
close ties to others. The individual
believes that rules and laws maintain
social order that is worth preserving.
 You are probably in the
Adulthood Level 3: post - conventional morality

Abstract Notions of Justice.

A Rights of others can override
obedience to laws/rules.

Stage 5: Social Contract Stage 6: Universal Principles

Heinz should Individual rights determine behavior.
steal the drugs, The individual views laws and rules as
flexible tools for improving human
and not go to the purposes. That is, given the right
prison as this is situation, there are exceptions to rules.
unfair. When laws are not consistent with
individual rights and the interests of the
majority, it does not bring about good
for people and alternatives should be
considered.
This is the highest stage of functioning.
However, Kohlberg claimed that some
individuals can never reach this level. At this
stage, the appropriate action is determined
by one’s self-chosen ethical priniples of
conscience. These principles are abstract
and universal in application. This type of
reasoning involves taking the perspective of
every person or group that potentially be
affected by the decision.
Lawrence Kohlberg - Moral Development
Level l: Pre - Stage 2:
Stage l:Obedience
conventional Mutual
and Punishment
morality Benefit

Level 2: Stage 3:Social Stage 4:

Conventional Approval Law and Order
morality

Level 3: Post - Stage 6:

Stage 5:Social
conventional Universal
Contract
morality Principles
RESEARCH FINDINGS

Kohlberg (l984)

20 year duration study of 58 American males who progressed as

predicted through stages l-4.

l0 - l6 years old stages l & 2 decreased & stage 3 & 4 increased.

But only l0% at stage 5 in their 30’s.

No evidence at stage 6.
RESEARCH FINDINGS

Snarey (l985) - meta - analysis of 44 studies

from 27 cultures

Supports Kohlberg prediction through stages l-4.

Stages 5 more in western cultures than rural or village

cultures.
RESEARCH FINDINGS

Isawa (l992) - Cross cultural analysis of

Japan & USA

USA participants favored Heinz stealing to preserved his

wife’s life.

Japanese participants thought he should not steal to

preserved a clean & pure life.
RESEARCH FINDINGS

Carol Gillidan (l982) - Kohlberg is sex-biased-

androcentrism (GK. Andro=man/male)

Kohlberg only interviewed males.

Females-stage 3 (interpersonal feelings).

Males - stages 4 and 5 (principles).

THANK YOU
Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Theory
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Born on April 29, l9l7 in Moscow,
Russia.

Died on September 25, 2005 in

Ithaca, New York U.S.

Russian - born American

psychologist best known for having
developed Human Ecology Theory
(Ecologiocal System Theory).
 Bronfenbrenner’s
Bioecological Model:Structure
of Environment

Microsystem

Mesosystem

Exosystem

Macrosystem

Chronosystem
 Microsystem

Smallest
and
Immediate
environment
 Mesosystem

Connections

Interaction of the
different
microsystems
Linkages between
home and school,
peer group and
family,family and
community
 Exosystem

Indirect
Environment

May not contain

the developing
children but
affect them
indirectly
 Macrosystem

Largest
and most
distant
collection
of people
and places
 Chronosystem

Change
and
constancy
in the
children’s
environme
nts
THANK YOU