Piaget - An Overview

I. Developmental Processes

A. Structures
1. unobservable mental systems that underlie intelligence and intelligent behavior

2. abstract, representations = schemes


B. Functional Invariants
 

1. organization  
a. integration of structures into high-order systems or structures
  2. adaptation a. assimilation 1. change environment to fit current understanding - e.g., play

2. functional assimilation
 

 b. accommodation
  1. change understanding to fit current environment - e.g., imitation
  c. both are complementary and necessary


C. Equilibration
 

1. attempt to keep one’s cognitive structures in balance
  a. alter one’s cognitive structures

b. but, can ignore or distort instead


2. integrates knowledge into a unified whole
 

a. equilibrium -> disequilibrium -> equilibrium


II. Some assumptions

A. Child as scientific problem solver
1. development = adaptation to reality

2. only certain problems stimulate growth

3. reactions to unfamiliar situations

B. Intrinsic Activity
1. initiate and seek knowledge

2. in contrast to behaviorism

C. Constructive Nature 1. reality is based on what is in our heads and in the environment

2. unique developmental perspective
 

a. both qualitative and quantitative
D. Epigenesis 1. bidirectional influence of nature & nurture

2. new cognitive skills arise not fully formed, but can be traced to the transformation of an earlier structure

 E. Methodological considerations
1. flexible rather than standardized
a. allows investigation of interesting phenomena
III. Stages
A. general characteristics
1. invariant and culturally universal

2. domain general

B. Sensorimotor Stage 1. substages
  a. 1: reflex activity (0 - 1 mos)

b. 2: primary circular reactions (1 - 4 mos.) first differentiations

c. 3: (4 - 8 mos.) reproduction

d. 4: coordination of secondary circular reactions (8 - 12 mos) coordination of schemata

e. 5: tertiary circular reactions (12 - 18 mos) experimentation

f. 6: mental representation (18 - 24 mos)


2. some achievements
 

a. object permanence

b. imitation
C. Development of operations
1. operations
a. similarities across the last 3 stages
1. mental representation, symbol use
b. differ in their presence/use of operations 1. mental, internalized action, organized, logical (reversible: negation/inversion & compensation/reciprocity

2. transition from preoperational to concrete operational thought
 

a. limits
  1. egocentrism

2. perceptually bound
 

 b. symbolic representations
  1. earliest sign = deferred imitation

2. symbols vs. signs
 

a. personal vs. conventional

b. egocentric communication
 

 c. conservation
1. young preoperational children do not conserve at all

2. later, conservation when perceptual differences are small

3. finally, consider both dimensions at once
d. egocentricity
1. the 3-mountain task (Piaget & Inhelder)

2. perceptual centration vs. decentration

3. states vs. transformations

4. classification

5. class inclusion

D. transition from concrete to formal operations
1. hypothetico-deductive reasoning (broad -> specific)

2. inductive reasoning (specific -> broad)

3. relative abstraction

4. propositional logic


Piaget - An Evaluation of his Theory

I. How accurately does the theory describe particular aspects of children’s thinking?

A. replication
1. successful

2. non-Western societies

a. delays

b. formal operational reasoning

B. language considerations
 
1. mostly not a concern
C. conceptual understanding - two examples
1. Baillargeon (1987)

2. Gelman (1972)

II. How stagelike is children’s thinking?
A. qualitative changes
1. Diamond (1985)

2. catastrophe theory

B. similar reasoning on different problems
1. decalage

2. possibilities

a. similarity is most apparent early in a stage (Flavell, 1982)

b. consistency at the most advanced level (Fischer, 1980)
C. can development be accelerated?
1. yes, but older children learn more easily


III. How well do Piaget’s generalizations fit children’s thinking?

A. egocentrism
1. in the preoperational stage
a. correct orientations of pictures

b. lying

2. in the concrete operational stage
a. "phone conversations"
3. in formal operations
a. the imaginary audience

b. the personal fable


IV. The current status

A. heuristic value

B. guides present research

C. recognition of infant intelligence

D. basic questions are right

1. what capabilities are present at birth?

2. what capabilities are present at later ages?

3. what processes lead to these increases?