Jean Piaget

Sept 23rd 2010

Today in class we were asked two questions:

-What things in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development fit into your schema through assimilation?

- What things in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development fit into your schema through accommodation?

Perhaps first I should define assimilation and accommodation. According to the textbook, assimilation is an act in which individuals incorporate new knowledge into existing knowledge, and accommodation is an act in which individuals adjust to new information. This means that assimilation agrees with the knowledge you already have, and with accommodation you need to make room for new information in your head.

A girl names Theresa and I discussed these questions and we decided that the first stage fits through assimilation. The first stage is called the sensorimotor stage, and we thought that it was pretty straightforward. The sensorimotor stage is from birth to age 2. It involves development of movement and recognition of senses and what they are.

The second age is called the preoperational stage. I had a few issues with this stage, relating to the ages it covers. According to Piaget, the preoperational stage occurs from the ages of 2-7. He says that the child represents the world with words and images. They reflect increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the connection of sensory info and physical action. I don’t agree with this because I think that a two year old is lightyears away from a seven year old in development; a two year old is still a toddler! Some two year olds are barely potty trained, and a seven year old has been in elementary school for a few years already. I understand that his stages relate to development and not necessarily maturity, but isn’t that almost the same thing? The textbook says that young children begin to use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, etc. Then it goes on to say that in the elementary school years, children’s drawings become more realistic, neat, and precise. So to clarify in my head, considering that these were both said under the preoperational stage subheading, they’re contradicting Piaget right in the textbook! The example they use is a three and a half year old and an eleven year old; however a 2 year old and a 7 year old still have many defining differences. A 2 year old can barely hold a pen, and a 7 year old has been doing writing exercises in school for a couple years already. I don’t mean to undermine Piaget by any means, but I just believe that he could have given more thought to the difference between two year olds and seven year olds. I also must add that this fits into my schema through accommodation.

The last two development stages are the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. They cover the ages of 7-11 years, and eleven years through adulthood, respectively. The concrete operational stage is when a child can reason logically about concrete events and classify objects. The formal operational stage is when the person can reason in more abstract, idealistic, and logical ways. These last two stages and well as the first one fit into my schema through assimilation.

In summary, I’d like to say that I’m glad I studies Piaget’s perspective, however I am also very much looking forward to seeing who will challenge his theories.