Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

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• Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

1. Jean Piaget
   1. Swiss zoologist
   2. Interested in child behaviour
   3. Made a major contribution to the topic
      1. Two main contributions
         1. 1. The way children think changes qualitatively as they get older
         2. 2. These changes are driven by biological development (maturation)
   4. Changed the way psychologists viewed cognitive development
2. Theory
   1. A self constructed mental structure (schema) can be behavioural or cognitive
      1. At birth a child has a few schemas
         1. These are developed over time through interactions with the environment
            1. Adaptation takes place through the processes assimilation and accomodation
               1. Assimilation is the process whereby a new experience is understood in terms of an existing schema
               2. Accomodation is the process of modifying existing schemas to fit new experiences
               3. Accomodation and assimilation occur simultaneously
3. Cognitive development influenced by...
   1. Maturation - effects of aging
      1. As children get older, certain mental operations become possible
   2. Environment - interactions with the environment, understanding of the world becomes more complex