Jean Piaget was a famous Swiss psychologist who studied childhood development of the mind. His famous theories combine to include the "genetic epistemology" theory, in which he made major contributions to cognitive development of children. The theory of cognitive development has touched the lives of many and shaped the world of pscyhology as we know it today.
Piaget’s main focus of his theory was maturation, or how a child grows up. He focused on cognitive development, a study that focuses on mental processes and sensory over time. Piaget thus developed four stages of a child’s life that showed maturation over time. Each stage builds upon what is accomplished in the previous stage, which shows maturity over time. Piaget’s four stages of development are known as sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
The sensorimotor stage takes place from around the ages of birth to two years old. At this stage, children cannot think of things that aren't present at a certain time, thus, they rely on vision and developing senses. The child relies also on his perception, and cannot think of anyone or anything but himself. For instance, a baby cries when he is tired, not thinking about if his parents may be tired, and cannot communicate in another way to express what he is feeling or what he needs. Piaget also further classified this particular stage into six substages, which all respectively deal with mental and physical development of a baby.
The next stage is preoperational. From around ages 2 through 7, children build upon the developments made from the earlier stage. A child’s mind capacity is growing and the child has greater thinking abilities. For instance, a child is learning to speak and remember certain things, but can still not completely use logic and reason. For example, a child can speak and describe objects and events, such as grouping certain objects based on color or shape. A child can also play certain games, many of which are imaginative or for pure fun.
The next stage is known as the Concrete Operational stage. This is the third out of the four stages of development for children, which occurs from around 7 to 11 or 12 years of age. A child has grown more mature, but is not completely developed yet. During this stage, children begin to show signs of using logical thinking similar to adults. However their logical thinking is limited to reasoning about real-life situations only. A child begins to learn that his thoughts are not the only thing that classifies the world. Moreover, a child’s perception is different than those around him. Children are able to think logically, and classify and identify objects more than just color and shape. For instance, a child can use numbers and advanced characteristics to classify an object as well as events and people.
The final stage is known as Formal Operational stage, taking place from around age 12 through adulthood. At this stage, a child can fully reason and use logic for certain interpretation. A child can fully use his mind for thought and knowledge, for instance, a child can use advanced knowledge for topics such as math and science. Some people today argue whether or not this stage is even ever fully reached.
In conclusion, Piaget came up with these four distinct stages, but recognized that the time in which each child reaches each stage differs from child to child. It is based off one’s experiences and interactions with those around him that will shape a child’s life. For instance, how a child approaches a conflict situation is determined by the stage the child is in, and how he will react, maturely or immaturely.
