Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan Chapter Notes | AP Psychology - Grade 11 PDF Download

Introduction

Piaget’s Cognitive Stages of DevelopmentSchemas in Piaget's theory

Piaget’s theory explains how children construct mental models, or schemas, to understand their environment. These schemas adapt through two key processes:

• Assimilation: Incorporating new information into existing schemas.
• Accommodation: Modifying or creating new schemas when existing ones are inadequate.

This adaptation occurs gradually or in sudden insights as children engage with their surroundings.

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to ~2 Years)

Infants learn through sensory experiences and physical actions. A key milestone is developing object permanence:

• Newborns believe objects cease to exist when out of sight.
• By around 8 months, babies search for partially hidden objects.
• By 18–24 months, infants fully grasp that objects exist even when unseen.

Preoperational Stage (2–7 Years)

Children begin using symbols and language to represent the world, engaging in pretend play. They also start developing theory of mind, recognizing that others hold different beliefs and thoughts.

Limitations include:

• Lack of conservation (understanding that quantity remains constant despite appearance changes).
• Inability to mentally reverse actions.
• Animistic thinking (attributing life to inanimate objects).
• Egocentrism (difficulty seeing perspectives other than their own).

Concrete Operational Stage (7–11 Years)

Children develop logical thinking about concrete situations, mastering:

• Conservation of number, mass, and volume.
• Reversibility of actions.
• Classification and seriation (organizing objects by characteristics or order).
• Spatial reasoning.

Abstract and hypothetical thinking remains challenging.

Formal Operational Stage (12 Years and Beyond)

Abstract thinking emerges, enabling:

• Systematic problem-solving.
• Abstract reasoning.
• Hypothetical thinking.
• Understanding complex scientific concepts.