Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory Analysis

The first stage of Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory is the sensorimotor stage. The sensorimotor stage begins once an individual is born and ends around the time that the individual turns two years old (McLeod, 2015). Since the sensorimotor stage only lasts for approximately two years, it is the shortest stage of Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory. According to Santrock in our textbook, “in the sensorimotor stage infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical and motor actions” (Santrock, 2014, p. 95). Wood, Smith, and Grossniklaus state, “in this stage Infants cannot predict reaction, and therefore must constantly experiment and learn through trial and
The concrete operational stage roughly occurs from the age of seven to the age of eleven (Grossniklaus et al., 2001). Saul McLeod states in an article, “the concrete operational stage marks the beginning of logical and operational thought” (McLeod, 2010). He also discusses how during the concrete operational stage “children gain the abilities of conservation (number, area, volume, orientation) and reversibility” (McLeod, 2010). According to Boeree, “Conservation refers to the idea that a quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance” (Boeree, 2009). When children are in the concrete operational stage they gain the ability to put things in order based on a quantitative dimension (Santrock, 2014, p. 199). The ability to put things in order based on a quantitative dimension is known as seriation (Santrock, 2014, p. 199). McLeod states in an article, “their thinking is more organized and rational during the concrete operation stage” (McLeod, 2010). In the article McLeod also mentions, “during this stage children can solve problems in a logical fashion, but are typically not able to think abstractly or hypothetically” (McLeod, 2010). One of the last abilities that children usually obtain during the concrete operational stage is “the ability to classify or divide things into different sets or subsets and to consider their interrelationships” according to Santrock (Santrock,
This stage is by far the longest stage of Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory. It lasts from the age of eleven all the way through adulthood (Grossniklaus et al., 2001). According to McLeod, “during the formal operational stage adolescents gain the ability to think in an abstract way” (McLeod, 2010). During this stage adolescents are also capable of merging and classifying things in a more complicated manner (McLeod, 2010). “Adolescents additionally develop a capacity for higher-order reasoning” according to McLeod in an article (McLeod, 2010). McLeod discusses in the article, “adolescents are able to do mathematical calculations, think creatively, use abstract reasoning, and imagine the outcome of particular actions during the formal operational stage” (McLeod, 2010). During the formal operational stage “adolescents also become capable of testing hypotheses systematically”, states Atherton (Atherton, 2013). Atherton also states, “adolescents become concerned with hypothetical, the future, and ideological problems during this stage” (Atherton, 2013). One of the final things that adolescents gain in the formal operational stage is the ability to alter ideas without having to rely on concrete manipulation (McLeod,