Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

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Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a Swiss psychologist who had a lifelong interest in how individuals, especially children, use cognitive development to adapt to the world around them. Piaget published his first paper by the age of 10, completed his bachelor’s degree by the age of 18, and at the age of 22 received his PhD from the University of Neuchatel. Piaget spent many years of his life researching the developmental and cognitive knowledge of children. The Theory of Cognitive Development places focus on human intelligence and developmental thinking. “Influenced by his background in biology, Piaget (1950) viewed intelligence as a process that helps an organism adapt to its environment” (Rider and Sigelman, 2006, p.41). At an early age, and pretty much the rest of his life, Piaget devoted many years of his life to the study of Cognitive Development in children. According to Piaget, children use their own interpretation of the world to help them solve problems. “The interaction between biological maturation (most importantly a developing brain) and experience (especially discrepancies between the child’s understanding and reality) is responsible to the child’s progress from one state of cognitive development to a new, qualitatively stage” (Rider & Sigelman, 2006, p.42). Jean Piaget’s argument was children’s cognitive development evolves naturally throughout four stages. To help individuals grasp his idea of Cognitive Development, Jean Piaget came up with four stages. Piaget’s stages include: Sensorimoter, Preoperational, Concrete Operations, and Formal Operations.

Sensorimoter (stage one)

The Sensorimoter stage focuses on infants to children 2 years of age. As the stage name implies, infants use their motor and sensor a...

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Broderick, P.C., & Blewitt, P., (2009). The Life Span: Human Development for Helping Professionals 3rd Edition.

Cook-Cotton, C. (2004). Using Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development to Understand the Construction of Healing Narratives. Journal of College Counseling, 7(2), p.177-186. Retrieved from PsycINFOdatabase.

Fortosis, S. & Garland, K., (1990). Adolescent Cognitive Development, Piaget’s Idea of Disequilibration, and the Issue of Christian Nurture. Religious Education, 85(4), p. 631-644.

Hinde, E.R., & Perry, N. (2007). Elementary Teachers’ Application of Jean Piaget’s Theories of Cognitive Development during Social Studies Curriculum Debates in Arizona. The Elementary School Journal, 108(1), 63-79.

Sigelman, C.K., & Rider, E.A.,(2006). Life-Span Human Development 5th Edition.

Vernon, A., (2004). Counseling Children and Adolescents 3rd Edition

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