Jean Piaget, born in 1896 in Switzerland, built the platform upon which modern developmental psychology and cognitive development theories sit. Piaget was a child prodigy. He published his first scientific paper on molluscs at age 15, with 20 papers on the topic by his late teens. At the University of Zurich, Piaget studied under Carl Jung and developed an interest in both psychoanalysis and the scientific process. Eventually, he moved to France to pursue the ideas that would make him famous–developmental psychology.
Piaget was most interested in how children acquire knowledge, a field he dubbed genetic epistemology. Piaget considered himself a constructivist–the idea that humans create knowledge through the interaction of thoughts and ideas. This position leaned more toward the nurture side of the ongoing nature vs nurture debate.
People are drawn to Piaget ideas for many reasons, particularly for how widespread and applicable they still are. So, if you're thinking about becoming a psychologist, are enrolled in an FNP program in Texas, or work with children in the US healthcare system, familiarizing yourself with these developmental stages is vital as these ideas lay the foundation for the stages of development, theorized according to Piaget and used widely today.
Schemas
One of Piaget’s most widely-known ideas was that patterns of behavior and thought could be described as mental frameworks that we draw upon when presented with a familiar (or unfamiliar) situation. How do we develop or program these frameworks? Well, imagine a child who grows up in the countryside and has a horse. One day, this child goes on a safari and sees a zebra. What does the child who has never seen a zebra think? Well, if they use their existing ‘horse schema’ to explain this strange creature, the child may well just say, “Mummy, look at that black and white horse.” This process is called assimilation. If the Mother responds, “Darling, that is called a zebra – it's like a horse but different,” then the child will create a new ‘zebra schema.’ This process is called accommodation.
What does this have to do with the developmental stages? Well, as children move between stages, their schemas either keep up, constantly adapting and assimilating to new ideas, thoughts, and knowledge, or they don't. When children fail to develop schemas fast enough, they fall out of ‘equilibrium.’ They simply do not have enough concepts to keep up with the world around them and cannot develop appropriately.
1) The sensorimotor stage - birth to age 2
As the name suggests, this stage is predominantly about developing a relationship between their bodies and the environment, using their senses to make sense of the world around them. In this stage, infants are only able to use their senses to interact with objects they encounter; as anyone who has been around a toddler will know, children kick, suck, scream, and stare constantly. Much to the average parent's frustration, these interactions are constantly building your child's knowledge base (epistemology).
Piaget was particularly interested in the concept of ‘object permanence’ as a measure of developmental progress. In one of his most renowned and repeated experiments, Piaget placed a toy in front of a child. After the child had observed said toy it was obscured inside a box. Immediately after the object was obscured, the child would lose interest in it–seemingly forgetting its existence. This suggests that infants only know an object exists if it is in front of them. The same applies to peek-a-boo. Children only act shocked when they reappear up to a certain age.
2) Preoperational stage - 2 to 7
As the name suggests, Piaget saw children at this stage as working toward being fully operational. There are two main ways this is observed.
This comes back to the object permanence tests in stage one. Children should now be able to tell that when you hide something from them, it still exists, meaning peek-a-boo probably won't work. On the bright side, children start to develop a real imagination. They can remember where they have traveled, their ideas, thoughts, and people. Even with all these bright new ideas, Piaget suggested that their thinking is still rather limited, particularly to one mental problem at a time.
- Intuitive thought
In this substage, children start to depend more on reasoning rather than just observation. Their problem-solving skills become more rational. However, they might not have the ability to articulate their thought process or the reasons behind their conclusions.
3) Concrete operational stage - 7 to 11
This is when kids start using good logic. However, their thinking is still very concrete. They can come up with more complex ideas and understand the world around them but still come to the wrong conclusions too often. There are three main subcategories to this stage:
- Conservation and reversibility
Conservation refers to the comprehension that objects can undergo changes in their physical properties, such as dimensions or volume, but fundamentally stay the same. Reversibility implies that certain altered things can revert to their initial state while others cannot. A common test for this is the glass test. A child is shown a short glass of water, and after the water is poured into a tall glass, children believe there is more water when the volume is the same.
- Classification
Children can categorize items into groups and subgroups. For instance, they can assemble items based on attributes like color, form, or commonalities, i.e., they would be helpful if you dropped their crayons.
- Seriation
Seriation is the capability of a child to arrange objects based on factors like height, weight, or significance. This is an important concept to understand, as children need it to process complex math and science.
4) Formal operational stage 12+
Your child is finished–congrats. Not quite. They are, however, able to perform complex logical tasks, understand how abstract problems function, and remember logical patterns. They can also think hypothetically, meaning they can consider multiple outcomes or possibilities. They can understand and use symbols related to advanced mathematical or scientific concepts. They can reason about abstract concepts such as justice, love, or morality. They can also engage in introspective thinking, reflecting on their own thoughts, actions, and feelings. This stage is also characterized by the ability to plan for the future and reason about hypothetical situations.
Piagets’ Legacy
Without a doubt, his work has impacted the lives of thousands. Modern developmental theories, even those who disagree with his, mention his theories. Piaget was a genius who wanted to better the world around him, an admirable trait to aspire to. He put children in a position they had seldom been seen in before–as active agents in their acquisition of knowledge.