Jean Piaget

1. Cognitive development
2. Cognitive stages of
development
Piaget's Theory Differs From
Others In Several Ways:
 It is concerned with children, rather than
all learners
 It focuses on development
 It proposes discrete stages of
development
Cognitive Development
 ToPiaget, cognitive development was a
progressive reorganization of mental
processes as a result of biological
maturation and environmental
experience.
3. Stages of Development
 Piaget believed that children go through 4
universal stages of cognitive development.
 Development is biologically based and
changes as the child matures.
 Piaget did not claim that a particular stage
was reached at a certain age - although
descriptions of the stages often include an
indication of the age at which the average
child would reach each stage.
 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Developmental stage Description of stage Developmental
phenomena

Sensorimotor Stage Experiencing the world • Object permanence

Birth – 2 yrs old through motor and • Differentiates self from
actions; looking, touching, objects
mouthing • Stranger’s anxiety

Preoperational Stage Representing things with • Egocentrism

2 – 7 yrs words and images • Language
development

Concrete Operational Thinking logically, • Mathematical

Stage performing arithmetical transformations
7 – 11 yrs old operations, children can • Major turning point in
work things out internally in child’s cognitive
their head development
Formal Operational Abstract reasoning • Potential for mature
Stage moral reasoning
11 yrs & over
Key words:
 Strangers anxiety – fear of strangers
commonly displayed beginning about 8
months of age
 Attachment – an emotional tie with
another person shown in young children
by seeking closeness to the caregiver and
showing distress on separation
 Egocentrism – inability of the child to take
another’s point of view
Effects of attachment
 Securely attached children approach life with a sense of
basic trust. A sense that the world is predictable and
reliable. Infants with sensitive loving care givers form a life
attitude of trust rather than fear
 Deprivation of attachment – babies reared in institutions
without attention of a regular caregiver, or locked away at
home under condition of abused or extreme neglect are
withdrawn, frightened or even speechless
 Young children terrorized through sexual or physical abuse,
being beaten, witnessing torture and living constantly in
fear may suffer other scars often nightmares, depression
and troubles adolescence involving drug abuse or
aggressions
 Deep and long standing attachments seldom break quickly;
detaching is a process, not an event.
3. Adolescence – a brief interlude between the dependence of
childhood and the responsibilities of adulthood
Puberty – period of sexual maturation, during which one first
becomes capable of reproducing
Primary sex characteristics – are the body structures (ovaries,
testes and external genetalla) that make sexual reproduction
possible
Secondary sex characteristics – the non reproductive sexual
characteristics ; female breasts and hips, male voice quality
and body hair
Menarche – is the 1st menstrual period. Mixture of feelings – of a
woman – pride, excitement, embarrassment, and
apprehension
 Developing morality – a crucial task for children and
adolescents is learning right from wrong and developing
character.
 To be a moral person is to think morally and to act
accordingly. It is a delightful harmony when doing and
saying go together.
 Moral reasoning - is a thinking process with the
objective of determining whether an idea is right or
wrong.
“To put one’s thought into action is the most difficult
thing.”
 Self-identity – awareness of and identification with
oneself
 Erik Erikson – developmental psychologist who believed
that the formation of identity was one of the most
important parts of a person's life. Identity is something
that shifts and grows throughout life as people confront
new challenges and tackle different experiences.
Erik Erikson
1. Brief history
2. Psychosocial
development
3. Psychosocial stages
Erik Erikson
 Born June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany
 Died May 12, 1994
 It is interesting to note that Erikson never
received a formal degree in medicine or
psychology
 Received two certificates from the
Montessori teachers association and from
the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute
 His ideas were greatly influenced by Freud
Erik Erikson
 Was offered a teaching position at
Harvard Medical School
 Later, he held teaching positions at the
University of California at Berkeley, Yale,
the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute,
Austen Riggs Center, and the Center for
Advanced Studies of the Behavioral
Sciences.
Psychosocial Development
 Erikson proposed a lifespan model of
development, taking in five stages up to
the age of 18 years and three further
stages beyond, well into adulthood.
 Erikson suggests that there is still plenty of
room for continued growth and
development throughout one’s life.
Psychosocial Development
 Erikson puts a great deal of emphasis on
the adolescent period, feeling it was a
crucial stage for developing a person’s
identity.
 He was interested in how children
socialize and how this affects their sense
of self.
Psychosocial Development
 The formation of identity was one of the
most important parts of a person's life.
 Identity is something that shifts and grows
throughout life as people confront new
challenges and tackle different
experiences.
Psychosocial Stages
 Erikson assumes that a crisis occurs at each
stage of development.
 According to the theory, successful
completion of each stage results in a healthy
personality and the acquisition of basic
virtues.
 Failure to successfully complete a stage can
result in a reduced ability to complete further
stages and therefore a more unhealthy
personality and sense of self.
 These stages, however, can be resolved
successfully at a later time.
 Erikson’s stages of Psychosocial Development
Age Stage/ Basic Virtue Description of task
1st year Trust vs. mistrust If needs are dependently met,
HOPE infants develop a sense of basic
trust
Toddler (2nd year) Autonomy vs. shame Toddlers learn to exercise will and
WILL do things for themselves, or they
doubt their abilities
Preschooler (3-5 Initiative vs. guilt They learn to initiate task and
years) PURPOSE carry out plans, or they feel guilty
about efforts to be independent
Elementary school Competence vs. Children learn the pleasure of
(6yrs to puberty) inferiority applying themselves to task, or
COMPETENCY they feel inferior
Adolescence (teen Identity role vs. Teenagers work at refining a sense
yrs into 20’s) confusion of self by testing roles and then
FIDELITY integrating them to form a single
identity, or they become
confused about who they are
 Young adulthood (20’s to early 40’s)
 Intimacy vs. isolation
 Young adults form close relationships and to
gain the capacity for intimate love, or they
feel socially isolated

 Middle adulthood (40’s to 60’s)

 Generativity vs. stagnation
 The middle age discover a sense of
contributing to the world, usually through
family and work, or they may feel a lack of
purpose

 Late adulthood (late 60’s and up)

 Integrity vs. despair
 When reflecting on his life, the older adult
may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure
4.Adulthood
Health – the body’s disease fighting
immune system weakens, making the
elderly more susceptible to life
threatening ailments such as cancer
Aging and memory – forgetfulness
Reference:
Rasoble, Joren, Tapella, (2014). General
Psychology. Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.