Developmental Psychology Report
Title: Effects of Cognitive Development.
Background:
Piaget was a Swiss scholar who, though untrained in psychology, made a vast impact on the field-particularly in the areas of cognitive, developmental, and educational psychology. Among his many contributions, Piaget posited theories on cognitive development that were stage-independent and stage-dependent (Muuss, 1996). The first stage of his theory was, Sensorimotor, ranging from birth to age two. The infant builds an understanding of himself or herself and reality, seeing how things work as well as interactions with their environment his theory. The second stage is, Preoperational, ranging from two to four-years-old. The child is not yet able to conceptualize abstractly and needs concrete physical situations. Objects are classified in simple ways, especially by important features. The third stage is Concrete Operations, ranging from ages seven to eleven years of age. As physical experience accumulates, accommodation is increased. The child begins to think abstractly and conceptualize, creating logical structures that explain his or her physical experiences. The last stage of his theory is Formal Operations, starting at ages 11 to fifteen-years-old. Cognition reaches its final form. By this stage, the person no longer requires concrete objects to make rational judgements. He or she is capable of deductive and hypothetical reasoning, the child/teenager’s ability for abstract thinking is very similar to an adult. In cognitive development, experiences from a child’s early years lay down the groundwork for judgement and decision making. Yet in your early 20’s the frontal lobe remains to develop, subsequently, the young adult will adjust to applying and maximising the recently developed cognitive powers.
Aim: To determine the level of cognitive development of a participant.
Method:
- View stimulus
- 2. Record data
- Identify the level of cognitive development of participant
Data table:
| Developmental Stage | Experimental Test | Results |
| Stage 1: Sensorimotor | Object Performance | Pass |
| Stage 2: Preoperational | Conservation of Number | Pass |
| Stage 3: Concrete Operational | Formal Logic | Pass |
| Stage 4: Formal Operational | Conservation of Volume | Fail |
