The Theories Of Cognitive Development - 1936 Words

In psychology, cognitive development is the process that allows people to know, understand and think about the world (Feldman, 2012). It studies how children process and gain information at a particular age and how learning mechanisms change and evolve over time. There are many theories among parents, teacher and physicians of how children grow and develop. Piaget, Erikson, Skinner and Vygotsky are all developmental theorists who studied child development. Theorists have their own ideas of cognitive development. However, some build off the others theories. The four different developmental theorists bring important ideas to the development of children. Some important ideas are the aspects of family and society. Other important ideas include culture, psychosocial and physical influences. This paper focuses on the theorist Piaget, Erikson, Skinner and Vygotsky and who brought what ideas to the psychology of cognitive development in children. Have you ever wondered why a child acts the way they do? Any reason you give would be a theory. A theory is an idea or set of ideas, which aims to explain facts or events. A theory gives reason for observations and from the idea of reason, gives possible hypotheses, which can be tested to support or challenge the theory. Piaget, Erikson, Skinner and Vygotsky are all theorist of child development. Each one has their own idea to explain the cognitive growth of children. In this paper, I will analyze the approachesShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Cognitive Development1025 Words   |  5 PagesMany philosophers have developed theories of how individuals learn over the decades. As an individual progresses through life from childhood to adulthood, the manner in which they take in knowledge, and mature is the basic theory of cognitive development. Cognitive development can be described as how an individual’s thought process develops, and how these thought processes impact how an indiv idual comprehends and interacts in the world. The psychology theorists of the past have shaped the classroomsRead MoreThe Theory Of Cognitive Development1647 Words   |  7 PagesThe study of cognitive development has played an influential role in the field of education by providing teachers with methods of pedagogy that maximise their student’s potential. This essay will address both Piagetian and Vygotskian theories on cognitive development in relation to the given scenario of year eight science students. We will look at how the teacher, Anne, has used relevant aspects of both theories within her classroom as well as any shortcomings of the theories in the class. Upon readingRead MoreThe Theory Of Cognitive Development925 Words   |  4 PagesThe development of children to an adult is a vast yet intricate process. Many psychologists today believe that the development of an infant involves acquiring intellectual abilities. This process involves the child maturing physically much like how an infant would mature to adulthood. The core issue of this reading is that how children develop and learn through the stages of life to an adult. Piaget, one of most influential researchers in the history of psychology, not only revolutionized developmentalRead MoreThe Theory Of Cognitive Development1127 Words   |  5 Pagesearly childhood is a crucial time for development. This stage of life occurs between birth and about the age of 3. This life stage really lays the groundwork for the path an individual will take in life. Hiccups in the path now, may lead to more hiccups in the future. Many developmental milestones occur during this early stage of life. A few of the key milestones are language acquisition, emotional development, motor development and gender identity development. Three men by the names of Jean PiagetRead MoreThe Theory Of Cognitive Development1752 Words   |  8 Pagesspecific, or sequential and elaborate. Piaget believed that cognitive development in children is contingent on four factors: biological maturation, experience with the physical environment, experience with the social environment, and equilibration. Equilibration refers to the biological drive to produce an optimal state of equilibrium between people’s cognitive structures and their environment (Duncan, 1995) During each stage of development, people ‘s conduct themselves with certain logical internalRead MoreTheories Of Development : Piagets Theory Of Cognitive Development1363 Words   |  6 PagesPiagets theory of cognitive development In the 1960s and 1970s, the Freudian psychology was changed with the initiation of the empirical methods to study the human behavior. Psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget empirically verified, moving towards the cognitive development theory to provide the new perspective to the individual in getting awareness about the developmental stages of the children. Just like Freud, Piaget thought that human development could only be described in stages. On theRead MoreCognitive Theory And Jean Piaget Cognitive Development Theory Essay2016 Words   |  9 Pageslearning expansion in general and play a vital fragment of early childhood development. They all accept that cognitive learning is relatively systematic and takes place gradually at a variety of rates. Learning only occurs when experience causes a permanent change in an individual’s knowledge or behaviour (Weatherby-Fell, N. 2013). I am reviewing Burrus Federic Skinner’s behavioural theory and Jean Piaget cognitive dev elopment theory. This report style essay will provide an overview of the two theoristsRead MoreThree Theories of Cognitive Development1674 Words   |  7 PagesThree Theories of Cognitive Development The Swiss psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is well-known for his work towards the cognitive sciences. Arguably one of his most important contributions involves his theory of cognitive development. In this theory, thinking progresses through four distinct stages between infancy and adulthood. Similar in scope to Piaget’s theory is Information Processing, in which human thinking is based on both mental hardware and mental software (KailRead MorePiagets Theory of Cognitive Development1173 Words   |  5 PagesCognitive development is the development of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Historically, the cognitive development of children has been studied in a variety of ways. The oldest is through intelligence tests. An example of this is the Stanford Binet Intelligence Quotient test. IQ scoring is based on the concept of mental age, according to which the scores of a child of average intelligence matchRead MoreTheory of Cognitive Development and Children1466 Words   |  6 PagesPiaget s Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget was born on August9, 1896, in the French speaking part of Switzerland. At an early age he developed an interest in biology, and by the time he had graduated from high school he had already published a number of papers. After marrying in 1923, he had three children, whom he studied from infancy. Piaget is best known for organizing cognitive development into a series of stages- the levels of development corresponding too infancy, childhood