Cognitive Development across the Lifespan of Human Development

By: Shadra Tomei SparlingCEPD 8102

Dr. Hayes

Jean Piaget Born in 1896, died in 1980. He was an epistemologist who studied

children’s intellectual development. Developed a theory of cognitive development.

“He posited that children progress through 4 stages and that they all do so in the same order” (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2010). It consists of four stages of intellectual development: Sensorimotor stage, Preoperational stage, Concrete Operational stage, and the Formal Operational stage.

Intelligence changes throughout our lifespan…here

are the stages and the theories:•Infancy: Sensory and Perceptual Development, Sensorimotor stage.•Early Childhood: Preoperational stage.•Middle/Late Childhood: Concrete Operational stage.•Adolescence: Formal Operational stage.•Early Adulthood: Postformal Thought. •Middle Adulthood: Crystallized and Fluid intelligence.•Late Adulthood: Sensory/Motor and Speed-of-Processing dimensions of cognition.

Maturation“The term maturation refers to a

uniform progressionof changes in brain organization

and function ininfants growing in any reasonably

natural environment” (Kagan, 2008).

Processes of Development Schemes: actions or representations that

organize knowledge. Assimilation: use of existing schemes to

deal with new information. Accommodation: adjustment of schemes to

take in new information. Organization: groupings of behaviors and

thoughts into a higher-order system. Equilibration: moving from one stage of

cognitive development to the next.

Cognitive Development in Infancy (Birth to age two)

Sensorimotor Stage. Object Permanence: Is an object there? Sensory Input: Touching a toy. Motoric Action: protruding the tongue.

Cognitive Development in Early Childhood (Ages 2-7)

Preoperational Stage. Egocentrism: Is that you or me? Intuitive Thought Substage: Let’s play

20 questions. Centration: Piaget’s Conservation Task.

Cognitive Development in Middle/Late Childhood (Ages 7-11)

•Concrete Operational Stage.•Classification: putting things into groups.•Seriation: ordering stimuli by dimension.•Transitivity: Logically combine relations to understand conclusions.

Cognitive Development in Adolescence (Ages10-22)

Formal Operational Stage. Abstract Thinking: Thinking about

thought itself. Logical Thinking: Does this make

sense? Idealistic Thinking: The world is perfect. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning:

creating a hypotheis, and deducing implications (testing it).

Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood (Ages 18-25)

Postformal thought. Pragmatic thinking: Applying

knowledge in their work. Reflective/Relativistic thinking: Being

able to view other perspectives and opinions (mutual respect).

Creativity: What can I invent?

Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood (Ages 40-65)

Fluid Intelligence: Abstract reasoning declines.

Crystalized Intelligence: a person’s accumulated information and verbal skills increases.

Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood (Ages 60-death)

Sensory/Motor: Declines with age. Speed-of-Processing: Declines due to a

decline in brain functioning. Attention: Selected, Divided, or

Sustained. Memory: Health, education, and

socioeconomic status affect this. Wisdom: Expert knowledge about

practical aspects of life.

References

Kagan, J. (2008). In Defense of Qualitative Changes in Development. Child Development, 79(6), 1606-1624. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01211.x.

Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2010, October). Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget) at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved October 20th, 2010 from http://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive-development.html

Newkirk, Ella. (2008). Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/newkirker/Piagets-Cognitive-Development-Theory

Psaltis, C., Duveen, G., & Perret-Clermont, A. (2009). The Social and the Psychological: Structure and Context in Intellectual Development. Human Development (0018716X), 52(5), 291-312. doi:10.1159/000233261.

Santrock, John W. (2008). Essentials of Life-Span Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.