Scientific American: Psychology
Infographic Activity 8.3: Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget proposed that children's cognitive development occurs in stages characterized by particular cognitive abilities. These stages have distinct beginnings and endings.
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1. Dr. Cooper is working with a young child and wants to assess her level of cognitive development according to Piaget’s model. If Dr. Cooper were to administer the “Three Mountains” task to this young girl, he would be examining characteristics associated with the ________ stage.
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2. WMarco is 10 years old. He tends to think very logically about things in his world, and his parents are amazed at how quickly his analytical abilities are developing. He still lacks a strong ability to consider abstract situations and hypotheticals. According to Piaget, which stage of cognitive development does Marco currently occupy?
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3. When playing peekaboo with her mother, 1-year old Shelly often looks a little upset when her mother’s face is covered by a toy or her hands. Shelly delights in glee when her mother uncovers her face and smiles, but then she looks unhappy again when her mother’s face is covered. Which cognitive quality does Shelly seem to lack?
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4. Jarius’s 9th grade teacher likes to pose unusual and interesting questions to see how the students will think when confronted with situations they have never considered. One day he says, “Let’s pretend that a race of friendly aliens comes to this planet and agrees that as a measure of good will they will use their alien powers to eradicate one and only one illness from the planet. They give the planet one week to decide which illness should be eliminated. If the answer was up to you, which illness would you choose and why?” Jarius is able to think about this fictitious situation and come up with a logical, well-reasoned answer. Jarius is probably in the ________ stage of development.
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5. In Piaget’s model of cognitive development, which stage is believed to be occupied by children between their birth and their 2nd birthday?
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6. If a child has started using symbolic thought to explore and understand their world, they are probably operating within the ________ stage of cognitive development.
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