thesis about child cognitive development

Cognitive Development Essay

The basic premises of cognitive development theory, discussion of piaget theory and vygotsky theory on intelligence development, stages of development in both theories, classroom application of both theorists’ views.

Cognitive development is concerned with how thinking processes flow from childhood through adolescence to adulthood by involving mental processes such as remembrance, problem solving, and decision-making. It therefore focuses on how people perceive, think, and evaluate their world by invoking the integration of genetic and learned factors.

Hence, cognitive development mainly concentrates on “areas of information processing, intelligence, reasoning, language development, and memory” (Kendler, 1995, p.164). In essence, cognitive development theory reveals how people think and how thinking changes over time.

The premises of cognitive development theory largely allow future investigation to amplify, specify, and modify them according to data trends. These premises frame the theory in a way that it addresses the structure, working, and progress of the system that governs discrimination learning.

Primarily, the theory is based on observable behaviors and indirectly defined theoretical constructs. These constructs assume that psychological and neurological theorizing about cognitive development will gradually coalesce (Kendler, 1995). The premises take form of two different approaches that have been developed over the years.

The first approach postulates that thinking is a universal sequence of stages, while the second approach postulates that people process information in a similar manner computers do (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008, p.13). One of the best-known examples of the first approach is Piaget’s theory of development that explains how children construct their knowledge, and how the format of their knowledge changes over time.

The second approach is exemplified by Information processing theory that focuses on how computers work to explain thinking and its development through childhood and adolescence.

The cognitive development theory has application in various areas such as works of Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), both being very popular quick assessments of an individual’s functioning (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008).

The next part of this paper will be a discussion of the works of Piaget and Vygotsky, including comparison and contrast of their views on various aspects of cognitive development theory.

Jean Piaget was one of the most influential developmental psychologists of the 20 th century, who believed that children naturally make sense of their world.

Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, was one of the first theorists to emphasize that children’s thinking develops through influence of the socio-cultural context in which children grow up rather than developing in a void. Piaget observed children’s past and potential interaction with their environment as being determined by their schemas, which are modified by the processes of assimilation and accommodation.

According to Kail & Cavanaugh (2008), assimilation may be described as a process that allows a child to add “new information by incorporating it into an existing schema.” For Piaget, enhancing a balance or truce between assimilation and accommodation in the schemas definitely leads to cognitive development.

This unlike Vygotsky, whose view is that cognitive growth occurs in a socio-cultural context that influences the form it takes, for instance, a child’s most remarkable cognitive skills are shaped by social interactions with parents, teachers, and other competent partners (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009).

Thus, cognitive development is more of an apprenticeship in which children develop through working with skilled adult assistants. Both Piaget and Vygotsky held the view that children’s thinking becomes more complex as they develop, highlighting that this change is influenced by the more complex knowledge that children construct from the more complex thinking.

Both theorists explain cognitive development in four distinct stages, but each of them explains these stages in different aspects and perspectives. According to Piaget, cognitive development takes place in “four distinct, universal stages, each characterized by increasingly sophisticated and abstract levels of thought” (Kendler, 1995).

These stages include sensorimotor stage (infancy) that begins from birth to 2 years and is characterized infant’s knowledge being demonstrated in six sub-stages through sensory and motor skills. The second stage is pre-operational stage (2 to 6 years) during which a child learns how to use symbols such as words and numbers to represent various aspects of the world but relates to the world only through his or her perspective.

Additionally, “concrete operational stage is characterized by seven types of conservation,” with “intelligence being demonstrated through logical and systematical manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects” (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008).

In this third stage, operational thinking develops while the egocentric thinking diminishes. Lastly, formal operational stage, which occurs in late stages of human development or old age, involves “logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts” signifying a more complex and mature way of thinking (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008).

A departure from Piaget, Vygotsky proposed that we should evaluate development from perspective of four interrelated levels in interaction with children’s environment. These stages include ontogenetic development, which refers to development of the individual over his or her lifetime.

Secondly, Microgenetic development refers to changes that occur over brief periods such as minutes, a few days, or seconds. In addition, Phylogenetic development refers to changes over evolutionally time. Lastly, sociohistorical development refers to changes that have occurred in one’s culture and the values, norms, and technology, such as a history has generated (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009).

Both theorists’ views can find classroom application in trying to explain educational process. For Piaget, children learn because naturally, all children want to understand their world. According to Piaget, early children’s life up to adolescence stage presents them with an urge to explore and try to “understand the workings of both the physical and the social world” (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008).

Whereas, Vygotsky would explain education as being shaped by cultural transmission, since the fundamental aim of all societies is to impart on their children, the basic cultural values, and skills. For example, most parents in western nations want their children to do well in their studies and obtain a college degree, as this may lead to a good job.

However, parents in African countries such as Mali want their children to learn activities such as farming, herding animals, hunting, and gathering of food, as these skills may enhance their survival in their environment. Thus, each culture provides its children with tools of intellectual adaptation that permit them to use their basic mental functions more adaptively (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009).

Piaget theory would be limited in explaining academic excellence, since it views education as a natural process, while Vygotsky would explains that as a product of cultural environment that influences a student to excel. Educationally, Piaget provided an accurate overview of how children of different ages think and asked crucial questions that drew literally, thousands of scholars to the study of cognitive development.

According to Vygotsky, children are active participants in their education, with teachers in Vygotsky’s classroom favoring a guided participation, in which they structure learning activity, as well as guiding, monitoring, and promoting cooperative learning process.

Piaget’s theory would be limited in explaining academic excellence, since it views education as a natural process, while Vygotsky would explain that as a product of cultural environment that influences a student to excel.

Educationally, Piaget provided an accurate overview of how children of different ages think, and asked crucial questions that drew literally, thousands of scholars to the study of cognitive development. In essence, these theories laid grounds for other developmental theorists to further their views or critique them, leading to other cognitive development theories.

Kail, R.V. & Cavanaugh, J.C. (2008). Human Development: A Life-Span View . OH: Cengage Learning.

Kendler, T.S. (1995). Levels of cognitive development. NJ: Routledge.

Shaffer, D.R. & Kipp, K. (2009). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. Eighth edition. OH: Cengage Learning.

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Theses from 2024 2024

Introducing Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices Into Early Elementary School Classrooms , Lisa Berman

Asian American Picture Books and Social Justice Conversations in Early Elementary Classrooms , Chequet Ching

The Time Machine to Neverland: A Multiple-Case Study Exploration of the Impact of the Covid-19 Lockdown on Childhood and Development , Elyse Laakso

A Youth Court's Intentional and Unintentional Impact on Justice-Involved Youth and Student Volunteers: Who Truly Benefits? , Julia Rietsch

Theses from 2023 2023

The Bonds of Play: A Case Study of Attachments in a Parent-Toddler Play Group for Latin American Immigrant Families in New York City , Adriana Bass

Chronically Ill Children and Child Life Specialists: An Investigation Into How Play Acts as a Form of Healing , Kortni Baughman

Play Therapy with Neuro-Diverse Children Who Have Experienced Trauma: A Multiple-Case Study , Caroline Gillespie

Early Childhood Care: A Comparative Analysis of Preferred Practices , Shaija A. Mills

“Where's Daddy? Where's Daddy?”: Exploring the Experience of a Male Social Worker of Color in Dyadic Play Therapy with Mothers and Young Children , Alfonso Navarrete-Mojica

Emotion Regulation: Preschool Children During Outdoor Play , Mandira Tiwari

Theses from 2022 2022

Transcending Mormonism: Trans and Gender Nonconforming Experiences in the LDS Church , Keith Burns

Preschool and the Pandemic: Perspectives on Remote Schooling From Parents and Teachers , Annie Mudick

Theses from 2021 2021

Supporting Low Income Parents in the Early Years: Group and Dyadic Intervention Programs for Mothers and Babies , Eve Atkins

Sensory Processing Disorder and Solutions: An Overview of How to Help Children Living with SPD , Ivory C. Butler

The Impact of COVID-19 on Young Children's Education - Exploring the Compatibility of Combining Progressive Education with Online Learning , Yini Li

Reflections on Working via Telehealth with Bilingual Families Experiencing Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic , Kristen Yates

Theses from 2020 2020

Mental Health Work With Youth Leaving Foster Care: Strengthening Resilience , Lily Avnet

Minecraft's Sandbox: Play in a Virtual World of Creative Exploration , Callum Bayle-Spence

Cultivating Curiosity and Collaboration: Mentalizing as a Modality of Intervention in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder , Danielle M. Bryson

Models And Metaphors Of Play Therapy: The Role Of The Child Therapist , Agathe David-Weill

The Value Of Play in Infant and Child Psychotherapy in a Group Attachment-Based Intervention (GABI) , Joana Hötte Fittipaldi

"He Knows Who He's Messing With": Hostile/Helpless Representations on the Parent Development Interview , Anna Kilbride

The Criminal Justice System's Problematic Response To The Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children , Alexandra Levitskaya

Not "Bad Boys": Psychosocial Implications Of Aggression In Boys With PTSD , Anjette Rostock

Pediatric Hospital Social Work , Sasha Silber

Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Clinical Tool For Intervention with Families and for Exploring Intergenerational Impacts , Molly Silverman

Anger Suppression in Late Childhood , Dana Williams

Early Interventions and Special Education Services for Children with Autism , Misha Wooden

Theses from 2019 2019

Selective Mutism: What it is and Approaches to Intervention , Agatha Barnowski

Empathy at Work in a Social Service Agency: Individual Experiences and Systems Theory , Marjorie H. Blann

A Model for a Progressive Preschool Approach in Ghana , Ruth Djarbeng

Lived Experiences of Young Adults who had a Sibling with Cancer in Childhood , Brittany Lawton

Being Together: Reflections on the Development of Empathy and Prosocial Behavior in Toddler Twins in a Preschool Classroom , Zoe Lefkowitz

Exploring Attachment in the Context of Domestic Violence: A look at two case studies from an attachment-based therapeutic program , Caitlin Plaut

Theses from 2018 2018

Mass Incarceration and Adolescent Development: Connecting Identity and Trauma in Black Adolescent Males , Michelle E. Chen

Theory of Mind and False Belief in Two-Year-Olds: The Smiling Butterfly is Happy , Simone Forsberg

Exploring Race, Culture, and Identity Among Chinese Adoptees: “China Dolls,” “Bananas,” and “Honorary Whites” , Soleil S. Groh

More Than Adversity: Poverty as a Source of Potential Trauma in Children and Adolescents , Coreen Knowles

Theses from 2017 2017

Autism and Language: A Case Study of an Adolescent , Isabel Barata Adler

A Reflection on How Children with Insecure Attachments in Foster Care Experience Trauma , Khadija Bleasdell

How the Foster Care System Impacts Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) , Anna Bratushevskaya

The Circle of Play: A Cross-Cultural-Study of Teachers’ Views of Play Before and After Observing a Community Adventure Play Experience , Andrea Davis

Refugee Children and Resettlement in the United States , Rachel Kerber

Bridging Play and Social Interaction in Young Children with Language Delays , Angela Miller

Pathways to Empowerment: A Social Work Student’s Reflection on Anti-Oppressive Clinical Social Work Practice , Katelyn Necastro

The Impact of Childhood Chronic Illness on Mental Health: A Review of Parent and Child Reports of Stress and Maladaptive Behaviors in a Longitudinal Study , Caroline Raak

Lessons in Bioecological Research Design from Flint, MI: Get to know the participants! , Khushboo Shah

Re-patterning Attachments at School and Beyond: An Exploration of the Healing Power of Relationships and School Community , Sophia Sherman

Theses from 2016 2016

Reflections on Practicing Mindfulness with Adolescents with Mental Health Disorders , Lucia Garcia-Giurgiu

Assessing Latino Caregiver’s Knowledge and Understanding of Medication Management for Children and the Use of Health Technology to Gather Information , Kamal Jennifer Johal

The Effects of Praise and Motivational Interviewing on Fostering Intrinsic Motivation in Youth , Elianna Platt

Pediatric Palliative Care: Reflections upon the Current and Future Field , Rachel Rusch

Growing With Your Toddler: A Relationship-Based Approach to Healthy Child Development , Anna Kriegel Weiss

Theses from 2015 2015

Wanda and Joseph: Language development in the context of family stress and trauma , Isabel Jay

Treating the Whole Child: An Integrated, Flexible Treatment Approach to Children with ASD , Danielle Kuhn

Parents’ Needs After Their Child Receives a Diagnosis of Developmental Disability , Talia Pearl

Shhh…listen to your pebble Mindfulness Education: The Relationship Between Children, Imagination, and Nature , Jeanie Yeo

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