53 PIAGET Who was Piaget? Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a Swiss psychologist who developed a theory of child development according to which we construct knowledge from basic sensory experience. He contributed to define the concept of childhood, highlighting how children s thinking is different from adults, and not just a smaller version of adult thinking. When new information cannot be organised into an existing schema, children find themselves in disequilibrium, an unpleasant and uncomfortable situation. Some young people with cognitive disorders rarely reach this stage of development. exposure: esposizione to fit: adattarsi a 114 BABIES AND CHILDREN Piaget s cognitive theory Piaget s theory is based on three main components: schemas the process of adaptation the four stages of cognitive development. Schemas are structures which help us understand and interpret the world and the experiences we have. Direct exposure to and interaction with the environment gradually build these cognitive structures inside the brain and contribute to developing the ability to reason, solve problems, and connect ideas, in other words, thinking. The stages of cognitive development Piaget believed children s thinking becomes more and more advanced following a progression through four different stages: During the sensori-motor stage (birth to 18/24 months) children learn through their senses and actions and develop two important concepts: Causality: a cause-and-effect relationship; Object permanence: the idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible. During the pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years) children start using symbolic thought and language. In this phase children are egocentric and find it difficult to see things from others point of view. During the concrete-operational stage (7 to 11 years) children become more logical and start thinking about others thoughts and feelings. Their schemas have developed enough to become logical systems that can be used across different contexts. They develop two important concepts: Conservation: quantity doesn t change even if the appearance of an object does; Inductive reasoning. The process of adaptation According to Piaget, children learn by adjusting to the world through a process of adaptation in three phases. Assimilation occurs when children apply an existing schema to a new During the formal operational stage experience or object. (11 to adulthood) children learn to Accommodation occurs when an think abstractly and solve existing schema doesn t fit the new hypothetical problems, focusing also situation or experience and children on ethical and social issues. need to take a different approach, expanding their schemas. Equilibration occurs when ASSIMILATION ACCOMODATION children find order in the (Incorporate into an (Modification of a prior world, using their schemas existing schema) schema) to organise new information. It is the moment when children improve their development, balancing assimilation and EQUILIBRATION accommodation.