Who Was Jean Piaget? The Impact Of Cognitive Theory

Jean Piaget was a developmental psychologist. He came up with a popular theory that focuses on children's stages of mental development. 

Responsible for developing an entirely new field of study, Piaget's work is now often considered a cornerstone of child psychology. As a result, professional therapists and childcare workers may better understand the various stages of cognitive development throughout childhood.

Jean Piaget: A brief history

Born in 1896 in Switzerland, Jean Piaget started writing short scientific papers when he was just a boy. Piaget's work on mollusks had become quite popular by the time he was a teen. Readers of his work considered him an expert.

Maintaining an interest in animals and natural sciences, Piaget studied zoology after high school and received his Ph.D. from the University of Neuchâtel in 1918. The same year, he began studying psychology. Moving away from mollusks and other creatures, Piaget developed an interest in psychoanalysis.

While working with Theodore Simon, he began evaluating the results of one of Simon's tests on intellectual development. Simon's experiments measured a child's intelligence by comparing the errors made by a child with his age. That study helped Piaget develop an interest in genetic epistemology, or how a child learns.

In addition to other research, Piaget also took the opportunity to study his own three children and monitor how they developed over the course of their childhood. The things he learned from his own children would later become the basis for his theories on human development.

According to Jean Piaget, the intelligence of a child is not fixed. The Swiss psychologist argued that child development is a process that can result from biological maturation and a child's interaction with their environment. Piaget’s theory focuses on child development from birth to adolescence and emphasizes language, memory, reasoning, and morals.

Piaget was one of the first psychologists to conduct comprehensive research on cognitive development, and he would later go on to establish the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in 1955 while working at the University of Geneva. Amongst his contributions are the children’s cognitive development tests performed to measure various cognitive abilities. After completing a series of tests focused on a child's understanding of justice, time, and numbers, he concluded that one should not equate factual knowledge to intelligence.

During his career in child development at the International Center for Genetic Epistemology, Jean Piaget developed four stages of mental development to show how children progress. The four stages include:

• The sensorimotor stage 
• The pre-operational stage
• The concrete operational stage
• The formal operations stage

Jean Piaget's theories of psychology relied on schemas – concepts that are cognitive frameworks through which one understands the world.

The four stages of cognitive development

Jean Piaget psychology details each of the four cognitive development stages that most children pass through.

The sensorimotor stage

Children begin in the sensorimotor stage, which takes place between birth and two years. The main change at this stage is object permanence. A child learns this through trial and error as well as experience. Piaget divided the sensorimotor into six substages, including: 

• Simple reflexes 
• Primary circular reactions
• Secondary circular reactions
• Coordination of reactions 
• Tertiary circular reactions 
• Early symbolic thought

Pre-operational stage

According to Jean Piaget, the pre-operational stage may last from two to seven years old. Playing and imagination are said to be essential at this age. 

Jean Piaget’s theory also suggests that children also start to develop memory during this stage. During the pre-operational stage, children may be egocentric, meaning they can only think from their own point of view. Still, they can attach meanings to objects, ideas, and people using language.

Concrete operational stage

From seven to eleven years of age, children are said to be in the concrete operational stage. According to Jean Piaget's psychology theories, this stage is the starting point for essential milestones since children begin to experience logical thought. 

Children are no longer egocentric when they reach the concrete operational stage of their development. They may learn the idea of conservation. For example, they may understand that the volume remains the same if equal amounts of liquid are placed in both round and rectangular containers.

Formal operational

Formal operational is the final stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, and it can start from eleven years and extend into young adulthood. The main milestone of this stage is the ability to use abstract thinking when faced with problems. Instead of relying solely on their experiences, children may devise other possible ways of solving issues.

Schemas: The building blocks of knowledge

Jean Piaget believed schemas were the building blocks of knowledge. Each schema directs the brain's reaction to new situations or scenarios. 

As a child grows, there is an increase in the number of schemas, and the complexity of the schemas may also continue to increase. Piaget referred to this as the development of the individual's mental processes.

A child's schema is said to be in a state of equilibrium if they can describe what they perceive around them. Schemas may play a vital role in cognitive development. They are an interlinked mental representation of our surroundings that one uses to understand situations and respond accordingly.

For instance, a person may have a schema about buying a new washing machine in a retail store. In such a case, the schema is stored mentally in terms of the sequence of patterns applicable in such a situation. 

As a result, the individual may go to the store, find the section with the washing machines, select the brand and color of choice, and pay. This seemingly simple procedure would not be possible without schemas.

The adaptation process

The adaptation process may involve assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration. Assimilation is the application of an already existing schema to new situations or objects. Accommodation can change an approach if the present schema is not working in favor of the current situation.

Equilibration may be the driving force of development. According to Piaget's assimilation psychology, the course of cognitive development is not steady, but it progresses in leaps and bounds. The moment a child's schema can handle new information, the state of equilibrium may be achieved.

The impact of cognitive theory

To date, Jean Piaget may be one of the most influential people in developmental psychology. His work continues to be an area of interest in the fields of sociology, education, and psychology. Unlike other researchers who have often viewed children as just smaller versions of adults, Piaget may have helped show that children are unique and that each child goes through several developmental stages.

Jean Piaget may have had a significant impact and influence on the works of other famous psychologists, such as Robert Sternberg. His work was a major influencing factor in child psychology research, and critics of his theory took a step further in clinical and experimental psychology. 

In other words, one may argue that Piaget's cognitive theory is critical in psychology, not only because it is widely accepted in the scientific society, but also because he may have laid the stepping stones for current cognitive psychology.

Although Piaget did not relate his work to education, many educational researchers have since demonstrated how his theory can be applied to learning and teaching. Numerous educational policies and practices have been based on Piaget’s work in cognitive development and developmental psychology.

The Jean Piaget Society was established in 1970 to help further research into human knowledge and its development. Comprised of scholars, teachers, and researchers, the Jean Piaget Society is a nonprofit educational organization. It helps to take Piaget’s work in psychology and apply it to the understanding of cognitive development in relation to education.

Counseling to learn about cognitive psychology 

Jean Piaget’s ideas and the psychological theories he crafted may have changed how people view children. Instead of perceiving them as miniature adults, many experts now agree that children go through different developmental stages, and their way of thinking differs from that of adults. His work is often used in the early years of education and child psychology.

Parents may also benefit from learning about child development, especially those whose children have developmental delays or mental health conditions. If you have questions about child development or the implications of theories such as Piaget's, it may be beneficial to speak to a licensed professional. They can help you understand where your child is at in their intellectual development so you can best support them.

Often, parents use self-help strategies to help them cope with mental health conditions related to child-rearing. While this can be somewhat helpful, studies suggest online therapy with a professional mental health counselor has even more benefits. A therapist comes equipped with the knowledge that years of training affords them and may be able to suggest new strategies to reduce stress related to parenting.

Busy parents may find it challenging to fit in-person counseling into their hectic schedules. With online therapy, parents can get mental health resources and services at a time and place that's most convenient for them. This can save time and energy they can devote to parenting or family time instead.

Suppose you're interested in trying therapy to learn more about your child's personality, cognitive processes, or mental health conditions. In that case, you might try signing up for an online therapy platform like BetterHelp.