Piaget's Stage Theory On Cognitive Development

Piaget’s stage theory on cognitive development is divided into 4 stages; sensorimotor stage (0 – 2 years), Preoperational stage (2 – 4 years), Concrete operations (7 – 11 years), Formal operations (11 – 15 years). The theory was developed by Piaget who observed his own children, and the process they went through to make sense of the world around them. This theory explains to us how the mind processes new information it receives though different encounters. The rate at which children develop will differ but the sequence of development will always stay the same, they will go through all 4 stages of cognitive development. In the Sensorimotor stage children will learn through trial and error, they will test different things to find out how they

Physical development
Arnold Gesell - The mental and physical development of a child is a parallel orderly process.
Nature vs Nurture – The process of maturational development is made up of internal and external factors. Intrinsic factors are including the following factors; mental and physical growth, learning styles, personality, temperament and genetics. At the same time certain factors can also influence development, these factors are; environment, health conditions, family background, parenting styles, influences of cultures and experiences with other peers and adults at a young age.
Sequence – Gesell’s Maturational Theory tells us that all children will go through the same sequence or pattern of growth and development, however the rate at which they grow and develop will differ from child to child. Gesell says that the rate at which a child will develop gets influenced by the growth of their nervous system.
Control of head movements and proceed downwards – During prenatal and postnatal development the head-to-foot (genetic cephalocaudal) trend will be followed. The sequence will look as follows; control of lips and tongues – control of neck – control of shoulders – control of arms – control of hands – control of fingers – control of legs – control of feet. As the nervous system develops certain milestones will be reached in the specific order. They will sit – stand up – walk – run, this order will always be the same, but the rate at which milestones are reached will

Children are surrounded by many models for instance parents, peers, teachers and tv shows. Models will be an example to a child on behaviours. It will be easier for them to imitate behaviour from someone of the same gender as them. The response a child will get on a behaviour will influence whether they will continue to use that behaviour, when they get rewarded for a certain behaviour it will encourage them to continue using that behaviour, but if they get punished for certain behaviours they are less likely to continue using it. They will also observe what the consequences of certain behaviours by others are, if it’s rewarding to others to use certain behaviours they are more likely to imitate that