Piaget's theory consists of schemas, adaptation processes, and the four stages of deveopment: the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. His core idea is that the driving force behind our intellectual progression is an unceasing struggle to make sense of our experiences.
The first concept of his theory are schemas. These are the molds that we pour our experiences into, as we age, the number of schemas we have increases enabling us to understand situations. Children develop schemas through looking at the world around them, and they can apply them to their experiences. An example of this is how children may learn what a cow is from a picture book.
schema: a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
The second part of Piaget’s theory are assimilation, equilibration, disequilibrium, and accommodation. Assimilation is when one interprets the new experiences in terms of their preexisting schemas. When a child can place most of their new experiences into their current schemas, they are said to be in equilibration. However, a child will eventually come upon a new situation that does not fit into their current schema. This is called disequilibrium, because their current schema is no longer sufficient for this new experience. An example of this entire process can be explained by a child having a schema of a cow from a book. For a while, the child will assimilate and see four legged creatures which are indeed cows, and will call them that. This would mean that the child is in equilibration. However, when the child sees a new four legged creature, such as a pig, they will call it a cow using assimilation but will be told they are wrong. This means they are now is disequilibrium. They will then have to change their schemas to include pigs through accommodation. This process will happen many times as they continue to refine their schemas.
The final part of his theory are the four stages of cognitive development which each child passes through. The first stage which lasts from birth to age 2 has six different sub stages and is known as the sensorimotor stage. Around the age of one month, they begin to develop new schemas and coordinate those with sensations. At 8 months, the baby reaches an important milestone where they gain object performance. This means they can now understand that objects still exist when they can no longer be seen. An example of this is covering a toy with a blanket, if the child has object performance, they understand that the object is simply covered. As they continue through this stage, they can understand characteristics of certain objects and begin to learn through trial and error.
The second stage of his theory is known as the preoperational stage which lasts from age two through seven. At this time, children begin to develop language but lack the ability to see things from a different point of view, meaning they are egocentric. Piaget tested this theory by showing children a 3-D picture of a mountain and after looking at it from their point of view, asked them to choose the picture representing the view a different person would have. If children picked their own view, they still were egocentric. The idea of conservation was also a concept which Piaget believed children gained in this stage. An example of this is pouring liquid into different containers. If children can only determine the volume by the height of the liquid, they have not gained this concept.
From age 7 through 12, children are in the concrete operational stage. They now understand conservation and have are less egocentric, but still lack the ability to reverse things and use deductive reasoning. Children may have trouble going from a general principle to a specific outcome of an event. An example of this would be all apples are fruits, all fruits grow on trees; therefore, all apples grow on trees.
Finally, at age 12, children enter the formal operational stage where they can think logically about abstract concepts.