COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

AND ADOLESCENTS
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT HAS ABOUT 50 YEAR
HISTORY, AS A DISTINCT FIELD OF DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY. PRIOR TO THE 1950S, LEARNING WAS
CONCEPTUALIZED PRIMARILY IN TERMS OF BEHAVIORAL
PRINCIPLES AND ASSOCIATION PROCESSES, WHEREAS
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT EMERGED FROM THE
COGNITIVE REVOLUTION, THE REVOLUTION IN
PSYCHOLINGUISTICS AND ESPECIALLY PIAGER’S
WORK ON CHILDREN’S REASONING ABOUT A MYRIAD OF
OBJECTS LIKE SPACE, TIME, CASUALITY ,MORALITY, AND
NECESSITY (LERNER, EASTERBOOK, & MISTRY, 2005).
 THEORIES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
THE PRESENT CHAPTER DEALS MAINLY WITH BROADER THEORIES THAT HAVE
BEEN DEVISED AS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HOW THE MIND GROWS AND
TRANSFORMS .IT ALSO DISCUSSES THE RELEVANT THEORIES OF JEAN PIAGER AND
LEV VYGOTSKY AND THE POINTS OF VIEW THEY PRESENT IN UNDERSTANDING
HUMAN COGNITION.

• IN COMING UP WITH HIS THEORY, VYGOTSKY’S WORK HAS TWO MAJOR GOALS:
1. TO CREATE A MARXIST PSYCHOLOGY THAT WOULD BOTH SOLVE PROBLEMS IN
THE FIELD OF PSYCHOLOGY.
2. TO GUIDE PEOPLE IN A NEWLY DESIGN COUNTRY.
VYGOTSKY’S THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AS
THREE CORE THEMES:
(1) A RELIANCE ON A GENETIC OR DEVELOPMENTAL
METHOD
(2) THE CLAIM THAT HIGHER MENTAL PROCESSES IN
THE INDIVIDUAL HAVE THEIR ORIGIN
IN SOCIAL PROCESSES AND
(3) THE CLAIM THAT MENTAL PROCESSES CAN BE
UNDERSTOOD ONLY IF WE UNDERSTAND THE TOOLS
AND SIGNS THAT MEDIATE THEM.
Lev Vygotsky
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT AND
LANGUAGE
• THE CHILD’S THOUGHT AND SPEECH BEGIN AS SEPARATE FUNCTIONS WITH NO NECESSARY
CONNECTION BETWEEN THEM(LIKE TWO SEPARATE CIRCLES).AS THE CHILD BEGIN TO GROW UP,
THE TWO MEET AND OVERLAP, THE JUNCTURE OF THE TWO REPRESENTS VERBAL THOUGHT.
• THE TWO ( THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE ) NEVER COMPLETELY OVERLAP; THERE ALWAYS
REMAINS SOME NON VERBAL THOUGHT(E.G ADULTS SKILLFUL USE OF TOOLS) AND SOME NON-
CONCEPTUAL SPEECH (E.G AN ADULT SINGING AN OLD SONG).
• WHILE ADMITTING THE NECESSARY ROLE OF INTERNAL MATURATION IS DEVELOPMENT,
VYGOTSKY BELIEVED THAT CHILDREN’S INFORMAL AND FORMAL EDUCATION THROUGH THE
MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE STRONGLY INFLUENCES THE LEVEL OF CONCEPTUAL THINKING THEY
REACH.
VYGOTSKY PROPOSED THE FOLLOWING STAGES IN CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT

STAGE 1: THINKING IN UNORGANIZED CONGERIES OR HEAPS

STAGE 2: THINKING ON COMPLEXES. THIS STAGE IS COMPRISED OF FIVE STAGES (5) SUB
PHASES.
• ASSOCIATIVE COMPLEXES.
• COLLECTION COMPLEXES.
• CHAIN COMPLEXES.
• DIFFUSE COMPLEXES.
• PSEUDO CONCEPT COMPLEXES.
THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD) WAS A
KEY CONSTRUCT IN LEV VYGOTSKY’S THEORY OF
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT.

BRAIN CELLS REGIONS

• THE CEREBRUM
• THE CEREBELLUM 
• THE BRAIN STEM 
• HIPPOCAMPUS 
• THE PREFRONTAL
CORTEX
• AMYGDALA 
• THE HYPOTHALAMUS 
JEAN PIAGET'S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT SUGGESTS THAT
CHILDREN MOVE THROUGH FOUR DIFFERENT STAGES OF MENTAL
DEVELOPMENT. HIS THEORY FOCUSES NOT ONLY ON UNDERSTANDING HOW
CHILDREN ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE, BUT ALSO ON UNDERSTANDING THE
NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE.

PIAGET‘S STAGES ARE:

• SENSORIMOTOR STAGE: BIRTH TO 2 YEARS
• PREOPERATIONAL STAGE: AGES 2 TO 7
• CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE: AGES 7 TO 11
• FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE: AGES 12 AND UP
 COGNITIVE PROCESS 
• COGNITION IS A TERM REFERRING TO THE MENTAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN
GAINING KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION. THESE COGNITIVE PROCESSES
INCLUDE THINKING, KNOWING, REMEMBERING, JUDGING, AND PROBLEM-
SOLVING. THESE ARE HIGHER-LEVEL FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN AND
ENCOMPASS LANGUAGE, IMAGINATION, PERCEPTION, AND PLANNING.

• ASSIMILATION
• ACCOMMODATION
• ORGANIZATION
• EQUILIBRATION
 3. THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE

• BEGINS AROUND AGE SEVEN (7) AND

CONTINUES APPROXIMATELY
AROUND AGE ELEVEN (11) . DURING
THIS TIME, CHILDREN GAIN A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF MENTAL
OPERATIONS.
 4. THE FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
• THIS STAGE BEGINS AT APPROXIMATELY
AGE 12 TO ADULTHOOD. AT THIS STAGE,
THE ADOLESCENT OR YOUNG ADULT
BEGINS TO THINK ABSTRACTLY AND
REASON ABOUT HYPOTHETICAL
PROBLEMS.
 STAGES OF THE FORMAL OPERATIONAL
STAGE
1. EARLY FORMAL OPERATIONS STAGE (11 TO ABOUT 14 YEARS OLD)
• THE FIRST STAGE OF FORMAL OPERATIONS IN WHICH ABSTRACT THOUGHT, LOGIC,
METACOGNITION AND HYPOTHETICAL REASONING OCCUR.
• A. ABSTRACT THOUGHT: THINKING THAT ALLOWS REALITY TO BE REPRESENTED BY
SYMBOLS THAT CAN BE MANIPULATED MENTALLY.
• B. LOGIC: THINKING THAT IS MORE ORDERLY AND SYSTEMATIC.
• C. METACOGNITION: BEUNG ABLE TO ANALYZE ONE'S OWN THOUGHTS.
• D. HYPOTHETICAL REASONING: FORMING CONCLUSIONS BASED ON HYPOTHETICAL
POSSIBILITIES.
2. LATER FORMAL OPERATIONS STAGE (15 TO ABOUT 19 YEARS OLD)
• THE SECOND STAGE INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC, INDIVIDUAL
THINKING PATTERNS AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING AND THE ABILITY TO COMPREHEN SYSTEM
OF SYMBOLS
• A. ABSTRACT THOUGHT: AT THIS STAGE, MANY YOUTHS BECAME CAPABLE OF
UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISMS AND THEY GAIN THE ABILITY NOT ONLY IN
PROBLEM SOLVING BUT IN PROBLEM FINDING.
• B. LOGIC: IN LSTER ADOLESCENCE, SUBTLER FORMS AND HIGHER LEVELS OF LOGIC MAYBE
MASTERED SUCH AS PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC.
• C. METACOGNITION: ADOLESCENTS GET BETTER AT ANALYZING THEY THOUGHT PROCESSES
AS THEY WORK THROUGH A PROBLEM.
• D. HYPOTHETICAL REASONING: MANY ADOLESCENTS ARE ABLE TO THINK LIKE A SCIENTIST
AS THEY ARE ABLE TO ESTABLISH A PLAN FOR SOLVING A PROBLEM.
 VGOTSKY'S THEORY OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
• BORN INTO A MIDDLE-CLASS JEWISH FAMILY IN
ORSHA, A TOWN IN THE NORTHERN PART OF
BYELORUSSIA AND MOVED SOUTH TO GOMEL.
• HE WAS OFTEN CALLED "THE LITTLE
PROFESSOR".
• HE ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF MOSCOW AND
HE PURSUED DEGREES IN MEDICINE AND LAW.
• IT WAS DURING THE PERIOD OF 1917 AND 1924
THAT VGOTSKY BECAME MORE DEEPLY
COMMITED TO THE FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND
EDUCATION.
 VGOTSKY THEORY ASUMPTION

1. LEARNING PRECEDES DEVELOPMENT.

2. DEVELOPMENT INVOLVE THE INTERNALIZATION OF SIGNS ACQUIRED BY AN INDIVIDUAL
FROM OTHERS SO THAT HE CAN THINK AND SOLVE PROBLEMS BY HIMSELF OR HERSELF.
3. THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT IS THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT IMMEDIATELY
ABOVE A PERSON'S PRESENT LEVEL.
4. SCAFFOLDING IS THE SUPPORT FOR LEARNING AND PROBLEM SOLVING WHICH CAN BE
CLUES, REMINDERS, ENCOURAGEMENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, BREAKINNG THE
PROBLEM DOWN INTO STAGES, PROVIDING AN EXAMPLE, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT
ALLOWS THE STUDENT TO GROW IN INDEPENDENCE AS A LEARNER.
 THE KEY INFLUENCES
1. A SINCERE DEDICATION TO MARXIST SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY AND CONVICTION
THAT PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT WAS INTIMATELY LINKED TO THE
TENETS OF THAT PHILOSOPHY.
2. A THOROUGH ACQUINTANCE WITH THE WORK OF LEADING EUROPIAN AND
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGISTS OF HIS DAY AND EARLIER DECADES.
3. CREATE INGENUITY IN DEVISING METHODS FOR STUDYING CHILDREN FOR
INTERPRETING THE DATA HIS METHOD PRODUCED.