Piaget’s Stages

of Cognitive
Development
Prepared by:
Farah Therese Adarna
& Mary Ruth Gutang
Schema - Piaget used the term “schema” to refer to the
cognitive structure by which individuals intellectually adapt too and
organize environment. It is an individual‘s way to understand or
create meaning about a thing experience.

Assimilation - cognitive structure by which individuals

intellectually adapt too and organize their environment. It is an
individual‘s way to understand or create meaning about a thing
experience.

Equilibration - Equilibration is achieving proper balance between

assimilation and accommodation. When our experiences do
not match our schemata (plural of schema) cognitive structures,
we experience cognitive disequilibrium this means there is a
discrepancy between what is perceived and what is understood.
We then exert effort through assimilation and accommodation to
establish equilibrium.
Stage 1. Sensori-motor Stage
The first stage corresponds for infancy. This is
the stage when a child who is initially
reflexive in grasping, sucking and reaching
becomes more organized in his movement and
activity. The term sensori-motor focuses on
the prominence of the senses and muscle
movement through which the infant comes to
learn, about him and the world.

 Object permanence
This is the ability of the child to know that and object still exists even when
out of sight. This ability is attained in the sensory motor stage.
Stage 2. Pre-operational Stage
The preoperational stage covers from about two to seven years old roughly
corresponding to the preschool years. Intelligence at this stage is intuitive in nature. At
this stage, the child can now make mental representations and is able to pretend the
child is now ever closer to the use of symbols. This stage is highlighted by the
following:
 Symbolic Function
This is the ability to represent object and events. Symbolic function
gradually develops the period between 2 to 7 years.
Ex: Reil, a two-year old may pretend that she is deinking from a glass
which is really empty. Though she already pretend the presence of water,
the glass remain to be a glass at around for years of age, Nico, may, after
pretending to drink from an empty glass, turn the glass into a rocket ship
or a telephone.

 Egocentrism/Self centered
This is the tendency of the child to only see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has his same point of view. The child cannot
take the perspective of others. You see this in five year-old boy who buys
a toy truck for his mother‘s birthday. Or a three years old girl who cannot
understand why her cousins call her daddy ―uncle‖ and not daddy
 Centration
This refers to the Tendency of the child only focus on one aspect of a
thing or event and include other aspects. For example, when a child is
presented with two identical glasses with the same amount of water, the
child will say they have the same amount of water. However, once water
from one of the glasses s transferred to an obviously taller buy narrow
glass, the child might say that there is more water in the taller glass. The
child only focused or “centered” only one aspect for the new glass, that it
is a taller glass.

 Irreversibility
Pre-operational children still have the inability to reverse their thinking. They
can understand that 2 + 3 is 5, but cannot understand 5-3 is 2.

 Animism
This is the tendency of children to attribute human lie traits or
characteristics to inanimate object. When at night, the child is asked,
where the sun is, show will reply, “Mr. Sun is asleep.”
Stage 3. Concrete-Operational Stage
This stage is characterized by the ability of the child to think logically but
only in term of concrete objects. This covers approximately the ages between
8 - 11 years or the elementary school years. The concrete operational stage is
marked by the following:
 Decentering
This refers to the ability of the child to perceive the different features of
objects and situations. No longer is the child focused or limited to one aspect
or dimension. This allows the child to e more logical when dealing with
concrete objects and situations
 Reversibility
During the stage of concrete operations, the child can now follow that certain
operation cannot be reversed
 Conservation
This is the ability to know that certain properties of object like number, mas,
volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in appearance. The
concrete operational child can now judge rightly that the amount of water in a
taller but narrower container is still the same as when the water was in the
shorter but wider glass.

 Seriation
This refer to the ability to order or arrange thins in a series based on one ,
dimension such as weigh, volume or size.
Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage
In the final stage of formal operations covering ages between 12 and 15 years,
thinking becomes more logical. They can now solve in general ideas or
specific problems and can educated guess. This stage is characterized by the
following:
 Hypothetical Reasoning
This is the ability to come up with different hypothesis about a problem and to
gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision or judgment. This can
be done in the absence of concrete objects, The individuals can now deal with
“What if” questions.

 Analogical reasoning
Ability to perceive the relationship one instance and then use that relationship
to narrow down possible answer in another similar situation or problem. The
individual in the formal operation stage can make an analogy. If United
Kingdom is to Europe, then Philippines is to Asia. The individual will reason
that since the UK is found in the continent of Europe then the Philippines is
found what continent?. Then Asia is his answer. Through reflective thought
and even in the absence of concrete object the individual can now
understand relationship and do analogical reasoning
 Deductive Reasoning
This is the ability to think logically by applying general rule to a particular
instance or situation. For example, all countries near the north pole have cold
temperatures Greenland is near he north pole. Therefore, Greenland has cold
temperature
END