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Jean Piaget 's Theory Of Cognitive Development

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Jean Piaget is one of many theorists to have proposed ideas about development. However he was the first to make a methodical study of cognitive development. In his theory Piaget describes four main stages of psychological development which he believes children move through. His theory suggests that each stage helps to construct the next; leading cognitive abilities to become more advanced as we grow older. When taking into consideration discontinuity and continuity; Piaget’s cognitive stages leans towards both continuity, due to the belief that children construct their own knowledge based on experiences, and also discontinuity as a child must move through one stage before they can reach another for the cognitive system to develop further. Piaget’s understanding of the different stages suggests that the development of the cognitive structure develops in distinct stages supporting discontinuity. The first stage is known as the ‘Sensorimotor Stage’; which occurs in early childhood, between birth and two years. This is the stage where information is gained through sensory and motor skills. Throughout the first stage the infant is trying to make sense of the world which they see around them. By using assimilation and accommodation, which is the process of relating physical actions and perceived responses to grasp a sense of the world, a child can gradually create schemas and place old schemas to new ideas. Two of the major sensorimotor activities are object permanence and

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