Piaget 's Theory On Cognitive Development

Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist, identified six developmental stages of human moral reasoning. The first stage that he recognized was the Punishment-Obedience Orientation, where the person’s concern is for avoiding punishment through obedience. The second stage was the Instrumental Relativist Orientation, where the person’s concern is to work in their self interest, and better their position. The third stage of moral development was the Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation, where the person’s concern lies with their reputation. Next was the Law And Order Orientation, where the person was less concerned with their own immediate well being to the maintenance of a larger society. The fifth stage was the Social Contract

Jean Piaget is a key figure for development, focusing on cognitive constructivism – that being that we must learn from experience and development, building on knowledge that has already been developed. The strengths and weaknesses of Piaget 's cognitive development theory will be discussed.

As stages in psychological development have been defined by Freud, stages in moral development have been outlined by early educators Jean Piaget and Kohlberg, who put forth differing views on the moral development of children. Piaget theorized that children process morals in stages, first one then the next, with a transition in between. The first stage (from ages 4 to about 7) is referred to as “heteronymous morality”, where children think of rules as constants, that is to say, rules are part of the world’s makeup with no input or possibility of change by people. As children progress from seven to ten years of age, they move from one stage to the next, maintaining some of the traits of the

Lawrence Kohlberg, the author of three stages, was an American psychologist who is well known for his theory on the stages of moral development. According to Kohlberg, there are three levels of moral development:Preconventional (moral reasoning is based on external rewards and punishments), Conventional (laws and rules are upheld simply because they are laws and rules), and Postconventional (reasoning is based on personal moral standards)” (powerpoint).

Moral development is when the child will learn the difference between right and wrong. Piaget came up with three theories of moral development: id, ego and superego. Lawrence Kohlberg expanded Piaget?s theories and came up with six stages of moral development. A four year old child is known to be very active and energetic. They love to talk, enjoy silly humor, love learning new information about their world, and enjoy finding solutions to problems in imaginative ways (Miller, 1999).

Kohlberg’s second level from his theory is conventional moral reasoning. This is primarily people following social norms and customs (Kohlberg’s Theory). The laws and rule are sustained simply because they are laws and rules that must be followed (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). The second level is generally found in society hence the name of this level being “conventional”. Stages three and four are included in the conventional level. Stage three focuses heavily on peer approval (Lawrence Kohlberg). Individuals are merely trying to please others so they will follow rules or do what others want them to do in order to gain their approval (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). Many will follow

According to Piaget (1929, 1954, 1963), the process of adaptation helps us to understand how a child constructs his/her world. Taking Piaget's theory of Cognitive Development with particular focus on the Sensori-Motor stage of development, I am going to discuss how understanding this stage might influence me when working with a baby as a nursing student in the future.

“The last Piagetian task that Child 2 participated in was the moral task. It was very typical for him to have answered in a premoral mindset this task because his age places him in Piaget’s heteronomous stage. In this stage which starts right around four years of age, according to Piaget, children understand rules as the almighty, unchangeable laws of nature. They base most decisions on punishment and not on intentions.” (Artifact #4, Interview Final Paper, PSY 370)

This paper will focus on two theories in moral development within developmental Psychology. There are three components to our morality; these are emotional, cognitive and behavioural.

The moral implications of the scene are great, as this execution style killing in broad daylight was not expected from a man who had just finished a speech about “honesty, integrity, and hard work”. According to Kohlberg, however, this seemingly immoral act falls in line with Frank’s position on the stages of moral development. Kohlberg’s theory dictates six stages of moral development belonging to 3 broader stages, Pre Conventional, Conventional, and Post Conventional. The Pre Conventional is commonly found in children, and is composed of individuals who base their morality on outside threats, such as schoolchildren obeying teachers under threat of punishment. This includes 2 stages, individuals who only see the consequences of their moral actions as well as those who view morality as what is best for them. Next, the conventional stage is where most adolescents and adults remain for their whole lives. It includes two sub stages, morality determined by conforming to social consensus and morality determined by realizing the importance obedience plays in maintaining social order. Finally, the post conventional stage is one that most people do not progress to. It contains stages based on differing moral opinions based on contractual orientation, as well as morality based on abstract, categorical

What are the major challenges to Piaget's theory of cognitive development and what aspects still have value?

Jean Piaget is considered to be very influential in the field of developmental psychology. Piaget had many influences in his life which ultimately led him to create the Theory of Cognitive Development. His theory has multiple stages and components. The research done in the early 1900’s is still used today in many schools and homes. People from various cultures use his theory when it comes to child development. Although there are criticisms and alternatives to his theory, it is still largely used today around the world.

The moral and social developments of children in their first years of life are critical. Children go through many stages that influence their lives such as family, school, friends and technologic or the media. During infancy, children learn from the people around them to recognize the good and bad in this way begin to form their idea of morality. Researchers like as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg carefully studied moral reasoning of children and girls. Both agree that moral development progresses slowly and is an orderly process that takes time. Piaget all its research center in the perception of children as Kohlberg came to adulthood. According to the psychologist, in her book Ramona Rubio Developmental Psychology (1992) states that for Piaget and Kohlberg’s moral development is not understood as a process of internalization of norms, otherwise acquisition of autonomous principles of justice.” Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg studied moral and reasoning carefully. These are some of the Main principles de la theory of moral development, from Piaget and Kohlberg

The theory of moral development, advanced by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg is one of the most well-known persuasive theories in the field of cognitive science and stems from the work of Jean Piaget, which hypothesizes on the direct correlation that exists between moral and cognitive development. Kohlberg speaks of the appearance and understanding of what is right and wrong from childhood to adulthood and explains by this transition through the identification of various levels of morality known as pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional. People will make decisions based on the understanding of the possible outcome and through reasoning of morals. (Target Concept)

In American education, teachers are focused on the intellectual growth of students. However, as educators, teachers not only have the opportunity to grow students intellectually, but also more holistically. One crucial area of a student’s life that is impacted by education is their morality. This paper will explore Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, which addresses the idea of a person 's progression of morality. It will first examine the concept of the theory and its founder. It will then follow with examples from classrooms today, and from my own personal experience as a K-12 student. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implications of this theory for educational psychology, and encourage an implementation of it that will benefit teachers, students and ultimately society as a whole.