Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

Stage

Age

Description

Sensorimotor

Birth to 2 years

-Children learn by using their senses -Children repeat actions multiple times, trying to understand if the world is consistent Ex. A child throws a toy or food on the floor repeatedly, testing gravity -Children learn “operations”, or the ability to manipulate objects -They understand symbolic functions or that one object can stand for another Ex. A banana can be used as a telephone -Children can engage in more complex thoughts and behaviors -Concrete refers to tangible objects -They Understand more about cause and effect -These adolescents and adults can understand logical and abstract thoughts -They have the ability to think hypothetically and into the distant future Ex. Not doing a homework assignment can have larger consequences than a bad grade on the assignment

Preoperational

2-7 years

Concrete Operational

7-11 years

Formal Operational

11 years and beyond

After his initial theory, Piaget added another stage for adults who had completed a college or graduate education, Post-Formal Operational Stage . This stage comes with the ability to combine and utilize more than one abstract idea at the same time. Piaget’s theory has been criticized for a variety of reasons: -Underestimated the abilities of preschoolers

-Overestimated those in the formal operational stage -Children may not move fluidly through the stages -Influences of culture are not taken into account

Lev Vygotsky: Vygotsky was another cognitive theorist who focused more on the social aspect of cognitive development than Piaget. Vygotsky believed language was a vital part of learning. One of his most important contributions was his idea of zone of proximal development (ZPD). This idea of ZPD held that the best way to help someone learn was to balance previous knowledge with un-acquired knowledge.

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