how knowing changes
directions: jean piaget studied thousands of children in order to understand how their thinking changed over
time. piaget concluded that children pass through four stages of cognitive development and that each stage has
several distinct characteristics. as children pass through these stages, their schemas—mental representations of
the world—change. complete the graphic organizer by listing piaget’s four stages in the first column. list the
characteristics of each stage in the second column. in the third column, give an example of a schema that is
characteristic of each stage (two examples of schemas have been provided). then, in the fourth column, describe
the criticisms that some psychologists have leveled against piagets descriptions of the second and fourth stages.

| piagets stages | characteristics of stage | example of schema | criticisms |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | clay balls do not exist
unless i see them. | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | if i cut a clay ball in half,
i will have two balls each
with half the clay of the
original ball. | |

Question

how knowing changes
directions: jean piaget studied thousands of children in order to understand how their thinking changed over
time. piaget concluded that children pass through four stages of cognitive development and that each stage has
several distinct characteristics. as children pass through these stages, their schemas—mental representations of
the world—change. complete the graphic organizer by listing piaget’s four stages in the first column. list the
characteristics of each stage in the second column. in the third column, give an example of a schema that is
characteristic of each stage (two examples of schemas have been provided). then, in the fourth column, describe
the criticisms that some psychologists have leveled against piagets descriptions of the second and fourth stages.

| piagets stages | characteristics of stage | example of schema | criticisms |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  | clay balls do not exist
unless i see them. |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  | if i cut a clay ball in half,
i will have two balls each
with half the clay of the
original ball. |  |

Accepted Answer

# Brief Explanations:
Piaget's four stages of cognitive development are Sensorimotor (birth - 2 years), Preoperational (2 - 7 years), Concrete Operational (7 - 11 years), and Formal Operational (11+ years).
- **Sensorimotor Stage**:
    - Characteristics: Infants use senses and motor actions to understand the world. Object permanence develops (realizing objects exist when out of sight).
    - Criticisms: Some research suggests object permanence may develop earlier than Piaget thought. For example, using more sensitive measures like looking time, infants seem to show some understanding of object permanence earlier.
- **Preoperational Stage**:
    - Characteristics: Symbolic thought (using words or images to represent objects), egocentrism (difficulty seeing others' viewpoints), lack of conservation (not understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance like shape).
    - Criticisms: Piaget might have underestimated children's abilities. For example, when tasks are simplified or made more relevant to children's lives, they show less egocentrism. Also, some cultures may influence the rate at which children show certain preoperational characteristics.
- **Concrete Operational Stage**:
    - Characteristics: Conservation (understanding that properties like number, mass, volume remain the same with changes in appearance), classification (grouping objects based on shared features), seriation (ordering objects along a dimension like length).
- **Formal Operational Stage**:
    - Characteristics: Abstract thinking (thinking about hypothetical situations, using logic in abstract contexts), deductive reasoning (reasoning from general principles to specific conclusions).
    - Criticisms: Not all adults reach formal operational thinking in all domains. Also, cultural differences may play a role. Some cultures may not emphasize the types of problems (like formal logic problems) that Piaget used to assess formal operational thought.

# Answer:
| Piaget's Stages | Characteristics of Stage | Example of Schema | Criticisms |
|--|--|--|--|
| Sensorimotor | Infants use senses and motor actions; object permanence develops | Clay balls do not exist unless I see them (shows lack of object permanence early in stage, later they develop it) | Some research suggests object permanence may develop earlier with more sensitive measures |
| Preoperational | Symbolic thought; egocentrism; lack of conservation | A child thinks their view of how a toy works is the only correct one (egocentrism example) | Piaget might have underestimated children's abilities; cultural influences on task performance |
| Concrete Operational | Conservation; classification; seriation | If I cut a clay ball in half, I know the total amount of clay is the same (conservation example) |  |
| Formal Operational | Abstract thinking; deductive reasoning | Hypothetically thinking about how to solve a complex social problem (abstract thinking example) | Not all adults reach it in all domains; cultural differences in emphasis on assessed skills |

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Explanation:

Answer:

Piaget's Stages	Characteristics of Stage	Example of Schema	Criticisms
Preoperational	Symbolic thought; egocentrism; lack of conservation	A child thinks their view of how a toy works is the only correct one (egocentrism example)	Piaget might have underestimated children's abilities; cultural influences on task performance
Concrete Operational	Conservation; classification; seriation	If I cut a clay ball in half, I know the total amount of clay is the same (conservation example)
Formal Operational	Abstract thinking; deductive reasoning	Hypothetically thinking about how to solve a complex social problem (abstract thinking example)	Not all adults reach it in all domains; cultural differences in emphasis on assessed skills