Cognitive Development: Piaget's Theory and Other Perspectives

Running head: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Cognitive Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
The most unique feature of human beings which separates them from the other living
beings of the world is their ability to think and their ability to process the information received in
order to send back a suitable reply (Bjorklund and Causey 2017). The formation of such thought
processes which includes the different abilities of solving a problem, taking a relevant decision
and remembering important and relevant information, all in order to perform a particular
function in an effective manner, is known as cognitive development (Dadvand et al. 2015). This
essay seeks to analyze the definition of cognitive development in the context of Piaget’s theory
of cognitive development. The essay further seeks to discuss the appropriate advantages and
disadvantages related to Piaget’s theory and to examine the points of difference between his
theory and the theories as propounded by other psychologists. The theory of cognitive
development has been defined by a host of scholars. According to Lev Vygotsky, cognitive
development of a child depends upon the surrounding environment of social learning. The
scholar is of the opinion that the influence of the adult population on the children are immense
and that children learn through the medium of explanation of concepts and mediation. Cognitive
development theory has also been advocated by Benjamin Whorf. According to him, the role of
language in the development of cognition in children is significant. The medium of language
determines the perceptions and thoughts of an individual.
There are certain core systems of cognition. One of them is thought processes. Thought
process of an individual helps others to understand the character of that individual (Nelson
2017). Similarly, the core system of language of an individual aids in the development of the
personality of that human being. The aspect of perception is vital as it enables the person to
understand the worldly affairs without much complication. The core system of memory allows

2COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
the individual to retain vital information which can be applied to solve problems in the real
world.
Jean Piaget is one of the most famous advocator of the theory of cognitive development
(Demetriou et al. 2016). According to him, the cognition of a person develops gradually over the
different ages, from birth to adolescence. The first stage of cognitive development is that of
sensorimotor stage. This stage lasts for two years from birth. In this stage, the brain of an
individual concentrates on developing the logic in thought process and tries to interact with the
surrounding environment for the achievement of one specific goal. During this time the child is
only concerned with the perception of the environment. During this stage, the child is concerned
only with the object and its permanence. The second stage is known as Preoperational Stage and
is present from two years of age to seven years. In this phase, the child still does not have the
ability to understand the different life experiences. Instead, they prefer to engage themselves in
complex and difficult pretend play with others. Thus, they engage in role playing activities. The
child takes the features of animism and is quite egoistical in nature. The third stage of cognition
development is that of concrete operational stage which exists from seven years of age till
thirteen years of age. In this stage, the human brain is developed enough to draw similarities and
differences among two or more than two different units. As a result, during this time, the child is
able to interpret differences and similarities. The fourth stage is that of formal operational stage.
This stage exist during the adolescent period of an individual’s life and hence, it is one of the
most important stages which needs to be taken in to cognizance. This is due to the fact that in
this stage, the individual starts to think about future aspirations and goals which requires the
highest level of thought process and an effective decision making capability. Moreover, during
this stage, the child is able to undertake critical analysis of the surrounding environment.