What is cognitive development?
Cognitive development
What is cognitive development?
Cognitive development are all the processes through which the human being acquires skills that allow him to interpret reality and interact with it in an efficient way. Therefore, cognitive or cognitive development is understood as the evolution of intellectual capacities, of which intelligence is one of the most important.
Several authors have developed theories about cognitive development. However, Jean Piaget, a leading Swiss researcher in the field of human behavior, made the most enduring contributions to this in the 20th century.
Piaget's theory of cognitive development
In the mid-20th century, Jean Piaget stated that cognitive development began from birth, and that it was a combination of environmental factors and biological maturation processes.
Piaget's theory of development describes 4 stages or phases, and assumes that cognitive processes are progressively organized, in such a way that it is not possible to acquire the skills of a stage without having gone through the previous stage.
To understand how cognitive development is achieved, it is essential to know some of the functions that have been refined with the evolutionary process and that are essential in this process:
Language
Language development involves learning and using a system of symbols (such as writing) and the ability to understand and transmit them.
Lexicon
It is the set of words that have been learned and that are necessary to express thoughts and ideas.
Memory
It includes all the processes through which the brain collects and uses information without needing to learn it again each time it is needed.
This cognitive function also includes working memory, which is what makes the storage of the lexicon possible.
Attention
Attention implies the functioning of neural networks dedicated to the compression of one stimulus at a time, and this capacity is essential in the learning process, in which the selective reception of information is necessary.
Perception
Perception involves the recording and interpretation of sensory experiences, as well as the ability to convert that record into a representation of reality.
Intelligence
Intelligence implies the processing of all information that comes from the environment in an efficient way, in such a way that it is possible to access it and apply it in solving problems.
All these cognitive functions work simultaneously and are essential for the development of the individual, and in turn will have an impact on the formation of their behavior.
Piaget's 4 phases of cognitive development
The researcher Jean Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development that begin at birth and culminate in adolescence, and which have become a guide to determine the advancement or evolution of childhood intelligence.
Sensorimotor stage
This phase begins at birth and ends at approximately two years of age. Some of the characteristics of this stage are:
- Reflex activity : they are the involuntary and automatic responses to a stimulus, for example, the baby's tendency to make a fist when contacting an object with the palm of his hand
- Repetition of movements : During the first months of life, the baby will repeat body movements that are pleasant to him.
- Problem solving through trial and error : Baby will also perform repetitions to solve problems, such as finding an object that has been lost from sight.
- Execution of intentional actions to achieve a goal , such as removing the sheet from your face, discovering a hidden object, etc.
- First attempts at oral communication : the first words appear that will later give rise to basic sentences.
Pre-operational stage
It is a cognitive stage that begins at two years of age and ends at 7, coinciding with the initiation into the school world. This phase is characterized by:
- Use of symbols : they begin to understand the metaphorical language of children's stories, although there is no clear separation between the real and the fantasy.
- Use of language and imagination : there is a greater wealth of vocabulary and sentences are longer and more complex. They can also express themselves creatively through the use of colors, drawings, etc.
- Egocentric thinking : empathy and awareness have not developed to understand other needs or points of view.
- Underdeveloped logical thinking : the child's reactions and problem solving are not guided by logic, but by imitation.
Stage of concrete actions
Between the ages of 7 and 11, the stage of concrete actions is experienced. These are some of its characteristics:
- Use of logical thinking to understand reality : reactions and problem solving are not executed by imitation, but by a process of self-reflection.
- Differentiation between the real world and fantasy.
- Ability to classify objects and establish hierarchies : children can organize objects by color or shape, can create series of numbers, etc.
Formal operations stage
This stage of cognitive development begins at age 11 and ends at 15, coinciding with the physical, biological and emotional changes of adolescence. Among its most outstanding characteristics are:
- The identity definition process begins : the child selects those things with which he feels identified: hobbies, tastes, ways of dressing, thinking and relating, etc.
- Use of hypothetical-deductive thinking : the consequences of an event can be inferred without the need to carry it out.
- Interest in generating new social ties : the desire to belong typical of this stage can stimulate adolescents to form part of new groups or to strengthen their ties.
- Egocentric thinking continues : as everything revolves around the perception of the individual's reality, he is much more sensitive to criticism and rejection.
- Update date: March 7, 2021.