Question

Describe Jean Piaget's cognitive stage of development during the infancy age. Distinguish between accommodation and assimilation, and provide an example of each.Discuss what is meant by Schema's.Provide an example of a Schema

300-350 words

Answer 1

Jean Piaget proposed four stages of development: Sensorimotor (0-2 years), Preoperational (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-11 year), formal operational (11 years through adulthood).

Infancy that lasts for a couple of years from birth, Piaget described as sensorimotor stage. Infants way of knowing the world is sensory, motoric and perceptual. In this stage of development, infants develop knowledge of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions. Children at this stage discover the relationship between their actions and consequences of actions. They don’t go beyond immediate sensory experiences. They believed that objects continue to exist even when they can’t see, touch also. This is called object permanence. According to Piaget, object permanence is the major cognitive accomplishment during infancy. If a mother will hide from 8-month baby, the baby will stop searching, because he has the belief that mother exists even if he can’t see, hear. But a 12 month baby will actively search for mother.

            Schema is a mental representation that organizes knowledge. Children develop schema through experiences, observation. It helps in giving a better picture of world. For example, a baby is taught that cows have four legs and are white in color. So the child constructs the schema that which is white in color and has four legs is cow.

Assimilation is the incorporation of new information into existing schema. Child modifies new information or his perceived environment so that it can fit into the previously formed schema. Accommodation is when child modifies the existing schema to fit into new experiences. Seeing a white color animal having four legs and labeling it as the cow is assimilation. But when the child sees an animal having four legs, but black in color behaving like a cow, he alters the existing knowledge and forms a new schema that cow can be black also. This is the process child develop or gain understanding of the world.