Jean Piaget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jean Piaget - Essay Example The main role in the process of cognition belongs to mental abilities of person: infants are born with certain schemes operating at birth (reflexes), but while in animals these schemes control behavior throughout life human beings use them to adapt to the environment and develop their cognitive abilities. Piaget identifies four periods of cognitive development: sensory-motor, pre-operational, concrete-operational, and formal-operational. Each of these periods is associated with mastering certain skills and abilities such as use of symbols, abstract thinking, etc: Pre-operational stage (toddler and early childhood): intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, improvements in the use of language, development of memory and imagination. However, thinking remains illogical and nonreversible; egocentric thinking dominates during this stage; Concrete operational stage (elementary and early adolescence): intelligence is demonstrated through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects. Operational thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible) while egocentric thinking diminishes. Formal operational stage (adolescence and adulthood): intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts.