Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development Essay

Throughout history, many people have made important contributions to the school of psychology. Jean Piaget was one who made a contribution with his theories on the cognitive development stages. Cognitive development is the process of acquiring intelligence and increasingly advanced thought and problem-solving ability from infancy to adulthood. Piaget states that the mind of a child develops through set stages to adulthood (Famous Biographies TV Shows - Biography.com). The theory of cognitive development has made a significant impact throughout the history of psychology, and is still practiced and learned about today. Jean Piaget was born on August 9, 1896 in Neuchà ¢tel, Switzerland, and died on September 16, 1980 in Geneva (Famous†¦show more content†¦His theory was imperative to understand that early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses into changes in mental operations (Cherry). Piaget’s stages of cognitive development have had an enormous impact on developmental psychology, as well as education. Albert Einstein called Piaget’s discovery â€Å"so simple only a genius could have thought of it† (Cherry). The first stage of cognitive development, called the sensorimotor stage, is characterized by learning to coordinate sensation and perception with motor activity. Infants begin to understand that there is a relationship between their physical movements and the results they sense and perceive (Rathus 242). This stage lasts from birth to approximately age two years old, and is focuses on the infant trying to make sense of the world (Cherry). The behavior of newborns is mainly reflexive; they are only capable of responding to their environment and cannot initiate behavior. However, at about one month of age, infants begin to act with purpose. As they coordinate vision with touch, for example, they will look at objects they are holding (Rathus 242). When infants reach three and four months of age they are easily amused by watching themselves open and close their fists (Rathus 242). Infants begin to coordinate basic motor activities and sensory experiences to form simple skills and perceptions. During this period, infants make remarkable discoveries that they areShow MoreRelatedJean Piaget : Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay1377 Words   |  6 Pages Jean Piaget: Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget, was a trained biologist who was employed at the Binet Institute, where his main job was to develop a French version of an intelligence test. Piaget was very interested in the reason why children would give wrong answers to questions which called for some type of logical thinking. 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