Jean Piaget's Principles Of Cognitive Development

Introduction Cognitive psychology refers to the study of mental processes in terms of its influence on individual behaviour. It explains various principles that deal with acquiring, storing, retaining, using, transforming and communicating information (Galotti, 2008). This branch of psychology has to do with the structure and function of our brain and the higher order processes it facilitates. It involves the way individual 's think, perceive, recognize, memorize and pay attention (Olson, 2013). Jean Piaget 's contribution focused on cognitive development through adolescence and the way individuals understand the world by creating concepts and categorizations. Concepts are those ideas or mental representations that individuals developed based

Piaget believed that mental structures are initiated shortly after birth therefore, children are also able develop mental blocks. However, mental blocks are strengthened when individual actively participate with the available resources of the environment, through practice, experiment and serendipity (Galotti, 2008). In addition, to constructing mental blocks, Piaget viewed adaptation as a source responsible for shaping mental structures. Adaptation is further broken down into two principles called assimilation and accommodation. Piaget used these principles to explain the process of developing concepts and

Piaget identifies four important stages of cognitive development where the latter stages are more complex but are able to form more precise concepts and categorizations. This prinicple may work well for those individuals considered healthy and have the ability to develop at a normal rate according to the thoery. However, chronological theories are not efficient means to determine concepts and catergorisations. It suggests that everyone understand the principles of concepts and categories during the same age, which is not always the case (Galotti, 2008). All individuals learn, understand and think on different levels based on factors such as experience and genetic attributes (Olson, 2013). Piaget did not take samples of adults from cultures significantly different from his. If he did he would han experience difficulty processing their cognitive development based on concepts and