Theories Of Cognitive Development Essays Examples

A) Considering each stage of Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development, how might a child approach the game of Monopoly at each stage? Considering the level of development, what could they do and what could they not do? What would their behavior look like? Piaget was a social psychologist who separated the cognitive development of a child’s development into four markedly different stages based on the cognitive capacity growth of a child. Looking at his stages and the game of Monopoly we can approximate more of less how a childe at each given stage would play that game, taking into account what they would be capable and incapable of preforming. The first stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory is the sensorimotor stage. At this stage a child lives at the level of the sense world around him. The world is more or less an eternal present of intriguing and new stimulus to explore. For a child at this age, a board game of monopoly would likely appear extremely intriguing, but not due to the game aspect. It would actually be dangerous to leave a child at this stage alone with a monopoly board as it is possible that he or she would eat the pieces, which they could choke on. The child at this stage would be unable to understand the goal of the game and at best would be intrigued by the colorful little houses and play money. The next stage of Piaget’s theory is the preoperational stage where children learn to play simple games. At this stage, the risk of the child eating pieces and destroying the board would be reduced. However, at this stage children still struggle with taking on the perspective of another person and logic, so while the child might be able to sit, roll dice, and pic cards, they would be unable to understand the concept of matching properties and building houses and hotels in order to win the game.
The third stage, the Concrete Operational Stage, is a time when kids begin to think logically. At this stage the child would likely understand the basic concepts of the game, including building houses in order to get more money and win the game. However, to the child this would still just be a game and he or she would likely not be able to see the significance that the game is also invocative of the capitalistic system used by business in the United States. The child would also likely struggle with the term monopoly as it applies to business and might not be able to take a metered approach to their spending their money in a way that cushions them against bankruptcy.
The final stage, The Formal Operational Stage, is a time when children would not only know how to play the game, but would be able to play it well and understand the similarities between the game and the economic system that it is based on.
B) Consider Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Reasoning. Doing the “right thing” by helping a little old lady across the street may have any number of motivations. Apply each level of Kohlberg’s theory to the possible motivations for this decision.
Kohlberg believed that there were three levels of moral reasoning that go into a moral judgment. Most people would say that helping an old woman across the street that required assistance is the morally correct thing to do. Kohlberg, however, would say that there are three levels of reasoning that could be at work in making that decision.
The first level would be to avoid punishment. Perhaps a parent or teacher is watching and the personal helping the old woman across the street knows that if he or she does not assist, he or she will be punished.
The second level is making a moral decision because there is an authority that says to do so. At this level a person would help the old woman cross the street because they had been instructed that it was wrong not to do so.
The third level of morally reasoning comes about because an individual has a moral conscious that is the result of personal reflection on the right thing to do and has decided to act upon those ponderings. This person would help a woman cross they street not because he or she had been told to, but because out of his or her own moral reasoning came to the conclusion that it was “the right thing” to do.
C) Consider Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage Theory. According to his theory, each stage presents a major psychological task that needs to be overcome. Select 3 stages and give an example of a successful resolution as well as an example of an unsuccessful resolution and the ramifications for each. For example, an infant that is not nurtured may have difficulty bonding in relationships due to unsuccessful resolution of the trust versus mistrust stage of development. 1. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt – A person who is secure in their environment and feels in control of their ability to navigate through life likely achieved autonomy early on. An infant that is raised doubting their ability to do things on their own, perhaps because they were negatively reinforced during their toilet traning, might have life long issues of feeling unable to control their destiny.
2. Industry vs. Inferiority. Resolution, a child feels capable of completing projects in grade school because teachers have praised past project. Unsuccessful resolution, in the first grade the child was scolded by a teacher often for doing projects wrong and now feels incapable of completing a school project.
3. Ego Integrity vs. Despair – Resolution, a man on his death bed dies with a smile, his family surrounding him, content that he lived a good life and accomplished the goals he set out to. Unsuccessful resolution, a man dies alone in a hospital bed, estranged from his family. Suddenly he realizes that he is estranged from his family because he spent his whole life earning money. “That won’t save me now,” he thinks, wishing he had pursued his interests rather than seeking wealth and power.
D) Though each of these theories understands development in a different way, they are not mutually exclusive. Piaget is describing both motor an cognitive development and at what stages children are capable of doing certain things. During these changes, children also slowly move away from doing things because they are told to, to doing things because they begin to feel a moral obligation to do certain things in certain ways. When a child is able to hold abstract ideas, is really when as Kohlberg’s model points out, that moral distinctions can be make about situations based on a child of person’s interior moral compass. Erikson’s model shows not just stages of development, but the consequence of a lack of development. While Piaget comments on where they mind should be in nature, Erikson’s model addresses what happens if through nurture the mind never gets there.